The story, as told in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, begins with Judah. After the sale of Joseph into slavery, Judah's brothers urged him to take a wife, reasoning that their father, consumed by grief, wouldn't be arranging marriages for them. Judah married Alit, the daughter of a noble merchant named Shua, in Adullam, the home of his friend Hirah (later known as Hiram, king of Tyre). However, the marriage was far from blessed. His two eldest sons died, followed by his wife, Alit. Why such misfortune? According to the narrative, it was Judah's punishment for not seeing through the good deed of saving Joseph, for only suggesting that he be sold, not insisting he be returned home. "He who begins a good deed, and does not execute it to the end, brings down misfortune upon his own head." A harsh lesson, perhaps, but one that emphasizes the importance of following through with our intentions.
Interestingly, the text states that all of Jacob's other sons married in the same year as Joseph's disappearance. Reuben married Elyoram, a Canaanite woman from Timnah. Simon's story takes a particularly dramatic turn. He first married his own sister, Dinah, and then another woman. Remember the story of the massacre at Shechem? After that tragic event, Dinah refused to leave the city, overwhelmed by shame. Simon, however, swore to marry her, which he did. Upon her death in Egypt, he brought her body back to the Holy Land for burial. The narrative becomes even more intricate, noting that Dinah bore Simon a son and also had a daughter named Asenath from her union with Shechem.
Now, this is where it gets really interesting. According to the legend, the sons of Jacob wanted to kill Asenath, fearing the scandal of a child born out of wedlock. But Jacob, in a move that seems both compassionate and mystical, inscribed the Shem HaMeforesh (the Holy Name of God) on a piece of tin, bound it around the girl's neck, and left her under a thornbush. An angel, no less, carried the baby Asenath down to Egypt, where she was adopted by Potiphar, whose wife was barren. Years later, when Joseph, as viceroy, traveled through the land, young women threw gifts at him. Asenath, having nothing else, removed the amulet—the one with the Holy Name—from her neck and gave it to him. This is how Joseph discovered her lineage and, recognizing her connection to his family, married her. The story emphasizes that she was not Egyptian, but of their own lineage, a detail that would have been crucial. Besides Dinah's son, Simon also had another son, Saul, with a woman named Bunah whom he captured during the campaign against Shechem.
Moving on to the other sons: Levi and Issachar married two daughters of Jobab, the grandson of Eber. Levi's wife was Adinah, and Issachar's was Aridah. Dan married Elflalet, a Moabite woman, and after a long period of childlessness, they had a son named Hushim. Gad and Naphtali both married women from Haran, two sisters—daughters of Amoram, a grandson of Nahor. Naphtali's wife, Merimit, was the elder sister, while Gad's wife was named Uzit.
Asher's story involves two wives. His first wife, Adon, the daughter of Ephlal, died childless. He then married Hadorah, a daughter of Abimael, who had a daughter from a previous marriage named Serah. When Asher brought Hadorah to Canaan, Serah, only three years old, came with them. She grew up in Jacob’s house and was known for her piety, beauty, wisdom, and sagacity – becoming a figure of importance in her own right. Zebulon married Maroshah, the daughter of Molad, a grandson of Midian, who was a son of Abraham through Keturah. Finally, Benjamin, the youngest, married Mahlia at the young age of ten, and later married Arbat at eighteen.
What can we glean from these brief glimpses into the lives of Jacob's sons and their wives? It's a reminder that even the most famous figures in our sacred texts had complex lives, filled with love, loss, and the everyday challenges of building a family and a nation. It also highlights the importance of lineage, the complexities of intermarriage, and the roles that women played in shaping the early history of the Jewish people. These stories, though fragmented, offer a fascinating glimpse into a world far removed from our own, yet deeply connected to our roots.
Judah was the first of the sons of Jacob to enter wedlock. After the sale of Joseph to the Midianites, his brethren had said to Judah, "If conditions were as before, our father would provide wives for us now. As it is, he is entirely absorbed by his grief for Joseph, and we must look about for wives ourselves. Thou art our chief, and thou shouldst marry first." Judah's marriage with Alit the daughter of the noble merchant Shua, which was consummated at Adullam, the residence of his friend Hirah, or, as he was called later, Hiram, king of Tyre, was not happy. His two oldest sons died, and shortly thereafter his wife also. It was Judah's punishment for having begun a good deed and left it unfinished, for "he who begins a good deed, and does not execute it to the end, brings down misfortune upon his own head." Judah had rescued Joseph from death, but it was his suggestion to sell him into slavery. Had he urged them to restore the lad to his father, his brethren would have obeyed his words. He was lacking in constancy to persist until he had completed the work of Joseph's deliverance, which he had begun. In the same year, the year of Joseph's misfortune, all his other brethren married, too. Reuben's wife was named Elyoram, the daughter of the Canaanite Uzzi of Timnah. Simon married his sister Dinah first, and then a second wife. When Simon and Levi massacred the men of Shechem, Dinah refused to leave the city and follow her brethren, saying, "Whither shall I carry my shame?" But Simon swore he would marry her, as he did later, and when she died in Egypt, he took her body to the Holy Land and buried it there. Dinah bore her brother a son, and from her union with Shechem, the son of Hamor, sprang a daughter, Asenath by name, afterward the wife of Joseph. When this daughter was born to Dinah, her brethren, the sons of Jacob, wanted to kill her, that the finger of men might not point at the fruit of sin in their father's house. But Jacob took a piece of tin, inscribed the Holy Name upon it, and bound it about the neck of the girl, and he put her under a thornbush, and abandoned her there. An angel carried the babe down to Egypt, where Potiphar adopted her as his child, for his wife was barren. Years thereafter, when Joseph travelled through the land as viceroy, the maidens threw gifts at him, to make him turn his eyes in their direction and give them the opportunity of gazing upon his beauty. Asenath possessed nothing that would do as a present, therefore she took off the amulet suspended from her neck, and gave it to him. Thus Joseph became acquainted with her lineage, and he married her, seeing that she was not an Egyptian, but one connected with the house of Jacob through her mother. Beside the son of Dinah, Simon had another son, whose name was Saul, by Bunah, the damsel he had taken captive in the campaign against Shechem. Levi and Issachar married two daughters of Jobab, the grandson of Eber; the wife of the former was named Adinah, the wife of the latter, Aridah. Dan's wife was Elflalet, a daughter of the Moabite Hamudan. For a long time their marriage remained childless, finally they had a son, whom they called Hushim. Gad and Naphtali married women from Haran, two sisters, daughters of Amoram, a grandson of Nahor. Naphtali's wife, Merimit, was the older of the two, and the younger, the wife of Gad, was named Uzit. Asher's first wife was Adon, the daughter of Ephlal, a grandson of Ishmael. She died childless, and he married a second wife, Hadorah, a daughter of Abimael, the grandson of Shem. She had been married before, her first husband having been Malchiel, also a grandson of Shem, and the issue of this first marriage was a daughter, Serah by name. When Asher brought his wife to Canaan, the three year old orphan Serah came with them. She was raised in the house of Jacob, and she walked in the way of pious children, and God gave her beauty, wisdom, and sagacity. Zebulon's wife was Maroshah, the daughter of Molad, a grandson of Midian, the son of Abraham by Keturah. For Benjamin, when he was but ten years old, Jacob took Mahlia to wife, the daughter of Aram, the grandson of Terah, and she bore him five sons. At the age of eighteen he married a second wife, Arbat, the daughter of Zimran, a son of Abraham by Keturah, and by her also he had five sons.
