זוהר, ויצא י״חZohar, Vayetzei 18

Segment 1א׳

תוּ אָמַר רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, הָא דְּאִתְּמָר לֵאָה אוֹלִידַת שִׁית בְּנִין וּבְרַתָּא חָדָא, הָכִי הוּא וַדַּאי, רָחֵל תְּרֵי בְּנִין וַדַּאי, בְּנִי שְׁפָחוֹת אַרְבָּעָה, תִּקּוּנָא דִלְהוֹן הֵיךְ קָיְימֵי. אֶלָּא אִינוּן אַרְבַּע (קנ"ח ע"א) קְשָׁרִים דְּאִקְרוּן אֲחוֹרַיִם, דִּכְתִיב (מלכים א ז׳:כ״ה) וְכָל אֲחוֹרֵיהֶם בָּיְתָה.

R. Eleazar said further:’ What has been said about Leah having borne six sons and one daughter and Rachel having borne two sons is assuredly correct; but how do the sons of the concubines fit into the scheme? They constitute, as it were, the four joints, the socalled hinder parts, alluded to in the statement: “and all their hinder parts were inward” (I Kings 7, 25).

Segment 2ב׳

דְּהָא בִּדְרוֹעָא יְמִינָא תְּלַת (רמ"א ע"א) קִשְׁרִין. אֲבָל קִשְׁרָא חַד בְּאֶמְצָעִיתָא דְּאִיהוּ רַב וְאִיהוּ אָחוֹר, דְּאִשְׁתָּאַר לְבַר. וְכֵן חַד בִּדְרוֹעָא שְׂמָאלָא, וְכֵן חַד בְּיַרְכָא יְמִינָא, וְכֵן חַד בְּיַרְכָא שְׂמָאלָא. וְכַד אִתְתַּקַּן כֹּלָּא, אִשְׁתַּכָּחוּ כֻּלְּהוּ בָּיְתָה, לְקַיְימָא קְרָא דִּכְתִיב וְכָל אֲחוֹרֵיהֶם בָּיְתָה.

For the right arm contains three joints, the middle one of which is the largest and projects backwards, being as it were outside the body. There is a similar joint in the left arm, as well as in the right thigh and in the left thigh; and when the whole is properly arranged, all of them look inward, in fulfilment of the statement, “all their hinder parts were inward”.

Segment 3ג׳

כָּל שְׁאָר קִשּׁוּרִין, כֻּלְּהוּ אִתְחַזְּיָין בְּמֵישַׁר וְאִלֵּין נָפְקִין, לְבַר מִדְּרוֹעִין וּלְבַר מִיַּרְכִין, לְאִתְחֲזָאָה בִּבְנִי הַשְּׁפָחוֹת, דְּאַף עַל גַּב דְּאִינוּן בְּמִנְיָינָא, לָא חֲשִׁיבֵי כִּבְנִי רָחֵל וְלֵאָה. וּבְגִינֵי כָךְ נָפְקֵי לְבַר.

Now all the other joints are in the line of the body, but these protrude outside the arms and the thighs. Correspondingly, the sons of the handmaids, although they are within the number, yet are not of the same rank as the sons of Rachel and Leah, and thus remain outside.