Conflicting locations for Rachel's burial

Question

Genesis 35:19 seems to say she died and was buried near Bethlehem, in Judah. This has strong tradition even to this day with a "tomb" there.

So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), (ESV)

However, 1 Samuel 10:2 seems to say she was buried in Benjamin land, possibly Ramah (Jer 31 may have connected this).

When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah ...

How can we understand this?

Is Genesis 35 only meaning to say on the road to Ephrath, which could mean they were near Ramah or some other place in Benjamin still? (I understand the land was not divided between the tribes till later, but I'm using the references given in 1 Samuel)

Or, as I have read some speculate, Judah put the location in their land for prestige?

Or maybe 1 Samuel is just plain wrong? (Samuel was from Ramah too).

Answer 1

And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
-- Genesis 35:16 (KJV)

When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
-- 1 Samuel 10:2 (KJV)

The word given as "border" in 1 Samuel 10:2 is, gə-ḇūl (Strong's H1366), whose principle meaning is "boundary/limit of a field or region".

Jerusalem is within the land of Benjamin, and Bethlehem is around 7km south of Jerusalem, in the land of Judah. Genesis 35:16 and 1 Kings 10:2 provide a fairly reasonable location for the border line between Benjamin and Judah - south of Jerusalem, a little way from Bethlehem.

The only issue here is a definition of "a little way". I would suggest that "a little way" puts the border closer to Bethlehem than to Jerusalem - maybe 3km from Bethlehem. Zelzah appears to be the last town on the Benjamin side of the border. So, if Judah is claiming the site of Rachel's tomb as its own, then the tomb must be very near Zelzah, but on the Bethlehem side of the border line.

Additional

The phrase rendered in 1 Samuel 10:2 (KJV) as "in the border of" is more precisely biḡ-ḇūl, and could have just as well been given as, "by the border of", since the Hebrew prefix "bi" means in/by/with.

Now, "by the border of Benjamin" suggests that the one specifying the location is not in Benjamin. Had he been in Benjamin he would surely have given the location as "by the border of Judah". (Compare Numbers 33:44)