BIRTH OF JACOB’S SONS

When we come to this chapter, we see that God is moving in spite of Jacob’s sin. God is not moving because of it, but in spite of it. The theme of the chapter is the family of Jacob and the birth of his sons.

Genesis 30:1-24 KJV

[1] And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

[2] And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

[3] And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

[4] And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

[5] And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

[6] And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

[7] And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

[8] And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

[9] When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

[10] And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

[11] And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

[12] And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

[13] And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

[14] And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

[15] And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

[16] And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

[17] And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

[18] And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

[19] And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

[20] And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

[21] And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

[22] And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

[23] And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

[24] And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

Genesis 30:1 KJV

And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

  • The maternal relation confers a high degree of honor in the East, and the want of that status is felt as a stigma and deplored as a grievous calamity.
  • Give me children, or else I die — either be reckoned as good as dead, or pine away from vexation.
  • The intense anxiety of Hebrew women for children arose from the hope of giving birth to the promised seed.
  • Rachel‘s conduct was sinful and contrasts unfavorably with that of Rebekah (compare Genesis 25:22) and of Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11).

Genesis 30:2 KJV

And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

 

 

 

Genesis 30:3 KJV

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

  • Bear upon my knees Thought to be an idiom. Perhaps the idea was that such a position would be closer to the adoptive mother receiving the child.

Genesis 30:4 KJV

And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:5 KJV

And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:6 KJV

And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

  • Following the example of Sarah with regard to Hagar, an example which is not seldom imitated still, she adopted the children of her maid.

Genesis 30:7 KJV

And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:8 KJV

And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

  • Naphtali Means “my wrestling.” Still nurturing envy.

Genesis 30:9 KJV

When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

  • Leah took the same course.
  • A bitter and intense rivalry existed between them, all the more from their close relationship as sisters; and although they occupied separate apartments, with their families, as is the uniform custom where a plurality of wives obtains, and the husband and father spends a day with each in regular succession, that did not allay their mutual jealousies.
  • The evil lies in the system, which being a violation of God‘s original ordinance, cannot yield happiness.

Genesis 30:10 KJV

And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:11 KJV

And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:12 KJV

And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:13 KJV

And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

  • Happy … blessed The desire of all women, especially those in the Hebrew culture.

Genesis 30:14 KJV

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

  • Mandrakes An herb still thought to promote desire and fertility.

Genesis 30:15 KJV

And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

  • Is it a small matter?
  • Rachel later leaned to trust God instead of this plant.

Genesis 30:16 KJV

And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:17 KJV

And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

  • God hearkened It was not the mandrakes. He gave attention to Rachel, too.

Genesis 30:18 KJV

And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

  • God hath given Life comes from God but Leah misunderstood. God did not condone her act of promoting adultery.
  • Hire Or “wages.”
  • Issachar “Recompense,” … born B. C. 1749.  The character of his posterity was foretold by Jacob and by Moses.

Genesis 30:19 KJV

And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

 

 

 

Genesis 30:20 KJV

And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

  • The birth of a son is hailed with demonstrations of joy, and the possession of several sons confers upon the mother an honor and respectability proportioned to their number.
  • The husband attaches a similar importance to the possession, and it forms a bond of union which renders it impossible for him ever to forsake or to be cold to a wife who has borne him sons.
  • This explains the happy anticipations Leah founded on the possession of her six sons.

Genesis 30:21 KJV

And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

  • Dinah “Mention is made, of  Dinah, because of the following story concerning her.
  • Perhaps Jacob had other daughters, though not registered.”

Genesis 30:22 KJV

And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

 

 

Genesis 30:23 KJV

And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

  • My reproach Barren women in the ancient orient were despised.

Genesis 30:24 KJV

And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

  • This is the boy who will go down into the land of Egypt.
  • We will follow him later in the book, as he is quite a remarkable person.
  • Later on Benjamin will be born to Rachel.
  • We will conclude this chapter by listing the twelve sons of Jacob because they are important.
  • The twelve tribes of Israel will come from them and finally the nation of Israel.

 

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