Who is Zilpah?
Zilpah, whose name is believed to mean “drooping”, was given to Leah as a handmaiden by Lavan, when Leah was given to Yaacov as a bride. After Leah had already bore Yaacov four sons and then stopped having babies, she presented Zilpah to Yaacov to act as a type of surrogate mother and have more children for Yaacov. Zilpah bore two sons to Yaacov, Gad and Asher. These were Yaacov’s sons number seven and eight respectively. The account of Zilpah’s role as Leah’s surrogate mother can be found in Genesis 30:9-13.
Who is Bilhah?
Bilhah, whose name is believed to mean “bashful or faltering”, was given to Rochel as her handmaiden by Lavan, when Rochel was given to Yaacov as a bride. Bihah gave birth to Dan and Naftali.
Who are their family?
Zilpah and Bilhah were sisters. One medrashic source says that Devorah (Rivkah’s nurse) was their mother. Their father was called Achuto. Before they were married, Devorah was taken into captivity but we redeemed by Lavan. Lavan took the two daughters as maidservants. Zilpah was perhaps named after the place of her captivity.
According to other sources, Zilpah and Bilhah actually shared the same father (Lavan) as Rochel and Leah but were from different mothers. Thus the four wives of Yaacov were all half-sisters.
What was special about Bilhah and Zilpah?
Although both Bilhah and Zilpah were emancipated when conceived they were given the name of “shifchah” to stress their total subservience to their mistresses. Even after begin emancipated and even after giving birth to children, they were still called “shifchah”, subservient as before.
What is the source of the difference between Bilhah & Zilpah from Rochel & Leah?
Bilhah and Zilpah also had lofty souls, but not as lofty as the Matriarchs. According to the mystical teachings, their souls were also the embodiment of Royalty, as were the Matriarchs', but Royalty as it descends and invests itself in creation.
The Patriarchs and Matriarchs were utterly detached from creation, and it is from them that we receive the ability to remain unaffected by our mundane surroundings. Bilhah and Zilpah imbue every Jew with the capability to carry over the holiness we inherit from the Patriarchs and Matriarchs into creation.
This is why Bilhah and Zilpah bore these children "on behalf of" and as "the agents of" Leah and Rochel. The children they bore were even named by Leah and Rochel. Bilhah and Zilpah don't represent a unique divine attribute as do the Patriarch and Matriarchs—rather they are the conduit through which our Patriarch and Matriarchs can be manifest in our reality. Thus, the four children of Bilhah and Zilpah (Dan, Naftali, Gad and Asher) are four motifs that accompany the daily life of the Jew: judiciousness, engagement, blessing and saturation.
Therefore, even when Leah and Rochel passed way, the Shechinah still rested on the home of Yaacov since Zilpah and Bilhah were still running the house and were step mothers to the children.
Where are they buried?
The Medrash does not mention when they died. However, tradition records that Bilhah and Zilpah are buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias, the traditional burial place of several famous biblical women: Zilpah, Bilhah, Yocheved, Ziporah, Elisheva and Avigayil. Currently, a marble structure beside a modern apartment building block surrounded by a stone wall commemorates this burial place.
