The Wikipedia article on the 12 tribes of Israel mention that Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel and two concubines Bilhah and Zilpah. What does the word concubine mean here? Is it like a mistress?
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1con·cu·bine /ˈkäNGkyəˌbīn/ noun HISTORICAL (in polygamous societies) a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives.– ezraJun 5, 2022 at 2:00
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This is a technicality aimed at presenting all 12 tribes as coming from only Lea and Rachel to explain future dynamics. Initially, those two were two female servants given to Jacob as dowry. As slaves had no legal status, everything they bore belonged to their master, so technically, their 4 kids were legally Jacob's. The problem is that there's a prohibition on laying with a slave in Judaism, so some try to harmonize it by presenting Bilha and Zilpa as Jacob's rightful wives also.– Al BerkoJun 15, 2022 at 11:49
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1 Answer
The word used in various pesukim in the Torah is פִּילֶ֣גֶשׁ (Pilagshim) and literally means "concubine". The Yerushalmi Talmud (Ketubah 5:2) asks the very same question, "what is the difference between a wife and a פִּילֶ֣גֶשׁ (concubine)?":
What is a wife and what is a concubine? Rebbi Meïr says, a wife has a ketubah, a concubine has no ketubah. Rebbi Jehudah says, both have a ketubah. A wife has a ketubah and the ketubah stipulations; a concubine has a ketubah but no ketubah stipulations.
Similary, in the Gemara (Sanhedrin 21a), Rav Yehuda cites Rav and explains:
What is the meaning of “wives” and what is the meaning of “concubines” in that verse? Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Wives receive a marriage contract and betrothal; concubines are taken without a marriage contract and without betrothal.
The Ra'avad (Hasagot HaRaavad; Mishneh Torah; Hilchos Ichus 1:4) explains that the word concubine (Pilagshim, פִּילֶ֣גֶשׁ) is comprimised of the two words "פי שגל" (Pi Shagal) which means " a woman who serves both domestic and "marital" functions":
קודם מ''ת וכו'. כתב הראב''ד ז''ל אין קדשה אלא מזומנת והיא המופקרת לכל אדם אבל המייחדת עצמה לאיש אחד אין בה לא מלקות ולא איסור לאו והיא הפילגש הכתובה בפסוק ובעלי הלשון דורשין פילגש מלה הפוכה ומורכבת פי שגל עומדת לפרקים למשגל ולשמש את הבית ופעמים למשכב. וי''ס שכתוב בהם פילגשים בלי קידושין עכ''ל:
See further: INSIGHTS INTO THE DAILY DAF
