Genesis 30:4-14

4 And she gave to him Bilhah into matrimony; and when her husband had entered [in] to her,

5 she conceived, and childed a son.

6 And Rachel said, The Lord hath deemed to me (The Lord hath judged me), and hath heard my prayer, and gave a son to me; and therefore she called his name Dan.

7 And again Bilhah conceived, and childed another son,

8 for whom Rachel said, The Lord hath made me like my sister, and I [have] waxed strong; and she called him Naphtali.

9 (Then) Leah feeled that she ceased to bear child, and she gave Zilpah, her handmaid (her slave-girl), to her husband.

10 And when Zilpah, after conceiving, childed a son,

11 Leah said, Blessedly (I am most fortunate); and therefore she called his name Gad.

12 Also Zilpah childed another son,

13 and Leah said, This is for my bless(ing), for all women shall say me blessed (for all women shall say that I am blessed); therefore she called him Asher.

14 Forsooth Reuben went out into the field in the time of wheat harvest, and found (some) mandrakes, which he brought to Leah, his mother. And Rachel said, Give thou to me a part of the mandrakes of thy son.

Genesis 30:4-14 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.