Genesis 30:1-24

The Sons of Jacob

1 Now when Rachel saw that 1she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, "2Give me children, or else * I die."
2 Then Jacob's anger burned against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has 3withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
3 She said, "4Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may 5bear on my knees, that 6through her I too may have children."
4 So 7she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.
5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
6 Then Rachel said, "God has 8vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son." Therefore * she named him Dan.
7 Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 So Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed." And she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11 Then Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.
12 Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
13 Then Leah said, "Happy am I! For women 9will call me happy." So she named him Asher.
14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found 10mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
15 But she said to her, "Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son's mandrakes also?" So Rachel said, "Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he lay with her that night.
17 God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
18 Then Leah said, "God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband." So she named him Issachar.
19 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
20 Then Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.
21 Afterward she bore a daughter and named * her Dinah.
22 Then 11God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and 12opened her womb.
23 So she conceived and bore a son and said, "God has 13taken away my reproach."
24 She named * him Joseph, saying, "14May the LORD give me another son."

Genesis 30:1-24 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References 14

  • 1. Genesis 29:31
  • 2. 1 Samuel 1:5, 6
  • 3. Genesis 20:18; Genesis 29:31
  • 4. Genesis 16:2
  • 5. Genesis 50:23; Job 3:12
  • 6. Genesis 16:2
  • 7. Genesis 16:3, 4
  • 8. Psalms 35:24; Psalms 43:1; Lamentations 3:59
  • 9. Luke 1:48
  • 10. Song of Songs 7:13
  • 11. 1 Samuel 1:19, 20
  • 12. Genesis 29:31
  • 13. Isaiah 4:1; Luke 1:25
  • 14. Genesis 35:17

Footnotes 13

  • [a]. Lit "Rachel"
  • [b]. Lit "from her I too may be built"
  • [c]. Lit "judged"
  • [d]. I.e. He judged
  • [e]. Lit "wrestlings of God"
  • [f]. Heb "niphtal," related to Naphtali
  • [g]. Lit "With fortune!" Some versions read "Fortune has come"
  • [h]. I.e. Fortune
  • [i]. Lit "With my happiness!"
  • [j]. I.e. happy
  • [k]. Heb "sachar," related to Issachar
  • [l]. Heb "zabal," related to Zebulun. Some translate "will honor"
  • [m]. Lit "add to me;" Heb "Joseph"
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