And as for me, when I came from Padan
From Syria, from Laban's house: Rachel died by me in the
land of Canaan;
his beloved wife, the mother of Joseph, on whose account he
mentions her, and to show a reason why he took his sons as his
own, because his mother dying so soon, he could have no more
children by her; and she being his only lawful wife, Joseph was
of right to be reckoned as the firstborn; and that as such he
might have the double portion, he took his two sons as his own,
and put them upon a level with them, even with Reuben and Simeon.
By this it appears, as by the preceding account, that Rachel came
with him into the land of Canaan, and there died: in the
way, when yet [there was] but a little way to come unto
Ephrath;
about a mile, or two thousand cubits, as Jarchi observes:
and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath;
where she died, and dying in childbed, could not be kept so long
as to carry her to Machpelah, the burying place of his ancestors;
and especially as he had his flocks and herds with him, which
could move but slowly; and what might make it more difficult to
keep her long, and carry her thither, it might be, as Ben Melech
conjectures, summertime; and the Vulgate Latin adds to the text,
without any warrant from the original, "and it was springtime";
however, she was buried in the land of Canaan, and which is taken
notice of, that Joseph might observe it: it follows, the
same [is] Bethlehem;
that is, Ephrath; and so Bethlehem is called Bethlehem Ephratah,
( Micah 5:2 ) ;
whether these are the words of Jacob, or of Moses, is not
certain, but said with a view to the Messiah, the famous seed of
Jacob that should be born there, and was.
Genesis 48:7
