Our Matriarchs’ Deaths and Burials

Question

Genesis 49:31 says, “There (the cave of Machpelah) they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebecca, and there I (Jacob) buried Leah.”

I remember reading in the Torah about the deaths of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah, and that Rachel died and was buried on the way to Bethlehem.

Where in the Torah does it mention the deaths and burials of Rebecca and Leah?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    There is no direct mention in the Written Torah of the deaths of either Rebecca or Leah.

    The Sages teach that Rebecca’s death is alluded to in the Torah when it talks about the death of Devorah, Rebeccas’s maidservant, in Genesis 35:8. The Sages explain that the word “bachut” (which means weeping) is in the plural, and it implies that two people were being wept over – Devorah and Rebecca.

    The Zohar HaKadosh explains that Leah’s death is not mentioned because, “all her [righteous] deeds were secret…Leah was hidden in the Cave of Machpelah [and not in a public place like Rachel].”

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team