And she said
in order to pacify Jacob, and explain her meaning to him; which
was, not that she thought it was in his power to make her the
mother of children, but that he would think of some way or
another of obtaining children for her, that might go for hers; so
the Arabic version, "obtain a son for me": but, since no method
occurred to him, she proposes one: behold my maid Bilhah,
go in unto her,
take her and use her as thy wife: and she shall bear upon
my knees;
either sit on her knees in the time of labour, and so bring forth
as if it was she herself; or rather bear a child, which Rachel
would take and nurse, and dandle upon her knees as her own, see (
Isaiah
66:12 ) ; that I may also have children by
her;
children as well as her sister, though by her maid, and as Sarah
proposed to have by Hagar, whose example, in all probability, she
had before her, and uses her very words; (See Gill on Genesis
16:2).
Genesis 30:3
