בראשית, פרק ל׳, פסוק ד׳

When Rachel gives her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob, it triggers a fundamental shift in Bilhah's personal and legal standing within the family. By presenting her for marriage, Rachel effectively grants her freedom. A maidservant given in marriage is automatically freed from slavery to ensure the husband does not violate any prohibitions [הכתב והקבלה, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Following this release, Bilhah becomes a fully recognized, legal wife with a formal marriage contract and betrothal, officially designated as Jacob's partner [רד״ק, חזקוני].

While other accounts occasionally use the term "concubine" to describe her, this label is only applied relative to the higher status of the primary wives, Rachel and Leah, or in later historical contexts. In truth, the tribes born to the maidservants were never considered the children of concubines [חזקוני]. The elevation of Bilhah's status had a direct and permanent impact on the legal standing of her sons [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The explicit recording of Jacob's active participation in the union highlights his full desire and consent to the marriage. This detail serves to emphasize that the children born from this union would not carry the lower social standing of a maidservant mother. Instead, they are recognized as Jacob's full and equal sons, tracing their lineage directly through him just like all the other tribes [ברכת אשר על התורה].