I wonder if Rachel’s grave is still marked by Jacob’s pillar?
Remember when Jacob fled from his home so that he could stay with his mother, Rebekah’s, kinsmen? He met his kinsman, Laban, and he fell in love with Rachel. He worked fourteen years for the honor of being her husband – after he’d been tricked into marrying Leah, Rachel’s homely sister.
Rachel was barren at first, but, she finally gave birth to Joseph, and she died while giving birth to Benjamin.
Jacob favored Joseph and Benjamin because of his deep love for Rachel. When Rachel died, Jacob set up a pillar over her grave:
Genesis 35:19-20English Standard Version (ESV)
19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could find this pillar now, a few thousand years later, and actually see where Rachel was buried?