Israel’s Fathers and Mothers

When you look at the Hebrew name Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל, Yisrael), what do you see?

Would you believe me if I told you that the names of the three patriarchs and four traditionally recognized matriarchs are all represented in its letters?

The very name Israel contains the first letters of these seven names!

Don’t believe me? See for yourself:

י (yod) begins יִצְחָק(Yitzchak, Isaac) and יַעֲקֹב(Yaakov, Jacob).

שׂ (sin) begins שָׂרָה(Sarah). (The AI voiceover mistakenly pronounces this “Sharah” instead of “Sarah.” We will be forgiving for now. 😂)

ר (resh) begins רִבְקָה(Rivkah, Rebekah) and רָחֵל(Rachel).

א (aleph) begins אַבְרָהָם(Avraham, Abraham).

ל (lamed) begins לֵאָה(Leah).

Five letters (ישראל), seven names, one family of Israel!

But one reader, my friend Neville, playfully suggested adding (you can see it the comments) two more letters: ב (bet) for Bilhah and ז (zayin) for Zilpah. His joke makes a serious point. These women also helped form Israel. Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali, while Zilpah bore Gad and Asher (Gen 30:1–13). Four of Israel’s twelve tribes trace their ancestry through them.

Why, then, does the familiar list name only four matriarchs? It reflects a traditional distinction that should not erase the other women’s contribution. Bilhah and Zilpah entered Jacob’s household as Rachel’s and Leah’s servants. The sisters arranged for them to bear children, named those children, and understood their births as building their own families. Rachel says this explicitly concerning Bilhah (Gen 30:3).

Yet we should be precise: Genesis already calls Bilhah and Zilpah Jacob’s wives while Rachel and Leah are alive (Gen 30:4, 9). It later calls both women his wives again (Gen 37:2), although Bilhah is also described as his concubine (Gen 35:22). Their subordinate household position did not make their motherhood insignificant.

The letter pattern, then, brings together the three patriarchs and four traditionally recognized matriarchs. It does not include every foundational figure or explain how the name Israel originally arose. Genesis connects that name with Jacob’s struggle with God (Gen 32:28).

Still, I find this gathering of seven names within Israel’s five letters beautiful. Is it coincidence, or might we receive it as a reminder of God’s providence working through this complicated family?

You decide!

As for me and my house, we go with providence.