Ramban
Jewish
1194–1270
“THESE ARE THE SONS OF ZILPAH, etc. 19. THE SONS OF RACHEL JACOB’s WIFE, etc. It is customary for Scripture to first enumerate the sons of the mistresses together, just as it said in the Seder Vayishlach Yaakov and in the Seder V’eileh Shmoth bnei Yisrael, or else to enumerate them according to the order of their birth, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, as Scripture did when they were blessed by Jacob in the Seder Vayechi Yaakov. and in Shmoth, or according to their age, as it did in Vayechi. Ramban is attempting to explain why they are mentioned here after Zilpah’s children. Here, however, because Scripture’s purpose was to enumerate their numbers and to state that with seventy souls they went down to Egypt, it gave precedence to those who were more numerous. This was why Scripture mentioned Rachel among the concubines, and hence it was necessary to mention her with respect, saying, Jacob’s wife, as I have mentioned above.”