Single lesson
Benjamin's Birth, Rachel's Death and Jacob's Homecoming
Genesis 35:16–29
This lesson traces Genesis 35:16–29 in order, including birth, death, travel, a serious wrong act, a family list, and Isaac’s burial. Students will observe what the passage reports and discuss choices, actions and outcomes without adding details the text does not give.
Before you teach
Genesis 35:16–29 follows Jacob’s family as they travel from Bethel toward Ephrath. Rachel gives birth during hard labour and dies. Jacob buries her and travels on. Reuben’s wrongdoing with Bilhah is briefly reported. The twelve sons of Jacob are listed. Jacob comes to Isaac at Mamre, and Isaac dies and is buried by Esau and Jacob.
Students will be able to sequence the events of Genesis 35:16–29 and identify reported actions and outcomes in the passage.
Welcome: preparing to read a serious family account
6 minExplain that this passage includes a birth, a death, travel, a brief report of sexual wrongdoing within Jacob’s family, a list of sons, and a burial. Ask students to listen for the order of events and for what the passage clearly states, especially where the text is brief and sober.
Genesis 35:16, Genesis 35:18, Genesis 35:22, Genesis 35:23, Genesis 35:29
Read and explain: Rachel’s hard labour, Benjamin’s birth, and Rachel’s death
10 minRead Genesis 35:16–20 aloud. Note the sequence carefully: the family is travelling, Rachel has hard labour, the midwife tells her not to fear, a son is born, Rachel names him Benoni as she dies, and Jacob names him Benjamin. Rachel is buried on the way to Ephrath, and Jacob sets up a pillar on her grave.
Genesis 35:16, Genesis 35:17, Genesis 35:18, Genesis 35:19, Genesis 35:20
Discuss the middle section: travel continues, wrongdoing is reported, and the sons are named
8 minRead Genesis 35:21–26. Observe that the journey continues after Rachel’s burial. Then note that Reuben’s act with Bilhah is reported briefly, and Israel heard of it. Do not expand the event beyond the verse. Finish by reading the list of Jacob’s twelve sons and noticing how the family is identified in groups.
Genesis 35:21, Genesis 35:22, Genesis 35:23, Genesis 35:24, Genesis 35:25, Genesis 35:26
Respond with evidence: timeline and observation task
9 minIn pairs, students create a simple timeline from verses 16–29. They should include short labels for each major event and write the exact verse beside each one. Then ask them to mark which items are actions, which are outcomes, and which are family facts reported by the passage.
Genesis 35:16, Genesis 35:19, Genesis 35:21, Genesis 35:22, Genesis 35:23, Genesis 35:27, Genesis 35:29
Closing: Jacob comes to Isaac, and Isaac is buried
7 minRead Genesis 35:27–29. Point out that Jacob came to Isaac at Mamre, also called Kiriath Arba, where Abraham and Isaac had lived as foreigners. Isaac dies at one hundred eighty years, and Esau and Jacob bury him. Review the full sequence and ask students to state one clear action and one outcome from the passage.
Genesis 35:27, Genesis 35:28, Genesis 35:29
Questions to explore
What is the order of events from Rachel’s hard labour to her burial, and which names are given to the baby?
Follow Genesis 35:16–20 closely and note who speaks or acts at each step.
Genesis 35:16, Genesis 35:17, Genesis 35:18, Genesis 35:19, Genesis 35:20
How does Genesis 35:22 report Reuben’s wrongdoing, and what details does the verse include without further explanation?
Stay with the exact wording of Genesis 35:22 and observe both the act and the statement that Israel heard of it.
Genesis 35:22
What two parts of the ending show family continuity as the passage closes?
Look at the list of Jacob’s sons and then the burial of Isaac by Esau and Jacob.
Genesis 35:23, Genesis 35:24, Genesis 35:25, Genesis 35:26, Genesis 35:29
Make, think or respond
Genesis 35 Evidence Timeline
What you’ll need
- plain paper
- pens or pencils
- ruler
- Bible
Try it together
- Draw a horizontal timeline and mark spaces for the main events in Genesis 35:16–29.
- Write each event in order with its exact verse reference beside it.
- Use one symbol for actions, another for outcomes, and another for family lists or location notes.
- Compare timelines in pairs and check whether every point is supported by a verse in the passage.
This task keeps students close to Genesis 35:16–29 by organising the sequence and distinguishing what the passage reports.
Adapt for your group
- For ages 12–14, provide the event headings first and ask students to place them in order with verse references.
- For ages 15–17, ask students to identify where the text gives direct action, where it gives a brief report, and where it gives summary information such as names, places, and age.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: “God, please help us read this passage carefully, understand what it says, and respond wisely to what it shows about actions and outcomes. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Genesis 35
16 They traveled from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed. She had hard labor.
17 When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for now you will have another son.”
18 As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.
19 Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath (also called Bethlehem).
20 Jacob set up a pillar on her grave. The same is the Pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.
21 Israel traveled, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder.
22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s servant): Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s servant): Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac lived as foreigners.
28 The days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years.
29 Isaac gave up the spirit and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. Esau and Jacob, his sons, buried him.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.