Bible Dictionary
Zilpah
Leah’s handmaid and concubine of Jacob, and the mother of Gad and Asher.
Definition
Zilpah was a slave girl given by Laban to his daughter Leah. Leah gave her to Jacob as a concubine, and Zilpah became the mother of Gad and Asher.
Biblical Usage
Zilpah is presented as the ancestress of the tribes of Gad and Asher. She is mentioned in the genealogical accounts of Jacob’s family and descendants.
Historical Background
The supplied material gives variant suggestions for the name’s meaning, including “drooping” and “a trickling.”
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Drooping, Leah’s handmaid, and the mother of Gad and Asher (Gen. 30:9-13).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(a trickling), a Syrian given by Laban to his daughter Leah as an attendant, (Genesis 29:24) and by Leah to Jacob as a concubine. She was the mother of Gad and Asher. (Genesis 30:9-13; 35:26; 37:2; 46:18) (B.C. 1753.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>zil'-pa (zilpah, meaning uncertain; Zelpha): The ancestress of Gad and Asher (Ge 30:10,12; 35:26; 46:18), a slave girl of Leah's, given her by Laban (Ge 29:24; 30:9). In Eze 48 the Zilpah tribes have the 5th division toward the South of Palestine and the 6th to the North, a slightly more favorable position than that of the Bilhah tribes.</p>