Genesis 30

Jacob’s Children

1 When Rachel saw that she could not bear children to Jacob, Rachel envied her sister. And she said to Jacob, "Give me children--if not, I will die!"
2 And Jacob {became angry} with Rachel. And he said, "[Am] I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
3 Then she said, "Here [is] my servant girl Bilhah; go in to her that she may bear children {as my surrogate}. Then I will even {have children} by her."
4 Then she gave him Bilhah, her female servant, as a wife, and Jacob went in to her
5 And Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob.
6 Then Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.
7 And Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob.
8 And Rachel said, "I have struggled a mighty struggle with my sister and have prevailed." And she called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 And Zilpah, the female slave of Leah, bore a son to Jacob.
11 Then Leah said, "Good fortune!" And she called his name Gad.
12 And Zilpah, Leah's female servant, bore a second son to Jacob.
13 Then Leah said, "How happy [am] I! For women have called me happy." So she called his name Asher.
14 And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
15 And she said to her, "[Is] your taking my husband [such] a small [thing] that you will also take the mandrakes of my son?" Then Rachel said, "Then he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."
16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him. And she said, "Come in to me, for {I have hired} you with my son's mandrakes." And he slept with her that night.
17 And God listened to Leah and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.
18 Then Leah said, "God has given [me] my wage since I gave my servant girl to my husband." And she called his name Issachar.
19 And Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.
20 And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good gift. This time my husband will acknowledge me, because I bore him six sons." And she called his name Zebulun.
21 And afterward she gave birth to a daughter. And she called her name Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel and listened to her, and God opened her womb.
23 And she conceived and gave birth to a son. And she said, "God has taken away my disgrace."
24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, "Yahweh has added to me another son."

Jacob’s Prosperity

25 And it happened [that] as soon as Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away that I may go to my place and my land.
26 Give [me] my wives and my children for which I have served you, and let me go. For you yourself know my service that I have rendered to you."
27 But Laban said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, I have learned by divination that Yahweh has blessed me because of you."
28 And he said, "Name your wage to me and I will give [it]."
29 Then he said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have been with me.
30 For you had little before me, and it has increased abundantly. And Yahweh has blessed you {wherever I turned}. So then, when shall I provide for my own family also?"
31 And he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "Do not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flocks and keep [them].
32 Let me pass through all your flocks today, removing all the speckled and spotted sheep from them, along with every dark-colored sheep among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. That shall be my wages.
33 And my righteousness will answer for me {later} when you come concerning my wages before you. Every [one] that [is] not speckled or spotted among the goats, or dark-colored among the sheep shall be stolen [if it is] with me."
34 Then Laban said, "Look! Very well. It shall be according to your word."
35 But that day he removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, all that [had] white on it, and every dark-colored ram, and {put them in the charge of his sons}.
36 And he put a journey of three days between him and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the remainder of Laban's flock.
37 Then Jacob took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled white strips on them, exposing the white which [was] on the branches.
38 And he set the branches that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in the troughs [and] in the water containers. And they were in heat when they came to drink.
39 And the flocks mated by the branches, so the flocks bore streaked, speckled, and spotted.
40 And Jacob separated the lambs and turned the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the dark-colored in Laban's flocks. And he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with the flocks of Laban.
41 And whenever any of the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob put the branches {in full view} of the flock in the troughs that they might mate among the branches.
42 But with the more feeble of the flock he would not put [them there]. So the feebler were Laban's and the stronger [were] Jacob's.
43 And the man became {exceedingly} rich and had large flocks, female slaves, male slaves, camels, and donkeys.

Genesis 30 Commentary

Chapter 30

A further account of Jacob's family. (1-13) Rachel beareth Joseph. (14-24) Jacob's new agreement with Laban to serve him for cattle. (25-43)

Verses 1-13 Rachel envied her sister: envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more hateful to God, or more hurtful to our neighbours and ourselves. She considered not that God made the difference, and that in other things she had the advantage. Let us carefully watch against all the risings and workings of this passion in our minds. Let not our eye be evil towards any of our fellow-servants, because our Master's is good. Jacob loved Rachel, and therefore reproved her for what she said amiss. Faithful reproofs show true affection. God may be to us instead of any creature; but it is sin and folly to place any creature in God's stead, and to place that confidence in any creature, which should be placed in God only. At the persuasion of Rachel, Jacob took Bilhah her handmaid to wife, that, according to the usage of those times, her children might be owned as her mistress's children. Had not Rachel's heart been influenced by evil passions, she would have thought her sister's children nearer to her, and more entitled to her care than Bilhah's. But children whom she had a right to rule, were more desirable to her than children she had more reason to love. As an early instance of her power over these children, she takes pleasure in giving them names that carry in them marks of rivalry with her sister. See what roots of bitterness envy and strife are, and what mischief they make among relations. At the persuasion of Leah, Jacob took Zilpah her handmaid to wife also. See the power of jealousy and rivalship, and admire the wisdom of the Divine appointment, which joins together one man and one woman only; for God hath called us to peace and purity.

Verses 14-24 The desire, good in itself, but often too great and irregular, of being the mother of the promised Seed, with the honour of having many children, and the reproach of being barren, were causes of this unbecoming contest between the sisters. The truth appears to be, that they were influenced by the promises of God to Abraham; whose posterity were promised the richest blessings, and from whom the Messiah was to descend.

Verses 25-43 The fourteen years being gone, Jacob was willing to depart without any provision, except God's promise. But he had in many ways a just claim on Laban's substance, and it was the will of God that he should be provided for from it. He referred his cause to God, rather than agree for stated wages with Laban, whose selfishness was very great. And it would appear that he acted honestly, when none but those of the colours fixed upon should be found among his cattle. Laban selfishly thought that his cattle would produce few different in colour from their own. Jacob's course after this agreement has been considered an instance of his policy and management. But it was done by intimation from God, and as a token of his power. The Lord will one way or another plead the cause of the oppressed, and honour those who simply trust his providence. Neither could Laban complain of Jacob, for he had nothing more than was freely agreed that he should have; nor was he injured, but greatly benefitted by Jacob's services. May all our mercies be received with thanksgiving and prayer, that coming from his bounty, they may lead to his praise.

Footnotes 13

  • [a]. Literally "became hot of nose"
  • [b]. Literally "upon my knees"
  • [c]. Literally "be built up"
  • [d]. Literally "I have fully paid for"
  • [e]. I.e., "How well they have done under my care"
  • [f]. Literally "to my foot"
  • [g]. Or "and"
  • [h]. Or "it"
  • [i]. Literally "on the day tomorrow"
  • [j]. That is, Laban
  • [k]. Literally "he gave into the hands of his sons"
  • [l]. Literally "before the eyes of"
  • [m]. Literally "very, very"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 30

This chapter gives an account of Rachel's envy of her sister for her fruitfulness, and of her earnest desire of having children, which she expressed to Jacob in an unbecoming manner, for which he reproved her, Ge 30:1,2, of her giving her maid Bilhah to Jacob, by whom he had two sons, Dan and Naphtali, Ge 30:3-8; and of Leah's giving her maid Zilpah to him, by whom he had two other sons, Gad and Asher, Ge 30:9-13; and of Reuben's mandrakes he found in the field, and the agreement made between Rachel and Leah about them, Ge 30:14-16; and of Leah's bearing Jacob two more sons and one daughter, Ge 30:17-21, and of Rachel's also bearing him a son, whose name was Joseph, Ge 30:22-24; upon which he desires leave of Laban to depart into his own country, his time of servitude being up, Ge 30:25,26; which brought on a new agreement between him and Laban, that for the future he should have all the speckled, spotted, and brown cattle for his service, Ge 30:27-36; and the chapter is concluded with an account of a cunning scheme of Jacob's to increase that sort of cattle, which succeeded, and by which he became rich, Ge 30:37-43.

Genesis 30 Commentaries

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.