Genesis 30:6

6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”

Genesis 30:6 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 30:6

And Rachel said
As soon as she heard that Bilhah had bore a son: God hath judged me:
and hereby testified his approbation, as she understood it, of the step she had took in giving her maid to her husband, and she was justified in what she had done: and hath also heard my voice:
of prayer; she had prayed to God that her maid might have a child, or she have one by her: and hath given me a son;
whom she reckoned her own, Bilhah being her servant, and so her children born of her, hers; or whom she adopted and called her own, and therefore took upon her to give it a name, as follows: and here let it be observed, that she looked upon this child as a gift of God, as the fruit of prayer, and as in mercy to her, God dealing graciously with her, and taking her part, and judging righteous judgment: therefore called she his name Dan;
which signifies "judgment"; the reason of it lies in the first clause of the verse.

Genesis 30:6 In-Context

4 So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.

5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son.

6 Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”

7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.

8 Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”

Footnotes

• [a]. Dan means “he judged” or “he vindicated.”