The Red Tent Characters

The StalwartLeah's pretty intimidating: she had eight children at a time when having one child could be deadly. She's an octomom, folks. She also has eyes that can pierce into anyone's soul, she's...

The Beautiful MidwifeOut of all of Jacob's daughters, Rachel is "the pretty one." She's the daughter the boys swoon at and her sisters scoff at. She's the one Jacob plans to marry first, and her be...

I See Dead PeopleZilpah's that friend who claims she can control the wind and predict the future. You know, the one who reads your palm and tells you you'll have five children, a pool in your backy...

The YoungestBilhah was a sad child and it was easier to leave her alone. She rarely smiled and hardly spoke. (1.1.45)All righty.Not only is Bilhah the last child of Laban, figuratively placing her...

Father of ThirteenOkay, so a guy shows up to his uncle's camp in rags and declares he's going to marry one of his uncle's daughters. This doesn't seem promising. Yet, Jacob does just this, and more...

The BFF At first, Meryt doesn't seem like she'll play a very big role in the book. She's just the midwife who helps Dinah give birth to Re-mose—and Dinah's the one who tells her what to do. But M...

GrandmaRebecca isn't the kind of grandma who makes cookies and kisses you on the cheek when you arrive at her house. She's a harsh matriarch with a hankering for some butt-kicking. If you don't do...

Zafenat Paneh-ahThough he seems like a pretty minor character for most of the book—mostly because he is—Joseph—or should we say, Zafenat Paneh-ah—ends up having a surprising transformation....

Angry Dad"The backside of a donkey has more merit than Laban," she said. "My father is a snake. He is the putrefied offal of a snake." (2.1.51)Leah pretty much hits the nail on the head with this d...

The Soul of KindnessWe don't get to see much of Benia, Dinah's second husband. But from what we do get, we can tell that Benia is an angel. Metaphorically speaking, that is. Not only does he travel...

Being a midwife seems to be a pretty common profession in this book: Rachel, Dinah, and Meryt are all midwives. But what about the original midwife? The one Rachel learned from? Well, that would be...

Here they are, in order: Reuben, Simon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar. And here's the lowdown:Reuben is gentle, kind, and loving, but he's dishonored by the family when he has an aff...

He's Queen Re-nefer's brother, and he serves as a father figure to Re-mose. He's a pretty cool dude: he welcomes Dinah with open arms and helps her regain her life. And for that, we thank him.

The only son of Dinah, Re-mose should probably play a larger role in the book, but he's gone for most of it doing scribe stuff. Unfortunately, when we do see him, he's pretty down in the dumps: "An...

The Queen of Shechem, who barely survives the massacre and ends up saving Dinah. Re-nefer has a good soul. At times she seems iffy, but we can forgive her for snapping at Dinah. After all, her husb...

Poor Ruti: she's Laban's last wife, and she's treated like dirt. When Laban impregnates her for the last time, Ruti says, "I would rather die than give him another son, and if it is a girl, I will...

Shalem's that dude Dinah falls in love with. You know, the dude who gets murdered in his sleep. But let's try not to remember him for his terrible death, but rather for who he was when he was alive...