One of its epigraphs is from Genesis 30, about Leah, Rachel & Rachel’s servant Bilhah
The Final Jeopardy clue for Monday, March 16, 2026 appeared in the category “20th Century Novels.” Contestants were presented with the clue: “One of its epigraphs is from Genesis 30, about Leah, Rachel & Rachel’s servant Bilhah.” The reference pointed to a specific biblical passage used as a framing device in a well known modern novel. The correct response connected that biblical episode to a dystopian work published in the late twentieth century.
What is The Handmaid’s Tale?
The correct response to the clue is “What is The Handmaid’s Tale?” Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel includes several epigraphs at the beginning of the book, one of which comes directly from Genesis 30:1–3. In that passage, Rachel, unable to conceive children herself, tells her husband Jacob to have a child with her servant Bilhah so that Rachel may claim the child as her own. The moment reflects a biblical precedent in which a servant woman is used as a surrogate for a wife who cannot bear children.
This passage serves as a thematic foundation for Atwood’s novel. The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a dystopian society called the Republic of Gilead, where declining fertility has led to a rigid social system in which certain women, known as handmaids, are assigned to bear children for elite couples. The Genesis passage referenced in the epigraph provides the ideological justification used by Gilead’s leaders for this reproductive arrangement.
The Biblical Epigraph and Its Narrative Significance
Margaret Atwood’s use of the Genesis story at the beginning of the novel signals how biblical text is interpreted and repurposed within the fictional regime. The story of Rachel and Bilhah illustrates a historical example of surrogacy within a patriarchal family structure. In the novel, Gilead’s authorities adopt this passage as religious validation for their system of enforced childbearing.
Within the narrative, handmaids are required to participate in a ritualized reproductive ceremony with powerful men whose wives cannot conceive. The wives symbolically echo Rachel’s role in the Genesis passage, while the handmaids resemble Bilhah. By placing this scripture in the epigraph, the novel highlights how selective readings of religious texts can be used to legitimize institutional control.
The Handmaid’s Tale as a 20th Century Literary Work
Published in 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale quickly became one of the most widely discussed novels of the late twentieth century. The story is narrated by Offred, a woman forced into the role of a handmaid after the rise of the authoritarian regime. Through her perspective, the novel explores themes of power, gender roles, surveillance, and resistance within a highly controlled society.
The novel gained lasting recognition for its exploration of political and social structures, as well as for its careful integration of historical and religious references. The Genesis epigraph provides a clear example of how Atwood grounds her fictional world in real texts and traditions. This blending of biblical reference with speculative fiction helped establish The Handmaid’s Tale as one of the most influential dystopian novels of the twentieth century.