Text -- Genesis 29:31--30:24 (NET)

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to become pregnant while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now.” 29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. 29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. 30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with her so that she can bear children for me and I can have a family through her.” 30:4 So Rachel gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer and given me a son.” That is why she named him Dan. 30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” So she named him Naphtali. 30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. 30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, for women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. 30:14 At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” Rachel said, “he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me because I have paid for your services with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” So she named him Issachar. 30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 30:22 Then God took note of Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 30:23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 30:24 She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Gen 29:31

That is, loved less than Rachel, in which sense it is required that we hate father and mother, in comparison with Christ, Luk 14:26, then the Lord granted her a child, which was a rebuke to Jacob for making so great a difference between those he was equally related to; a check to Rachel, who, perhaps insulted over her sister upon that account; and a comfort to Leah, that she might not be overwhelmed with the contempt put upon her.

Wesley: Gen 29:32

She appears very ambitious of her husband's love; she reckoned the want of it her affliction, not upbraiding him with it as his fault, nor reproaching him for it; but laying it to heart as her grief, which she had reason to bear, because she was consenting to the fraud by which she became his wife. She called her first-born Reuben, see a son, with this pleasant thought, Now will my husband love me. And her third son Levi, joined, with this expectation, Now will my husband be joined unto me. The Lord hath heard, that is, taken notice of it, that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son. Her fourth she called Judah, praise, saying, Now will I praise the Lord. And this was he, of whom, as concerning the flesh Christ came. Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. And all our praises must center in Christ, both as the matter of them, and as the Mediator of them. He descended from him whose name was praise, for he is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord.

Wesley: Gen 30:1

Envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more injurious both to God, our neighbour, and ourselves. But this was not all, she said to Jacob, give me children or else I die - A child would not content her; but because Leah has more than one, she must have more too; Give me children: her heart is set upon it. Give them me, else I die, That is, I shall fret myself to death. The want of this satisfaction will shorten my days. Observe a difference between Rachel's asking for this mercy, and Hannah's, 1Sa 1:10, &c. Rachel envied, Hannah wept: Rachel must have children, and she died of the second; Hannah prayed for this child, and she had four more: Rachel is importunate and peremptory, Hannah is submissive and devout, If thou wilt give me a child, I will give him to the Lord. Let Hannah be imitated, and not Rachel; and let our desires be always under the conduct and check of reason and religion.

Wesley: Gen 30:2

He was angry, not at the person, but at the sin: he expressed himself so as to shew his displeasure. It was a grave and pious reply which Jacob gave to Rachel, Am I in God's stead? - Can I give thee that which God denies thee? He acknowledges the hand of God in the affliction: He hath withheld the fruit of the womb. Whatever we want, it is God that with - holds it, as sovereign Lord, most wise, holy, and just, that may do what he will with his own, and is debtor to no man: that never did, nor ever can do, any wrong to any of his creatures. The key of the clouds, of the heart, of the grave, and of the womb, are four keys which God has in his hand, and which (the Rabbins say) he intrusts neither with angel nor seraphin. He also acknowledges his own inability to alter what God appointed, Am I in God's stead? What, dost thou make a God of me? There is no creature that is, or can be, to us in God's stead. God may be to us, instead of any creature, as the sun instead of the moon and stars; but the moon and all the stars will not be to us instead of the sun. No creature's wisdom, power, and love will be to us instead of God's. It is therefore our sin and folly to place that confidence in any creature, which is to be placed in God only.

Wesley: Gen 30:3

At the persuasion of Rachel he took Bilhah her handmaid to wife, that, according to the usage of those times, his children by her might be adopted and owned as her mistresses children. She would rather have children by reputation than none at all; children that she might call her own, though they were not so. And as an early instance of her dominion over the children born in her apartment, she takes a pleasure in giving them names, that carry in them nothing but marks of emulation with her sister. As if she had overcome her, At law, she calls the flrst son of her handmaid, Dan, Judgment, saying, God hath Judged me - That is, given sentence in my favour. In battle, she calls the next Naphtali, Wrestlings, saying, I have wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed - See what roots of bitterness envy and strife are, and what mischief they make among relations!

Wesley: Gen 30:9

Rachel had done that absurd and preposterous thing of putting her maid into her husband's bed, and now Leah (because she missed one year in bearing children) doth the same, to be even with her. See the power of rivalship, and admire the wisdom of the divine appointment, which joins together one man and one woman only. Two sons Zilpah bare to Jacob, whom Leah looked upon herself as intitled to, in token of which she called one Gad, promising herself a little troop of children. The other she called Asher, Happy, thinking herself happy in him, and promising herself that her neighbours would think so too.

Wesley: Gen 30:14

Reuben, a little lad of five or six years old, playing in the field, found mandrakes. It is uncertain what they were; the critics are not agreed about them: we are sure they were some rarities, either fruits or flowers that were very pleasant to the smell, Son 7:13. Some think these mandrakes were Jessamin flowers. Whatever they were, Rachel, could not see them in Leah's hands, but she must covet them.

Wesley: Gen 30:17

Perhaps the reason of this contest between Jacob's wives for his company, and their giving him their maids to be his wives, was the earnest desire they had to fulfil the promise made to Abraham (and now lately renewed to Jacob) that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and that, in one seed of his, the Messiah, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Two sons Leah was now blessed with; the flrst she called Issachar, a hire, reckoning herself well repaid for her mandrakes; nay, (which is a strange construction of the providence) rewarded for giving her maid to her husband. The other she called Zebulun, dwelling, owning God's bounty to her, God has endowed me with a good dowry. Jacob had not endowed her when he married her; but she reckons a family of children, a good dowry.

Wesley: Gen 30:21

Mention is made, of Dinah, because of the following story concerning her, Gen. 34:1-16, &c. Perhaps Jacob had other daughters, though not registered.

Wesley: Gen 30:22

God remembered Rachel, whom he seemed to have forgotten, and hearkened to her, whose prayers had been long denied, and then she bare a son. Rachael called her son Joseph, which, in Hebrew, is a - kin to two words of a contrary signification: Asaph, abstulit, he has taken away my reproach, as if the greatest mercy she had in this son were, that she had saved her credit: and Joseph, addidit, the Lord shall add to me another son: which may be looked upon as the language of her faith; she takes this mercy as an earnest of further mercy: hath God given me this grace? I may call it Joseph, and say, he shall add more grace.

JFB: Gen 29:31

That is, not loved so much as she ought to have been. Her becoming a mother ensured her rising in the estimation both of her husband and of society.

JFB: Gen 29:32-35

Names were also significant; and those which Leah gave to her sons were expressive of her varying feelings of thankfulness or joy, or allusive to circumstances in the history of the family. There was piety and wisdom in attaching a signification to names, as it tended to keep the bearer in remembrance of his duty and the claims of God.

JFB: Gen 30:1

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.

JFB: Gen 30:1

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 Gen 25:22) and of Hannah (1Sa 1:11).

JFB: Gen 30:3-9

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

JFB: Gen 30:20

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.

JFB: Gen 30:21

The inferior value set on a daughter is displayed in the bare announcement of the birth.

Clarke: Gen 29:31

The Lord saw that Leah was hated - From this and the preceding verse we get the genuine meaning of the word שנא sane , to hate, in certain disputed places in the Scriptures. The word simply signifies a less degree of love; so it is said, Gen 29:30 : "Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah,"i.e., he loved Leah less than Rachel; and this is called hating in Gen 29:31 : When the Lord saw that Leah was hated - that she had less affection shown to her than was her due, as one of the legitimate wives of Jacob, he opened her womb - he blessed her with children. Now the frequent intercourse of Jacob with Leah (see the following verses) sufficiently proves that he did not hate her in the sense in which this term is used among us; but he felt and showed less affection for her than for her sister. So Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated, simply means, I have shown a greater degree of affection for Jacob and his posterity than I have done for Esau and his descendants, by giving the former a better earthly portion than I have given to the latter, and by choosing the family of Jacob to be the progenitors of the Messiah. But not one word of all this relates to the eternal states of either of the two nations. Those who endeavor to support certain peculiarities of their creed by such scriptures as these, do greatly err, not knowing the Scripture, and not properly considering either the sovereignty or the mercy of God.

Clarke: Gen 29:32

She called his name Reuben - ראובן reuben , literally, see ye or behold a son; for Jehovah hath looked upon, ראה raah , beheld, my affliction; behold then the consequence, I have got a son!

Clarke: Gen 29:33

She called his name Simeon - שמעון shimon , hearing; i.e., God had blessed her with another son, because he had heard that she was hated - loved less than Rachel was.

Clarke: Gen 29:34

Therefore was his name called Levi - לוי levi , joined; because she supposed that, in consequence of all these children, Jacob would become joined to her in as strong affection, at least, as he was to Rachel. From Levi sprang the tribe of Levites, who instead of the first-born, were joined unto the priests in the service of the sanctuary. See Num 18:2, Num 18:4.

Clarke: Gen 29:35

She called his name Judah - יהודה yehudah , a confessor; one who acknowledges God, and acknowledges that all good comes from his hands, and gives him the praise due to his grace and mercy. From this patriarch the Jews have their name, and could it be now rightly applied to them, it would intimate that they were a people that confess God, acknowledge his bounty, and praise him for his grace

Clarke: Gen 29:35

Left bearing - That is, for a time; for she had several children afterwards. Literally translated, the original תעמד מלדת taamod milledeth - she stood still from bearing, certainly does not convey the same meaning as that in our translation; the one appearing to signify that she ceased entirely from having children; the other, that she only desisted for a time, which was probably occasioned by a temporary suspension of Jacob’ s company, who appears to have deserted the tent of Leah through the jealous management of Rachel

The intelligent and pious care of the original inhabitants of the world to call their children by those names which were descriptive of some remarkable event in providence, circumstance of their birth, or domestic occurrence, is worthy, not only of respect, but of imitation. As the name itself continually called to the mind, both of the parents and the child, the circumstance from which it originated, it could not fail to be a lasting blessing to both. How widely different is our custom! Unthinking and ungodly, we impose names upon our offspring as we do upon our cattle; and often the dog, the horse, the monkey, and the parrot, share in common with our children the names which are called Christian! Some of our Christian names, so called, are absurd, others are ridiculous, and a third class impious; these last being taken from the demon gods and goddesses of heathenism. May we hope that the rational and pious custom recommended in the Scriptures shall ever be restored, even among those who profess to believe in, fear, and love God!

Clarke: Gen 30:1

Give me children, or else I die - This is a most reprehensible speech, and argues not only envy and jealousy, but also a total want of dependence on God. She had the greatest share of her husband’ s affection, and yet was not satisfied unless she could engross all the privileges which her sister enjoyed! How true are those sayings, Envy is as rottenness of the bones! and, Jealousy is as cruel as the grave!

Clarke: Gen 30:2

Amos I in God’ s stead - Amos I greater than God, to give thee what he has refused?

Clarke: Gen 30:3

She shall bear upon my knees - The handmaid was the sole property of the mistress, as has already been remarked in the case of Hagar; and therefore not only all her labor, but even the children borne by her, were the property of the mistress. These female slaves, therefore, bore children vicariously for their mistresses; and this appears to be the import of the term, she shall bear upon my knees

Clarke: Gen 30:3

That I may also have children by her - ואבנה ממנה veibbaneh mimmennah , and I shall be built up by her. Hence בן ben , a son or child, from בנה banah , to build; because, as a house is formed of the stones, etc., that enter into its composition, so is a family by children.

Clarke: Gen 30:6

Called she his name Dan - Because she found God had judged for her, and decided she should have a son by her handmaid; hence she called his name דן dan , judging.

Clarke: Gen 30:8

She called his name Naphtali - נפתלי naphtali , my wrestling, according to the common mode of interpretation; but it is more likely that the root פתל pathal signifies to twist or entwine. Hence Mr. Parkhurst translates the verse, "By the twistings - agency or operation, of God, I am entwisted with my sister; that is, my family is now entwined or interwoven with my sister’ s family, and has a chance of producing the promised Seed."The Septuagint, Aquila, and the Vulgate, have nearly the same meaning. It is, however, difficult to fix the true meaning of the original.

Clarke: Gen 30:11

She called his name Gad - This has been variously translated. גד gad , may signify a troop, an army, a soldier, a false god, supposed to be the same as Jupiter or Mars; for as Laban appears to have been, if not an idolater, yet a dealer in a sort of judicial astrology, (see Gen 31:19), Leah, in saying בגד bagad , which we translate a troop cometh, might mean, By or with the assistance of Gad - a particular planet or star, Jupiter possibly, I have gotten this son; therefore she called him after the name of that planet or star from which she supposed the succor came. See note on Gen 31:19. The Septuagint translate it εν τυχη, with good fortune; the Vulgate, feliciter , happily; but in all this diversity our own translation may appear as probable as any, if not the genuine one, בא גד ba gad , for the keri, or marginal reading, has it in two words, a troop cometh; whereas the textual reading has it only in one, בגד bagad , with a troop. In the Bible published by Becke, 1549, the word is translated as an exclamation, Good luck!

Clarke: Gen 30:13

And Leah said, Happy am I - באשרי beoshri , in my happiness, therefore she called his name אשר asher , that is, blessedness or happiness.

Clarke: Gen 30:14

Reuben - found mandrakes - דודאים dudaim . What these were is utterly unknown, and learned men have wasted much time and pains in endeavoring to guess out a probable meaning. Some translate the word lilies, others jessamine, others citrons, others mushrooms, others figs, and some think the word means flowers, or fine flowers in general. Hasselquist, the intimate friend and pupil of Linne, who traveled into the Holy Land to make discoveries in natural history, imagines that the plant commonly called mandrake is intended; speaking of Nazareth in Galilee he says: "What I found most remarkable at this village was a great number of mandrakes which grew in a vale below it. I had not the pleasure to see this plant in blossom, the fruit now (May 5th, O. S). hanging ripe to the stem, which lay withered on the ground. From the season in which this mandrake blossoms and ripens fruit, one might form a conjecture that it was Rachel’ s dudaim. These were brought her in the wheat harvest, which in Galilee is in the month of May, about this time, and the mandrake was now in fruit."Both among the Greeks and Orientals this plant was held in high repute, as being of a prolific virtue, and helping conception; and from it philtres were made, and this is favored by the meaning of the original, loves, i.e., incentives to matrimonial connections: and it was probably on this account that Rachel desired them. The whole account however is very obscure.

Clarke: Gen 30:15

Thou hast taken my husband - It appears probable that Rachel had found means to engross the whole of Jacob’ s affection and company, and that she now agreed to let him visit the tent of Leah, on account of receiving some of the fruits or plants which Reuben had found.

Clarke: Gen 30:16

I have hired thee - We may remark among the Jewish women an intense desire of having children; and it seems to have been produced, not from any peculiar affection for children, but through the hope of having a share in the blessing of Abraham, by bringing forth Him in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed.

Clarke: Gen 30:18

God hath given me my hire - שכרי sechari . And she called his name Issachar, יששכר, This word is compounded of יש yesh , Is, and שכר sachar , Wages, from שכר sachar , to content, satisfy, saturate; hence a satisfaction or compensation for work done, etc.

Clarke: Gen 30:20

Now will my husband dwell with me - יזבלני yizbeleni ; and she called his name Zebulun, זבל a dwelling or cohabitation, as she now expected that Jacob would dwell with her, as he had before dwelt with Rachel.

Clarke: Gen 30:21

And called her name Dinah - דינה dinah , judgment. As Rachel had called her son by Bilhah Dan, Gen 30:6, so Leah calls her daughter Dinah, God having judged and determined for her, as well as for her sister in the preceding instance.

Clarke: Gen 30:22

And God hearkened to her - After the severe reproof which Rachel had received from her husband, Gen 30:2, it appears that she sought God by prayer, and that he heard her; so that her prayer and faith obtained what her impatience and unbelief had prevented.

Clarke: Gen 30:24

She called his name Joseph - יוסף Yoseph , adding, or he who adds; thereby prophetically declaring that God would add unto her another son, which was accomplished in the birth of Benjamin, Gen 35:18.

Calvin: Gen 29:31

31.And when the Lord saw. Moses here shows that Jacob’s extravagant love was corrected by the Lord; as the affections of the faithful, when they become inordinate, are wont to be tamed by the rod. Rachel is loved, not without wrong to her sister, to whom due honor is not given. The Lord, therefore, interposes as her vindicator, and, by a suitable remedy, turns the mind of Jacob into that direction, to which it had been most averse. This passage teaches us, that offspring is a special gift of God; since the power of rendering one fertile, and of cursing the womb of the other with barrenness, is expressly ascribed to him. We must observe further, that the bringing forth of offspring tends to conciliate husbands to their wives. Whence also the ancients have called children by the name of pledges; because they avail, in no slight degree, to increase and to cherish mutual love. When Moses asserts that Leah was hated, his meaning is, that she was not loved so much as she ought to have been. For she was not intolerable to Jacob, neither did he pursue her with hatred; but Moses, by the use of this word, amplifies his fault, in not having discharged the duty of a husband, and in not having treated her who was his first wife with adequate kindness and honor. It is of importance carefully to notice this, because many think they fulfill their duty if they do not break out into mortal hatred. But we see that the Holy Spirit pronounces those as hated who are not sufficiently loved; and we know, that men were created for this end, that they should love one another. Therefore, none will be counted guiltless of the crime of hatred before God, but he who embraces his neighbors with love. For not only will a secret displeasure be accounted as hatred, but even that neglect of brethren, and that cold charity which ever reigns in the world. But in proportion as any one is more closely connected with another, must be the endeavor to adhere to each other in a more sacred bond of affection. Moreover, with respect to married persons, though they may not openly disagree, yet if they are cold in their affection towards each other, this disgust is not far removed from hatred.

Calvin: Gen 29:32

32.She called his name Reuben. Moses relates that Leah was not ungrateful to God. And truly, I do not doubt, that the benefits of God were then commonly more appreciated than they are now. For a profane stupor so occupies the mind of nearly all men, that, like cattle, they swallow up whatever benefits God, in his kindness, bestows upon them. Further, Leah not only acknowledges God as the author of her fruitfulness; but also assigns as a reason, that her affliction had been looked upon by the Lord, and a son had been given her who should draw the affection of her husband to herself. Whence it appears probable, that when she saw herself despised, she had recourse to prayer, in order that she might receive more succor from heaven. For thanksgiving is a proof that persons have previously exercised themselves in prayer; since they who hope for nothing from God do, by their indolence, bury in oblivion all the favors he has conferred upon them. Therefore, Leah inscribed on the person of her son ⁷⁰ a memorial whereby she might stir herself up to offer praise to God. This passage also teaches, that they who are unjustly despised by men are regarded by the Lord. Hence it affords a singularly profitable consolation to the faithful; who, as experience shows, are for the most part despised in the world. Whenever, therefore, they are treated harshly and contumeliously by men, let them take refuge in this thought, that God will be the more propitious to them. Leah followed the same course in reference to her second son; for she gave him a name which is derived from “hearing,” ⁷¹ to recall to her memory that her sighs had been heard by the Lord. Whence we conjecture (as I have just before said) that when affliction was pressing upon her, she cast her griefs into the bosom of God. Her third son she names from “joining;” ⁷² as if she would say, now a new link is interposed, so that she should be more loved by her husband. In her fourth son, she again declares her piety towards God, for she gives to him the name of “praise,” ⁷³ as having been granted to her by the special kindness of God. She had, indeed, previously given thanks to the Lord; but whereas more abundant material for praise is supplied, she acknowledges not once only, nor by one single method, but frequently, that she has been assisted by the favor of God.

Calvin: Gen 30:1

1.And when Rachel saw. Here Moses begins to relate that Jacob was distracted with domestic strifes. But although the Lord was punishing him, because he had been guilty of no light sin in marrying two wives, and especially sisters; yet the chastisement was paternal; and God himself, seeing that he is wont mercifully to pardon his own people, restrained in some degree his hand. Whence also it happened, that Jacob did not immediately repent, but added new offenses to the former. But first we must speak of Rachel. Whereas she rejoiced to see her sister subjected to contempt and grief, the Lord represses this sinful joy, by giving his blessing to Leah, in order to make the condition of both of them equal. She hears the grateful acknowledgment of her sister, and learns from the names given to the four sons, that God had pitied, and had sustained by his favor, her who had been unjustly despised by man. Nevertheless envy inflames her, and will not suffer anything of the dignity becoming a wife to appear in her. We see what ambition can do. For Rachel, in seeking preeminence, does not spare even her own sister; and scarcely refrains from venting her anger against God, for having honored that sister with the gift of fruitfulness. Her emulation did not proceed from any injuries that she had received, but because she could not bear to have a partner and an equal, though she herself was really the younger. What would she have done had she been provoked, seeing that she envies her sister who was contented with her lot? Now Moses, by exhibiting this evil in Rachel, would teach us that it is inherent in all; in order that each of us, tearing it up by the roots, may vigilantly purify himself from it. That we may be cured of envy, it behaves us to put away pride and selflove; as Paul prescribes this single remedy against contentions

“Let nothing be done through vainglory.” (Phi 2:3.)

Calvin: Gen 30:2

2.And Jacob’s anger was kindled. The tenderness of Jacob’s affection rendered him unwilling to offend his wife; yet her unworthy conduct compelled him to do so, when he saw her petulantly exalt herself, not only against her sister, who piously, homily, and thankfully was enjoying the gifts of God; but even against God himself, of whom it is said that the fruit of the womb is his reward. (Psa 127:3.) On this account, therefore, Jacob is angry, because his wife ascribes nothing to the providence of God, and, by imagining that children are the offspring of chance, would deprive God of the care and government of mankind. It is probable that Jacob had been already sorrowful on account of his wife’s barrenness. He now, therefore, fears lest her folly should still farther provoke God’s anger to inflict more severe strokes. This was a holy indignation, by which Jacob maintained the honor due to God, while he corrected his wife, and taught her that it was not without sufficient cause that she had been hitherto barren. For when he affirms that the Lord had shut her womb, he obliquely intimates that she ought the more deeply to humble herself.

Calvin: Gen 30:3

3.Behold my maid Bilhah. Here the vanity of the female disposition appears. For Rachel is not induced to flee unto the Lord, but strives to gain a triumph by illicit arts. Therefore she hurries Jacob into a third marriage. Whence we infer, that there is no end of sinning, when once the Divine institution is treated with neglect. And this is what I have said, that Jacob was not immediately brought back to a right state of mind by Divine chastisements. He acts, indeed, in this instance, at the instigation of his wife: but is his wife in the place of God, from whom alone the law of marriage proceeds? But to please his wife, or to yield to her importunity, he does not scruple to depart from the command of God. To bear upon the knees, is nothing more than to commit the child when born to another to be brought up. Bilhah was a maidservant; and therefore did not bear for herself but for her mistress, who, claiming the child as her own, thus procured the honor of a mother. Therefore it is added, in the way of explanation, I shall have children, or I shall be built up by her. For the word which Moses here uses, is derived from בן ( ben,) a son: because children are as the support and stay of a house. But Rachel acted sinfully, because she attempted, by an unlawful method, and in opposition to the will of God, to become a mother.

Calvin: Gen 30:5

5.And Bilhah conceived. It is wonderful that God should have deigned to honor an adulterous connection with offspring: but he does sometimes thus strive to overcome by kindness the wickedness of men, and pursues the unworthy with his favor. Moreover, he does not always make the punishment equal to the offenses of his people, nor does he always rouse them, alike quickly, from their torpor, but waits for the matured season of correction. Therefore it was his will that they who were born from this faulty connection, should yet be reckoned among the legitimate children; just as Moses shortly before called Bilhah a wife, who yet might more properly have been called a harlot. And the common rule does not hold, that what had no force from the beginning can never acquire validity by succession of time; for although the compact, into which the husband and wife sinfully entered against the Divine command and the sacred order of nature, was void; it came to pass nevertheless, by special privilege, that the conjunction, which in itself was adulterous, obtained the honor of wedlock. At length Rachel begins to ascribe to God what is his own; but this confession of hers is so mixed up with ambition, that it breathes nothing of sincerity or rectitude. She pompously announces, that her cause has been undertaken by the Lord. As if truly, she had been so injured by her sister, that she deserved to be raised by the favor of God; and as if she had not attempted to deprive herself of his help. We see, then, that under the pretext of praising God, she rather does him wrong, by rendering him subservient to her desires. Add to this, that she imitates hypocrites, who, while in adversity, rush against God with closed eyes; vet when more prosperous fortune favors them, indulge in vain boastings, as if God smiled upon all their deeds and sayings. Rachel, therefore, does not so much celebrate the goodness of God, as she applauds herself Wherefore let the faithful, instructed by her example, abstain from polluting the sacred name of God by hypocrisy.

Calvin: Gen 30:8

8.With great wrestlings ⁷⁴ Others translate it, “I am joined with the joinings of God;” ⁷⁵ as if she exulted in having recovered what she had lost; or, certainly, in having obtained an equal degree of honor with her sister. Others render it, I am doubled with the duplications of God. But both derive the noun and the verb from the root פתל ( patal,) which signifies a twisted thread. The former of these senses comes to this; that since Rachel has attained a condition equal to that of her sister, there is no reason why her sister should claim any superiority over her. But the latter sense expresses more confident boasting, since she proclaims herself a conqueror, and doubly superior. But a more simple meaning is (in my opinion) adduced by others, namely, that she “wrestled with divine or excellent wrestlings.” For the Hebrews indicate all excellence by adding the name of God; because the more excellent anything is, the more does the glory of God shine in it. But perverse is that boasting with which she glories over her sister, when she ought rather suppliantly to have implored forgiveness. In Rachel the pride of the human mind is depicted; because they whom God has endowed with his benefits, for the most part are so elated, that they rage contumeliously against their neighbors. Besides, she foolishly prefers herself to her sister in fruitfulness, in which she is still manifestly inferior. But they who are puffed up with pride have also the habit of malignantly depreciating those gifts which the Lord has bestowed on others, in comparison with their own smaller gifts. Perhaps, also, she expected a numerous progeny, as if God were under obligation to her. She did not, as pious persons are wont to do, conceive hope from benefits received; but, by a confident presumption of the flesh, made herself sure of everything she wished. Hitherto, then, she gave no sign of pious modesty. Whence is this, but because her temporary barrenness had not yet thoroughly subdued her? Therefore we ought the more to beware, lest if God relaxes our punishments, we, being inflated by his kindness, should perish.

Calvin: Gen 30:9

9.When Leah saw that she had left bearing Moses returns to Leah, who, not content with four sons, devised a method whereby she might always retain her superior rank: and therefore she also, in turn, substitutes her maid in her place. And truly Rachel deserved such a reward of her perverse design; since she, desiring to snatch the palm from her sister, does not consider that the same contrivance to which she had resorted, might speedily be employed against herself. Yet Leah sins still more grievously, by using wicked and unjust arts in the contest. Within a short period, she had experienced the wonderful blessing of God; and now, because she ceased from bearing, for a little while, she despairs concerning the future, as if she had never participated in the Divine favor. What, if her desire was strong; why did she not resort to the fountain of blessing? In obtruding, therefore, her maid, she gave proof not only of impatience, but also of distrust; because with the remembrance of Divine mercy, faith also is extinguished in her heart. And we know that all who rely upon the Lord are so tranquil and sedate in their mind, that they patiently wait for what he is about to give. And it is the just punishment of unbelief when any one stumbles through excessive haste. So much the more ought we to beware of the assaults of the flesh, if we desire to maintain a right course.

As to the name Gad, this passage is variously expounded by commentators. In this point they agree, that בגד ( bagad) means the same as if Leah had said “the time of bearing is come.” ⁷⁶ But some suppose גד ( Gad,) to be the prosperous star of Jupiter; others, Mercury; others, good fortune. They adduce Isa 65:11, where it is written, “they offer a libation to Gad.” ⁷⁷ But the context of the Prophet shows that this ought rather to be understood of the host of heaven, or of the number of false gods; because it immediately follows that they offer sacrifices to the stars, and furnish tables for a multitude of gods: the punishment is then added, that as they had fabricated an immense number of deities, so God will “number” them “to the sword.” As it respects the present passage, nothing is less probable than that Leah should extol the planet Jupiter instead of God, seeing that she, at least, maintained the principle that the propagation of the human race flows from God alone. I wonder also that interpreters understand this of prosperous fortune, when Moses afterwards, Gen 49:19, leads us to an opposite meaning. For the allusion he there makes would be inappropriate, “Gad, a troop shall overcome him,” etc., unless it had been the design of Leah to congratulate herself on the troop of her children. For since she had so far surpassed her sister, ⁷⁸ she declares that she has children in great abundance. When she proclaims herself happy ⁷⁹ in her sixth son, it again appears in what great esteem fecundity was then held. And certainly it is a great honor, when God confers on mortals the sacred title of parents, and through them propagates the human race formed after his own image.

Calvin: Gen 30:14

14.And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest. This narration of the fact that a boy brought home I know not what kind of fruit out of the fields, and presented it to his mother, by which she purchased of her sister one nigh with her husband, has the appearance of being light and puerile. Yet it contains a useful instruction. For we know how foolishly the Jews glory in extolling the origin of their own nation: for they scarcely deign to acknowledge that they leave sprung from Adam and Noah, with the rest of mankind. And certainly they do excel in the dignity of their ancestors, as Paul testifies, (Rom 9:5,) but they do not acknowledge this as coming from God. Wherefore the Spirit purposely aimed at beating down this arrogance, when he described their race as sprung from a beginning, so mean and abject. For he does not here erect a splendid stage on which they may exhibit themselves; but he humbles them and exalts the grace of God, seeing that he had brought forth his Church out of nothing. Respecting the kind of fruit mentioned, I leave nothing certain to adduce. ⁸⁰ That it was fragrant is gathered from Son 7:13 ⁸¹ And whereas all translate it mandrakes, I do not contend on that point.

Calvin: Gen 30:15

15.Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? Moses leaves more for his readers to reflect upon than he expresses in words; namely, that Jacob’s house had been filled with contentions and strifes. For Leah speaks haughtily, because her mind had been long so exasperated that she could not address herself mildly and courteously to her sister: Perhaps the sisters were not thus contentious by nature; but God suffered them to contend with each other, that the punishment of polygamy might be exhibited to posterity. And it is not to be doubted that this domestic private quarrel, yea, hostile dissension, brought great grief and torment to the holy man. But the reason why he found himself thus distracted by opposite parties was, that against all right, he had broken the unity of the conjugal bond.

Calvin: Gen 30:17

17.And God hearkened unto Leah. Moses expressly declares this, in order that we may know how indulgently God dealt with that family. For who would have thought, that, while Leah was hatefully denying to her sister the fruits gathered by her boy, and was purchasing, by the price of those fruits, a night with her husband, there would be any place for prayers? Moses, therefore, teaches us, that pardon was granted for these faults, to prove that the Lord would not fail to complete his work notwithstanding such great infirmity. But Leah ignorantly boasts that her son was given to her as a reward of her sin; for she had violatedthe fidelity of holy wedlock, when she introduced a fresh concubine to oppose her sister. Truly, she is so far from the confession of her fault, that she proclaims her own merit. I grant there was some excuse for her conduct; for she intimates that she was not so much excited by lust, as by modest love, because she desired to increase her family and to fulfill the duty of an honorable mother of a family. But though this pretext is specious in the eyes of men, yet the profanation of holy marriage cannot be pleasing to God. She errs, therefore, in taking what was no cause for the cause. And this is the more to be observed; because it is a fault which too much prevails in the world, for men to reckon the free gifts of God as their own reward; yea, even to boast of their deserts, when they are condemned by the word of God. In her sixth son, she more purely and rightly estimates the divine goodness, when she gives thanks to God, that, by his kindness, her husband would hereafter be more closely united to her, (verse 20). For although he had lived with her before, yet, being too much attached to Rachel, he was almost entirely alienated from Leah. It has before been said, that children born in lawful wedlock are bonds to unite the minds of their parents.

Calvin: Gen 30:21

21.And afterward she bare a daughter. It is not known whether Jacob had any other daughter; for it is not uncommon in Scripture, when genealogies are recorded, to omit the women, since they do not bear their own name, but lie concealed under the shadow of their husbands. Meanwhile, if anything worthy of commemoration occurs to any women, especial mention is then made of them. This was the case with Dinah, on account of the violence done to her; of which more will be said hereafter. But whereas the sons of Jacob subsequently regarded it as an indignity that their sister should marry one of another nation; and as Moses records nothing of any other daughters, either as being settled in the land of Canaan, or married in Egypt, it is probable that Dinah was the only one born to him.

Calvin: Gen 30:22

22.And God remembered Rachel. Since with God nothing is either before or after, but all things are present, he is subject to no forgetfulness, so that, in the lapse of time, he should need to be reminded of what is past. But the Scripture describes the presence and memory of God from the effect produced upon ourselves, because we conceive him to be such as he appears to be by his acts. Moreover, whether Rachel’s child was born the last of all, cannot with certainty be gathered from the words of Moses. They who, in this place, affirm that the figure hysteron proteron, which puts the last first, is used, are moved by the consideration, that if Joseph had been born after the last of his brethren, the age which Moses records in Gen 41:46, would not accord with the fact. But they are deceived in this, that they reckon the nuptials of Rachel from the end of the second seven years; whereas it is certainly proved from the context, that although Jacob agreed to give his service for Rachel, yet he obtained her immediately; because from the beginning, the strife between the two sisters broke forth. Moses clearly intimates, in this place, that the blessing of God was bestowed late, when Rachel had despaired of issue, and had long been subject to reproach because of her barrenness. On account of this prosperous omen she gave the name Joseph ⁸² to her son, deriving the hope of two sons from the prospect of one ⁸³

Defender: Gen 29:31

The word is better rendered "slighted." Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah (Gen 29:30), but he loved Leah, also."

Defender: Gen 29:35

The Lord in grace not only gave Leah (the "slighted" wife - not "hated," as wrongly rendered in Gen 29:31) more sons than Rachel, but one of these was Judah who was destined to produce the kingly tribe - including David and, eventually, Christ. It is thus significant that this is the first occurrence of the word here translated "praise," and more commonly rendered "give thanks.""

Defender: Gen 30:3

In accordance with the customs of the time, which allowed both polygamy and concubinage, Laban had provided maids for his daughters as insurance that they would not be childless. Any children borne by Leah's and Rachel's personal maids would legally be recognized as theirs. Even though this kind of arrangement was legal, it was not in accord with God's original plan for the marriage relation. The Bible tells of many polygamous marriages which God allowed, but of none which were happy marriages."

Defender: Gen 30:14

A mandrake is a small berrylike fruit, prized in ancient times as an aphrodisiac and inducer of fertility. Rachel did eventually have two sons, but it was not because of the mandrakes."

TSK: Gen 29:31

saw : Exo 3:7

was hated : Gen 29:30, Gen 27:41; Deu 21:15; Mal 1:3; Mat 6:24, Mat 10:37; Luk 14:26; Joh 12:25

he opened : Gen 16:1, Gen 20:18, Gen 21:1, Gen 21:2, Gen 25:21, Gen 30:1, Gen 30:2, Gen 30:22; Jdg 13:2, Jdg 13:3; 1Sa 1:5, 1Sa 1:20, 1Sa 1:27; 1Sa 2:21; Psa 127:3; Luk 1:7

TSK: Gen 29:32

am 2252, bc 1752

his name : Gen 35:22, Gen 37:21, Gen 37:22, Gen 37:29, Gen 42:22, Gen 42:27, Gen 46:8, Gen 46:9, Gen 49:3, Gen 49:4; 1Ch 5:1

Reuben : that is, see a son

looked : Exo 3:7, Exo 4:31; Deu 26:7; 1Sa 1:11, 1Sa 1:20; 2Sa 16:12; Psa 25:18, Psa 106:44; Luk 1:25

TSK: Gen 29:33

am 2253, bc 1751

Because : Gen 30:6, Gen 30:8, Gen 30:18, Gen 30:20

called : Gen 34:25, Gen 34:30, Gen 35:23, Gen 42:24, Gen 49:5, Gen 49:6

Simeon : that is, Hearing

TSK: Gen 29:34

am 2254, bc 1750

was : Gen 34:25, Gen 35:23, Gen 46:11, Gen 49:5-7; Exo 2:1, Exo 32:26-29; Deu 33:8-10

Levi : that is, joined, Num 18:2-4

TSK: Gen 29:35

am 2255, bc 1749

called : Gen 35:26, 38:1-30, Gen 43:8, Gen 43:9, 44:18-34, Gen 46:12, Gen 49:8-12; Deu 33:7; 1Ch 5:2; Mat 1:2

Judah : that is, Praise

left bearing : Heb. stood from bearing, Gen 49:8; That is, for a time; for she had several children afterwards. (See note on Gen 30:17 and following.)

TSK: Gen 30:1

when Rachel : Gen 29:31

Rachel envied : Envy and jealousy are most tormenting passions to the breast which harbours them, vexatious to all around, and introductory to much impatience and ungodliness. ""Who is able to stand before envy?""Gen 37:11; 1Sa 1:4-8; Psa 106:16; Pro 14:30; Ecc 4:4; 1Co 3:3; Gal 5:21; Tit 3:3; Jam 3:14, Jam 4:5

or else I die : Gen 35:16-19, Gen 37:11; Num 11:15, Num 11:29; 1Ki 19:4; Job 3:1-3, Job 3:11, Job 3:20-22, Job 5:2; Job 13:19; Jer 20:14-18; Joh 4:3, Joh 4:8; 2Co 7:10

TSK: Gen 30:2

anger : Gen 31:36; Exo 32:19; Mat 5:22; Mar 3:5; Eph 4:26

Am I : Gen 16:2, Gen 25:21, Gen 50:19; 1Sa 1:5, 1Sa 2:5, 1Sa 2:6; 2Ki 5:7

withheld : Deu 7:13, Deu 7:14; Psa 113:9, Psa 127:3; Luk 1:42

TSK: Gen 30:3

Behold : Gen 30:9, Gen 16:2, Gen 16:3

she shall : Gen 50:23; Job 3:12

have children by her : Heb. be built up by her, Gen 16:2 *marg. Rth 4:11

TSK: Gen 30:4

to wife : Gen 16:3, Gen 21:10, Gen 22:24, Gen 25:1, Gen 25:6, Gen 33:2, Gen 35:22; 2Sa 12:11

TSK: Gen 30:6

am 2256, bc 1748

God : Gen 29:32-35; Psa 35:24, Psa 43:1; Lam 3:59

Dan : that is, Judging, Gen 35:25, Gen 46:23, Gen 49:16, Gen 49:17; Deu 33:22; Jer 13:2, Jer 13:24, Jer 15:14-20

TSK: Gen 30:7

am 2257, bc 1747, Gen 30:7

TSK: Gen 30:8

great wrestlings : Heb. wrestlings of God, Gen 23:6, Gen 32:24; Exo 9:28; 1Sa 14:15 *marg.

and she : Gen 35:25, Gen 46:24, Gen 49:21; Deu 33:23

Naphtali : that is, My wrestling, Gen 32:24, Gen 32:25; Mat 4:13, Nephthalim

TSK: Gen 30:9

am 2256, bc 1748

left : Gen 30:17, Gen 29:35

gave her : Gen 30:4, Gen 16:3

TSK: Gen 30:11

she : Gen 35:26, Gen 46:16, Gen 49:19; Deu 33:20, Deu 33:21

Gad : that is, A troop, or company, Isa 65:11

TSK: Gen 30:13

am 2257, bc 1747

Happy am I : Heb. In my happiness, will call. Pro 31:28; Son 6:9; Luk 1:48

and she : Gen 35:26, Gen 46:17, Gen 49:20; Deu 33:24, Deu 33:25

Asher : that is, Happy

TSK: Gen 30:14

am 2256, bc 1748

mandrakes : The mandrake may be the Hebrew dudaim . It is so rendered by all the ancient versions, and is a species of melon, of an agreeable odour. Hasselquist, speaking of Nazareth in Galilee, says, ""What I found most remarkable at this village was the great number of mandrakes which grew in a vale below it. I had not the pleasure of seeing this plant in blossom, the fruit now (May 5th, O. S.) hanging ripe on the stem, which lay withered on the ground. From the season in which this mandrake blossoms and ripens fruit, one might form a conjecture that it was Rachel’ s dudaim . These were brought her in the wheat harvest, which in Galilee is in the month of May, about this time, and the mandrake was now in fruit.""The Abbee Mariti describes it as growing ""low like a lettuce, to which its leaves have a great resemblance, except that they have a dark green colour. The flowers are purple, and the root is for the most part forked. The fruit, when ripe in the beginning of May, is of the size and colour of a small apple, exceedingly ruddy, and of a most agreeable odour. Our guide thought us fools for suspecting it to be unwholesome.""Son 7:13

Give me : Gen 25:30

TSK: Gen 30:15

Num 16:9, Num 16:10, Num 16:13; Isa 7:13; Eze 16:47; 1Co 4:3

TSK: Gen 30:17

am 2257, bc 1747, Gen 30:6, Gen 30:22; Exo 3:7; 1Sa 1:20, 1Sa 1:26, 1Sa 1:27; Luk 1:13

TSK: Gen 30:18

and she : Gen 35:23, Gen 46:13, Gen 49:14, Gen 49:15; Deu 33:18; 1Ch 12:32

Issachar : that is, An hire

TSK: Gen 30:20

am cir, 2258, bc cir, 1746

now will : Gen 30:15, Gen 29:34

and she : Gen 35:23, Gen 46:14, Gen 49:13; Jdg 4:10, Jdg 5:14; Psa 68:27

Zebulun : that is, Dwelling, Mat 4:13, Zabulon

TSK: Gen 30:21

am cir, 2259, bc 1745

and called : Gen 34:1-3, Gen 34:26, Gen 46:15

Dinah : that is, Judgment

TSK: Gen 30:22

remembered : Gen 8:1, Gen 21:1, Gen 29:31; 1Sa 1:19, 1Sa 1:20; Psa 105:42

opened : Gen 30:2, Gen 21:1, Gen 21:2, Gen 25:21, Gen 29:31; Psa 113:9, Psa 127:3

TSK: Gen 30:23

""Be fruitful and multiply,""was the blessing of God: barrenness therefore was reckoned a reproach The intense desire of having children, observable among the Jewish women, arose not only from this reproach of barrenness, but from the hope of being the mother of the promised seed, and Him in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed.

Gen 29:31; 1Sa 1:5, 1Sa 1:6; Isa 4:1; Luk 1:21, Luk 1:25, Luk 1:27

TSK: Gen 30:24

And she : Gen 35:24, Gen 37:2, Gen 37:4, 39:1-23, Gen 42:6, 48:1-22, Gen 49:22-26; Deu 33:13-17; Eze 37:16; Act 7:9-15; Heb 11:21, Heb 11:22; Rev 7:8

Joseph : that is, Adding, Gen 35:17, Gen 35:18

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Gen 29:1-35

- Jacob’ s Marriage

6. רחל rāchēl , Rachel, "a ewe."

16. לאה lê'âh , Leah, "wearied."

24. זלפה zı̂lpâh , Zilpah, "drop?"

29. בלהה bı̂lhâh , Bilhah, "timidity."

32. ראוּבן re'uvbēn , Reuben, "behold a son."A paronomasia in allusion to the phrase בעניי ראה be‛ānyı̂y rā'âh . Derivatives and compounds, being formed by the common speaker, are sometimes founded upon resemblance in sound, and not always on precise forms of the original sentence which prompted them.

33. שׁמעין shı̂m‛ôn , Shim‘ on, "hearing, answer."

34. לוי lêvı̂y , Levi, "junction, union."

35. יחוּדה yehûdâh , Jehudah, "praised."

In this chapter and the following, Jacob grows from a solitary fugitive with a staff in his hand Gen 32:10 to be the father of a large family and the owner of great wealth. He proves himself to be a man of patience and perseverance, and the Lord according to promise is with him.

Gen 29:1-8

Jacob arrives at the well of Haran. "The land of the sons of the east."The points of the heavens were defined by the usage of practical life, and not by the standard of a science yet unknown. Hence, the east means any quarter toward the sunrising. Haran was about four degrees east of Beer-sheba, and five and a half degrees north. The distance was about four hundred and fifty miles, and therefore it would take Jacob fifteen days to perform the journey at thirty miles a day. If he reached Bethel the first night, he must have travelled about fifty miles the first day. After this he proceeds on his journey without any memorable incident. In the neighborhood of Haran he comes upon a well, by which lay three flocks. This is not the well near Haran where Abraham’ s servant met Rebekah. It is in the pasture grounds at some distance from the town. On its mouth was a large stone, indicating that water was precious, and that the well was the common property of the surrounding natives. The custom was to gather the flocks, roll away the stone, which was too great to be moved by a boy or a female, water the flocks, and replace the stone. Jacob, on making inquiry, learns that Haran is at hand, that Laban is well, and that Rachel is drawing nigh with her father’ s flocks. Laban is called by Jacob the son of Nahor, that is, his grandson, with the usual latitude of relative names in Scripture Gen 28:13. "The day is great."A great part of it yet remains. It is not yet the time to shut up the cattle for the night; "water the sheep and go feed them."Jacob may have wished to meet with Rachel without presence of the shepherds. "We cannot."There was a rule or custom that the flocks must be all assembled before the stone was rolled away for the purpose of watering the cattle. This may have been required to insure a fair distribution of the water to all parties, and especially to those who were too weak to roll away the stone.

Gen 29:9-14

Jacob’ s interview with Rachel, and hospitable reception by Laban. Rachel’ s approach awakens all Jacob’ s warmth of feeling. He rolls away the stone, waters the sheep, kisses Rachel, and bursts into tears. The remembrance of home and of the relationship of his mother to Rachel overpowers him. He informs Rachel who he is, and she runs to acquaint her father. Laban hastens to welcome his relative to his house. "Surely my bone and my flesh art thou."This is a description of kinsmanship probably derived from the formation of the woman out of the man Gen 2:23. A month here means the period from new moon to new moon, and consists of twenty-nine or thirty days.

Gen 29:15-20

Jacob serves seven years for Rachel. "What shall thy wages be?"An active, industrious man like Jacob was of great value to Laban. "Two daughters."Daughters in those countries and times were also objects of value, for which their parents were accustomed to receive considerable presents Gen 24:53. Jacob at present, however, is merely worth his labor. He has apparently nothing else to offer. As he loves Rachel, he offers to serve seven years for her, and is accepted. Isaac loved Rebekah after she was sought and won as a bride for him. Jacob loves Rachel before he makes a proposal of marriage. His attachment is pure and constant, and hence the years of his service seem but days to him. The pleasure of her society both in the business and leisure of life makes the hours pass unnoticed. It is obvious that in those early days the contact of the sexes before marriage was more unrestrained than it afterward became.

Gen 29:21-30

Jacob is betrayed into marrying Leah, and on consenting to serve other seven years obtains Rachel also. He claims his expected reward when due. "Made a feast."The feast in the house of the bride’ s father seems to have lasted seven days, at the close of which the marriage was completed. But the custom seems to have varied according to the circumstances of the bridegroom. Jacob had no house of his own to which to conduct the bride. In the evening: when it was dark. The bride was also closely veiled, so that it was easy for Laban to practise this piece of deceit. "A handmaid."It was customary to give the bride a handmaid, who became her confidential servant Gen 24:59, Gen 24:61. In the morning Jacob discovers that Laban had overreached him. This is the first retribution Jacob experiences for the deceitful practices of his former days. He expostulates with Laban, who pleads the custom of the country.

It is still the custom not to give the younger in marriage before the older, unless the latter be deformed or in some way defective. It is also not unusual to practise the very same trick that Laban now employed, if the suitor is so simple as to be off his guard. Jacob, however, did not expect this at his relative’ s hands, though he had himself taken part in proceedings equally questionable. "Fulfill the week of this."If this was the second day of the feast celebrating the nuptials of Leah, Laban requests him to Complete the week, and then he will give him Rachel also. If, however, Leah was fraudulently put upon him at the close of the week of feasting, then Laban in these words proposes to give Rachel to Jacob on fulfilling another week of nuptial rejoicing. The latter is in the present instance more likely. In either case the marriage of Rachel is only a week after that of Leah. Rather than lose Rachel altogether, Jacob consents to comply with Laban’ s terms.

Rachel was the wife of Jacob’ s affections and intentions. The taking of a second wife in the lifetime of the first was contrary to the law of nature, which designed one man for one woman Gen 2:21-25. But the marrying of a sister-in-law was not yet incestuous, because no law had yet been made on the subject. Laban gives a handmaid to each of his daughters. To Rebekah his sister had been given more than one Gen 24:61. Bondslaves had been in existence long before Laban’ s time Gen 16:1. "And loved also Rachel more than Leah."This proves that even Leah was not unloved. At the time of his marriage Jacob was eighty-four years of age; which corresponds to half that age according to the present average of human life.

Gen 29:31-35

Leah bears four sons to Jacob. "The Lord saw."The eye of the Lord is upon the sufferer. It is remarkable that both the narrator and Leah employ the proper name of God, which makes the performance of promise a prominent feature of his character. This is appropriate in the mouth of Leah, who is the mother of the promised seed. "That Leah was hated"- less loved than Rachel. He therefore recompenses her for the lack of her husband’ s affections by giving her children, while Rachel was barren. "Reuben"- behold a son. "The Lord hath looked on my affliction."Leah had qualities of heart, if not of outward appearance, which commanded esteem. She had learned to acknowledge the Lord in all her ways. "Simon"- answer. She had prayed to the Lord, and this was her answer. "Levi"- union, the reconciler. Her husband could not, according to the prevailing sentiments of those days, fail to be attached to the mother of three sons. "Judah"- praised. Well may she praise the Lord; for this is the ancestor of the promised seed. It is remarkable that the wife of priority, but not of preference, is the mother of the seed in whom all nations are to be blessed. Levi the reconciler is the father of the priestly tribe. Simon is attached to Judah. Reuben retires into the background.

Reuben may have been born when Jacob was still only eighty-four, and consequently Judah was born when Jacob was eighty-seven.

Barnes: Gen 30:1-43

- Jacob’ s Family and Wealth

6. דן dān , Dan, "judge, lord."

8. נפתלי naptālı̂y , Naphtali, "wrestling."

11. גד gād , Gad, "overcoming, victory." בגד bāgād , "in victory or"= גד בא bā' gād , "victory cometh." גוּד gûd , "press down." גדוּד g^e dûd , "troop."

13. אשׁר 'ǎashēr , Asher, "prosperity, happiness."

18. ישׂשכר yı̂śāskār , Jissakar, "reward."The second Hebrew letter ( ש s )seems to have been merely a full mode of writing the word, instead of the abbreviated form ישׂכר yı̂śākār .

20. זבלוּן z^e bulûn , Zebulun, "dwelling."There is here a play upon the two words זבד zābad , "to endow"and זבל zābal , "to dwell,"the latter of which, however, prevails in the name. They occur only here as verbs.

21. דינה dı̂ynâh , Dinah, "judgment."

24. יסף yôsêph , Joseph, "he shall add."There is, however, an obvious allusion to the thought. "God hath taken away ( אסף 'āsap ) my reproach."Double references, we find, are usual in the giving of names (see Gen 25:30).

This chapter is the continuation of the former, and completes the history of Jacob in Haran. The event immediately following probably took place after Leah had borne two of her sons, though not admitted into the narrative until she had paused for a short time.

Gen 30:1-8

Bilhah, Rachel’ s maid, bears two sons. Rachel becomes impatient of her barrenness and jealous of her sister, and unjustly reproaches her husband, who indignantly rebukes her. God, not he, has withheld children from her. She does what Sarah had done before her Gen 16:2-3, gives her handmaid to her husband. No express law yet forbade this course, though nature and Scripture by implication did Gen 2:23-25. "Dan.""God hath judged me."In this passage Jacob and Rachel use the common noun, God, the Everlasting, and therefore Almighty, who rules in the physical relations of things - a name suitable to the occasion. He had judged her, dealt with her according to his sovereign justice in withholding the fruit of the womb, when she was self-complacent and forgetful of her dependence on a higher power; and also in hearing her voice when she approached him in humble supplication. "Naphtali.""Wrestlings of God,"with God, in prayer, on the part of both sisters, so that they wrestled with one another in the self-same act. Rachel, though looking first to Jacob and then to her maid, had at length learned to look to her God, and then had prevailed.

Gen 30:9-13

Leah having stayed from bearing, resorts to the same expedient. Her fourth son was seemingly born in the fourth year of Jacob’ s marriage. Bearing her first four sons so rapidly, she would the sooner observe the temporary cessation. After the interval of a year she may have given Zilpah to Jacob. "Gad.""Victory cometh."She too claims a victory. "Asher."Daughters will pronounce her happy who is so rich in sons. Leah is seemingly conscious that she is here pursuing a device of her own heart; and hence there is no explicit reference to the divine name or influence in the naming of the two sons of her maid.

Gen 30:14-21

"Reuben" was at this time four or five years of age, as it is probable that Leah began to bear again before Zilpah had her second son. "Mandrakes"- the fruit of the "mandragora vernaIis,"which is to this day supposed to promote fruitfulness of the womb. Rachel therefore desires to partake of them, and obtains them by a compact with Leah. Leah betakes herself to prayer, and bears a fifth son. She calls him "Issakar,"with a double allusion. She had hired her husband with the mandrakes, and had received this son as her hire for giving her maid to her husband; which she regards as an act of generosity or self-denial. "Zebulun."Here Leah confesses, "God hath endowed me with a good dowry."She speaks now like Rachel of the God of nature. The cherished thought that her husband will dwell with her who is the mother of six sons takes form in the name. "Dinah"is the only daughter of Jacob mentioned Gen 46:7, and that on account of her subsequent connection with the history of Jacob Gen. 34. Issakar appears to have been born in the sixth year after Jacob’ s marriage, Zebulun in the seventh, and Dinah in the eighth.

Gen 30:22-24

"God remembered Rachel," in the best time for her, after he had taught her the lessons of dependence and patience. "Joseph."There is a remote allusion to her gratitude for the reproach of barrenness taken away. But there is also hope in the name. The selfish feeling also has died away, and the thankful Rachel rises from Elohim, the invisible Eternal, to Yahweh, the manifest Self-existent. The birth of Joseph was after the fourteen years of service were completed. He and Dinah appear to have been born in the same year.

Gen 30:25-36

Jacob enters into a new contract of service with Laban. "When Rachel had borne Joseph."Jacob cannot ask his dismissal until the twice seven years of service were completed. Hence, the birth of Joseph, which is the date of his request, took place at the earliest in the fifteenth year of his sojourn with Laban. Jacob now wishes to return home, from which he had been detained so long by serving for Rachel. He no doubt expects of Laban the means at least of accomplishing his journey. Laban is loath to part with him. "I have divined"- I have been an attentive observer. The result of his observation is expressed in the following words. "Appoint."Laban offers to leave the fixing of the hire to Jacob. "Thy hire upon me,"which I will take upon me as binding. Jacob touches upon the value of his services, perhaps with the tacit feeling that Laban in equity owed him at least the means of returning to his home. "Brake forth"- increased. "At my foot"- under my guidance and tending of thy flocks.

"Do"- provide. "Thou shalt not give me anything."This shows that Jacob had no stock from Laban to begin with. "I will pass through all thy flock today"with thee. "Remove thou thence every speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats."These were the rare colors, as in the East the sheep are usually white, and the goats black or dark brown. "And such shall be my hire."Such as these uncommon party-colored cattle, when they shall appear among the flock already cleared of them; and not those of this description that are now removed. For in this case Laban would have given Jacob something; whereas Jacob was resolved to be entirely dependent on the divine providence for his hire. "And my righteousness will answer for me."The color will determine at once whose the animal is. Laban willingly consents to so favorable a proposal, removes the party-colored animals from the flock, gives them into the hands of his sons, and puts an interval of three days’ journey between them and the pure stock which remains in Jacob’ s hands. Jacob is now to begin with nothing, and have for his hire any party-colored lambs or kids that appear in those flocks, from which every specimen of this rare class has been carefully removed.

Gen 30:37-43

Jacob devises means to provide himself with a flock in these unfavorable circumstances. His first device is to place party-colored rods before the eyes of the cattle at the rutting season, that they might drop lambs and kids varied with speckles, patches, or streaks of white. He had learned from experience that there is a congruence between the colors of the objects contemplated by the dams at that season and those of their young. At all events they bare many straked, speckled, and spotted lambs and kids. He now separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flock toward the young of the rare colors, doubtless to affect them in the same way as the pilled rods. "Put his own folds by themselves."These are the party-colored cattle that from time to time appeared in the flock of Laban. In order to secure the stronger cattle, Jacob added the second device of employing the party-colored rods only when the strong cattle conceived. The sheep in the East lamb twice a year, and it is supposed that the lambs dropped in autumn are stronger than those dropped in the spring. On this supposition Jacob used his artifice in the spring, and not in the autumn. It is probable, however, that he made his experiments on the healthy and vigorous cattle, without reference to the season of the year. The result is here stated. "The man brake forth exceedingly"- became rapidly rich in hands and cattle.

It is obvious that the preceding and present chapters form one continuous piece of composition; as otherwise we have no account of the whole family of Jacob from one author. But the names אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym and יהוה y^e hovâh are both employed in the piece, and, hence, their presence and interchange cannot indicate diversity of authorship.

Poole: Gen 29:31

Leah was hated comparatively to Rachel, less loved, slighted. So that word is oft used, as Deu 21:15 Mat 6:24 10:37 , compared with Luk 14:26 Joh 12:25 . Thus variously doth God distribute his favours, that all may be contented and none despised.

Poole: Gen 29:32

The Lord hath looked upon my affliction with an eye of pity and kindness, as that general phrase is oft understood.

Poole: Gen 29:33

The Lord hath heard i.e. perceived or understood; hearing being oft put for understanding.

Poole: Gen 29:34

This time will my husband be joined unto me in more sincere and fervent affection.

Poole: Gen 29:35

Now will I praise the Lord more solemnly and continually; for otherwise she did praise and acknowledge God for the former mercies. cir. 1749

Poole: Gen 30:2

Jacob’ s anger was kindled against Rachel for the injury done to himself, and especially for the sin against God, in which case anger is not only lawful, but necessary.

Am I in God’ s stead? It is God’ s prerogative to give children. See Gen 16:2 1Sa 2:5,6 Ps 113:9 127:3 .

Poole: Gen 30:3

She shall bear upon my knees an ellipsis or short speech; She shall bear a child which may be laid upon my knees, or in my lap, which I may adopt and bring up as if it were my own. See Gen 50:23 Isa 66:12 .

That I may also have children by her for as servants, so their work and fruit, were not their own, but their masters’ .

Poole: Gen 30:5

cir. 1748

Poole: Gen 30:6

God hath judged me pleaded my cause, or given sentence for me, as this phrase is oft taken.

Poole: Gen 30:8

With great wrestlings Heb. With wrestlings of God; either with great and hard wrestlings or strivings, or by wrestling with God in fervent prayer, and by God’ s grace and strength. Cir. 1747

I have prevailed which was not true; for her sister exceeded her both in the number of her children, and in her propriety in them, being the fruit of her own womb, not of her handmaid’ s, as Rachel’ s were. Here is an instance how partial judges most persons are in their own causes and concernments.

Poole: Gen 30:10

Cir 1748

Poole: Gen 30:11

A troop cometh or, good luck cometh; my design hath well succeeded; a happy star hath shone upon me; and such a star in the opinion of astrologers is that of Jupiter, which by the Arabians is called Gad. This may well agree to Leah and her heathenish education, and the manners of the Chaldeans, who were much given to the study of the stars.

Poole: Gen 30:12

cir. 1747

Poole: Gen 30:13

The daughters of men, i.e. women, as Pro 31:29 Son 6:9 .

Poole: Gen 30:14

cir. 1748

Mandrakes: the word is only found here and Son 7:13 , whence it appears that it is a plant or fruit of pleasant smell, such as the mandrake is said to be by Dioscorides and Levinus Lemnius, and by St. Austin upon his own experience. If it be said this was too early for mandrakes to be ripe, it being now but wheat-harvest; it may be replied, that fruits ripen much sooner in those hot countries than elsewhere, and that they are not here said to be ripe, but only to be gathered.

Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’ s mandrakes which she might desire, either because they were pleasant to the eye or taste, or because they were thought helpful to conception.

Poole: Gen 30:15

Jacob either did equally divide the times between his two wives; or rather, had more estranged himself from Leah, and cohabited principally with Rachel, which occasioned the foregoing expostulation.

Poole: Gen 30:16

He ratified their agreement, that he might preserve peace and love amongst them.

Poole: Gen 30:17

God hearkened unto Leah notwithstanding her many infirmities. Hence it appears that she was moved herein not by any inordinate lust, but by a desire of children. cir. 1747

Poole: Gen 30:18

Thus she mistakes the answer of her prayers for a recompence of her error.

Poole: Gen 30:20

cir. 1746

Poole: Gen 30:23

Barrenness was then accounted a great reproach, especially in that race, because it was a kind of curse, whereby such persons were excluded both from the first and general blessing of fructification given to all mankind, Gen 1:28 ; and from the special blessing given to Abraham for the multiplication of his seed; and from all hopes of being the progenitors of the blessed Messias.

Haydock: Gen 29:31

Despised, or loved less; so Christ orders us to hate father, &c., Matthew x. 17. (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 29:32

Ruben. "See the son, or the son of vision;" alluding perhaps, distantly, to ver. 24, He saw Lia. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 29:33

Despised, or the hated wife, Deuteronomy xxi. 15. ---

Simeon, "hearing or obedient."

Haydock: Gen 29:34

Levi, "adhesion or union." My husband will now stick to me.

Haydock: Gen 29:35

Juda, "praise or confession." (Calmet) ---

Left bearing for a time. (Haydock) ---

In the imposition of these names, Lia testified her gratitude to God. (Tirinus)

Haydock: Gen 30:1

Envied, or desired to have children like her. Thus we may envy the virtues of the saints. (Calmet) ---

Give me, &c. These words seem to indicate a degree of impatience, at which we need not be surprised, when we reflect, that Rachel had been educated among idolaters. (Menochius) ---

Die of grief and shame. "I shall be considered as one dead," Jun.[Junius?] St. Chrysostom thinks she threatened to lay violent hands on herself, and through jealousy, spoke in a foolish manner. This passion is capable of the basest actions, (Haydock) and is almost unavoidable where polygamy reigns. (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 30:2

Angry at the rash and apparently blasphemous demand of Rachel. (Menochius) ---

As God, pro Deo. Am I to work a miracle in opposition to God, who has made thee barren? To him thou oughtest to address thyself. The Hebrews justly observe, that God has reserved to himself the four keys of nature: 1. Of generation; 2. Of sustenance, Psalm cxliv. 16; 3. Of rain, Deuteronomy xxviii. 12; And, 4. Of the grave or resurrection, Ezechiel xxxvii. 12. (Tirinus)

Haydock: Gen 30:3

Servant, like a maid of honour. Josephus says she was not a slave, no more than Zelpha. ---

My knees, whom I may nurse with pleasure. It was an ancient custom to place the new-born infants upon the knees of some near relation, who gave them a name, and thus in a manner adopted them. (chap. l. 22; Job iii. 12; Psalm xxi. 11) (Homer.) (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 30:4

Marriage. The Manichees condemned Jacob for having more than four wives at once. But St. Augustine replied, it was not then unusual or forbidden. He took the two last only at the pressing instigation of Rachel and Lia, and that only for the sake of children. Lia herself was forced upon him. (contra Faust. xxii. 48.)

Haydock: Gen 30:6

Dan, means judgment. From the same root as Adonis; Adoni, my lord or judge, &c. Rachel's whole solicitude was for children. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 30:8

Compared me, &c. As Lia treacherously got my husband, so I have craftily surmounted the difficulties of barrenness; I have struggled earnestly, and have got the victory. Patal, means to act with cunning. (Psalm xvii. 27.) (Calmet) ---

Nephtali, "a crafty wrestler." (Menochius)

Haydock: Gen 30:11

Happily, fortunately. ---

Gad, or Bonaventure. (Haydock) ---"Good-fortune," was acknowledge by the pagans for a divinity; (Isaias lxv. 11.) perhaps for the Sun, or Oromagdes, the Gad of Aram. He was opposed to the wicked Arimenes in the Chaldean theology, by Zoroaster, (Calmet) the inventor of the Two Principles. Whether Lia intended to attribute this child to the influence of the planet Jupiter, the Sun, or some other tool, we cannot determine. (Haydock) ---

Her naming my be simply; Behold I am now a mother of a troop, or little army, Gad; and to which (chap. xlix. 19.) Jacob evidently alludes. (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 30:13

Aser: happy. My servant has now had as many sons as my sister (Menochius) and I have given them both names, indicating my great felicity and joy. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 30:14

Ruben, now perhaps about four years old, playing in the fields, in the latter harvest time, (Exodus ix. 32) found mandrakes of an extraordinary beauty and flavour, (Canticle of Canticles vii. 13.) whether they were flowers, lilies, jasmine, &c. as some translate; or rather, fruits of the mandrake tree, according to all the ancient versions; or of the citron, lemon, or orange tree, if we believe Calmet. Dudaim designates two breasts, or something lovely and protuberant. The ancients have spoken with admiration, and have attributed wonderful effects to the mandrakes, which, though controverted by moderns, might suffice to make Rachel greatly desire to have them; at least, if she believed they would contribute to remove her sterility, as Pliny, Natural History xxv. 15. Aristotle (de Gener. ii.) and other naturalists of eminence, have maintained they did. (Haydock) ---

The effect which she desired so much, was not, however, to be attributed to them, since she conceived only three years after, and that by the blessing of God. (Tirinus)

Haydock: Gen 30:15

From me. Lia was aware that Jacob's affection lay entirely towards Rachel; particularly now, as she had ceased to bear children herself. (Haydock) ---

This might, when it is my turn to have him. To prevent any jealousy, the husband visited his wives one after another, as was the case with Smerdis, the king of Persia. (Herodotus iii. 79; Exodus xxi. 10.) (Calmet)

Haydock: Gen 30:18

Issachar, "the reward of the man, or husband." (Calmet) ---

She might allude also to the reward she had obtained for her mandrakes. (Haydock)

Haydock: Gen 30:20

Zabulon, "dwelling or cohabiting." Zobad (which resembles the sound of Zobal) means to endow, (Calmet) to which she seems also to refer; as if her marriage was renewed, and God had given her more children for a dowry. (Menochius)

Haydock: Gen 30:21

Dina, "judgment," like Dan. God hath done me justice. The Hebrews assert that Dina was married to holy Job. She was born the same year as Joseph, the 91st of Jacob. Lia brought forth seven children in seven years.

Haydock: Gen 30:24

Joseph. In imposing this name, Rachel looks both to the past and to the future; thanking God for taking away (asop) her reproach, and begging that He would add (isop or Joseph) the blessing of another son, as he really did, though it occasioned her death: so little do we know what we ask for! Joseph means one "adding or increasing," chap. xlix. 22. (Haydock) ---

He was born when the 14 years of service were over; being a most glorious figure of Jesus Christ, who came to redeem us from slavery. (Du Hamel)

Gill: Gen 29:31

And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated,.... Not properly and simply hated by Jacob, as appears by his doing the duty of an husband to her, but comparatively; she was less loved than Rachel: and there are many things to be said for it; she was not beautiful as Rachel was; she was not Jacob's choice, as she was but imposed upon him through deceit, and he was forced to marry her, or he could not have Rachel his beloved wife: but the Lord had pity on her, and that she might have a share in her husband's affections:

he opened her womb; or gave her conception; as Onkelos paraphrases it:

but Rachel was barren; bare no children as yet, and for many years after, Gen 30:22.

Gill: Gen 29:32

And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben,.... That is, "see the son", as if she by this name called upon her husband, her friends, and all about her, to look at him, and view him; perhaps hoping and imagining he might be the famous son, the promised seed, the Messiah that was to spring to Abraham, in the line of Jacob; but if she so thought, she was greatly mistaken; for this son of hers proved unstable, and did not excel; or rather God hath seen or provided a son, as Hillerus ^w gives the signification of the name, which seems better to agree with what follows:

for she said, surely the Lord hath looked on my affliction; being deceived by her father, not so much loved by her husband as her sister was, and perhaps slighted by her:

now therefore my husband will love me: more than he has done, and equally as my sister, having bore him a son.

Gill: Gen 29:33

And she conceived again, and bare a son,.... As soon as she well could. The Jews ^x have a notion, that Leah brought forth her sons at seven months' end:

and said, because the Lord hath heard that I was hated; or less loved than her sister:

he hath therefore given me this son also; to comfort her under the trial and exercise, and engage her husband's love the more unto her:

and she called his name Simeon: which signifies "hearing", and answers to the reason of her having him as she concluded.

Gill: Gen 29:34

And she conceived again, and bare a son,.... A third time, as soon as she well could after the former birth:

and said, now this time will my husband be joined to me; in greater affection and stronger ties of love, and cleave unto her:

because I have born him three sons; which she considered as a threefold cord, binding his affections to her, which could not be easily broke:

and therefore was his name called Levi; which signifies "joined"; from him the Levites sprung, and had their name.

Gill: Gen 29:35

And she conceived again, and bare a son,.... A fourth son, a son in whose line, and from whose tribe, the Messiah was to spring:

and she said, now will I praise the Lord; she had praised him before for looking on her affliction, and hearing her cries, and giving her one son after another; but now she determines to praise him more than ever, having a fresh instance of his goodness to her: the Targum of Jonathan adds this as a reason,"because from this my son shall come forth kings, and from him shall come forth David the king, who shall praise the Lord.''And why may it not be as well supposed that she had knowledge of the Messiah springing from him, which would greatly heighten and increase her joy and praise?

and therefore she called his name Judah; which signifies "praise". A further improvement is made of this name, and the signification of it, in Gen 49:8. According to the Jewish writers ^y, these four sons of Jacob were born, Reuben on the fourteenth day of Chisleu, or November, and lived one hundred and twenty four years; Simeon on the twenty first of Tebeth, or December, and lived one hundred and twenty years; Levi on the sixteenth of Nisan, or March, and lived one hundred and thirty seven years; and Judah on the fifteenth of Sivan, or May, and lived one hundred and nineteen years. And all these names being of the Hebrew language, and derived from words in it, show that this language, or what was much the same with it, was spoken in Laban's family, and had been continued from Nahor, as it had been in Isaac's family from Abraham:

and left bearing; that is, for a while, for after this she bore two sons and a daughter; see Gen 30:17.

Gill: Gen 30:1

And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children,.... In the space of three or four years after marriage, and when her sister Leah had had four sons:

Rachel envied her sister; the honour she had of bearing children, and the pleasure in nursing and bringing them up, when she lay under the reproach of barrenness: or, "she emulated her sisters" ^z; was desirous of having children even as she, which she might do, and yet not be guilty of sin, and much less of envy, which is a very heinous sin:

and said unto Jacob, give me children, or else I die; Rachel could never be so weak as to imagine that it was in the power of Jacob to give her children at his pleasure, or of a barren woman to make her a fruitful mother of children; though Jacob at sight seems so to have understood her: but either, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it, that he would pray the Lord to give her children, as Isaac prayed for Rebekah; so Aben Ezra and Jarchi: or that he would, think of some means or other whereby she might have children, at least that might be called hers; and one way she had in view, as appears from what follows: or otherwise she suggests she could not live comfortably; not that she should destroy herself, as some have imagined; but that she should be so uneasy in her mind, that her life would be a burden to her; that death would be preferred to it, and her fretting herself for want of children, in all probability, would issue in it.

Gill: Gen 30:2

And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel,.... Whom yet he dearly loved, hearing her talk in such an extravagant manner, as her words seemed to be, and were not: only expressive of great uneasiness and impatience, but implied what was not in the power of man to do:

and he said, am I in God's stead: do you take me to be God, or one that has a dispensing power from him to do what otherwise no creature can do; and which also he never gives to any? for, as the Targum of Jerusalem on Gen 30:22 says, this is one of the four keys which God delivers not to an angel or a seraph; even the key of barrenness. Children are the gift of God, and his only, and therefore he is to be sought unto for them: hence Onkelos land Jonathan paraphrase it;"wherefore dost thou seek them of me? shouldest thou not seek them of the Lord?"

who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? children, Psa 127:3; not Jacob, but the Lord.

Gill: Gen 30:3

And she said,.... in order to pacify Jacob, and explain her meaning to him; which was, not that she thought it was in his power to make her the mother of children, but that he would think of some way or another of obtaining children for her, that might go for hers; so the Arabic version, "obtain a son for me": but, since no method occurred to him, she proposes one:

behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her, take her and use her as thy wife:

and she shall bear upon my knees; either sit on her knees in the time of labour, and so bring forth as if it was she herself; or rather bear a child, which Rachel would take and nurse, and dandle upon her knees as her own, see Isa 66:12,

that I may also have children by her; children as well as her sister, though by her maid, and as Sarah proposed to have by Hagar, whose example, in all probability, she had before her, and uses her very words; See Gill on Gen 16:2.

Gill: Gen 30:4

And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid,.... To be enjoyed as a wife, though she was no other than a concubine; yet such were sometimes called wives, and were secondary ones, and were under the proper lawful wife, nor did their children inherit; but those which Jacob had by his wives' maids did inherit with the rest:

and Jacob went in unto her; consenting to what Rachel his wife proposed to him: having concubines, as well as more wives than one, were not thought criminal in those times, and were suffered of God, and in this case for the multiplication of Jacob's seed; and perhaps he might the more readily comply with the motion of his wife, from the example of his grandfather Abraham, who took Hagar to wife at the instance of Sarah.

Gill: Gen 30:5

And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. This was so far countenanced by the Lord, that he blessed her with conception, and Jacob with a son by her.

Gill: Gen 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.

Gill: Gen 30:7

And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again,.... Soon after the birth of her first child:

and bare Jacob a second son; this was his sixth son, but the second by Bilhah.

Gill: Gen 30:8

And Rachel said, with great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister,.... Or, "with the wrestlings of God" ^a, wrestling and striving in prayer with God; being vehement and importunate in her petitions to him, that she might have children as well as her sister: some render it, "I used the craftinesses of God", or "great craftiness with my sisters" ^b; by giving her maid Bilhah to her husband, and having children by her:

and I have prevailed; as she strove in her desires and prayers to have another child before her sister had; in that she prevailed, or she was succeeded in her desires, she had children as she wished to have:

and she called his name Naphtali; which signifies "my wrestling", being a child she had been striving and wrestling for: these two sons of Bilhah were born, as say the Jews, Dan on the twenty ninth day of Elul or August, and lived one hundred and twenty seven years; Naphtali on the fifth of Tisri or September, and lived one hundred and thirty three years.

Gill: Gen 30:9

When Leah saw that she had left bearing,.... For a little while, for she afterwards bore again, and observing also what her sister had done:

she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife: in this she was less excusable than Rachel, since she had four children of her own, and therefore might have been content without desiring others by her maid; nor had she long left off bearing, and therefore had no reason to give up hope of having any more.

Gill: Gen 30:10

And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob a son. For it seems he consented to take her to wife at the motion of Leah, as he had took Bilhah at the instance of Rachel; and having gratified the one, he could not well deny the other; and went in to her, and she conceived, though neither of these things are mentioned, but are all necessarily supposed.

Gill: Gen 30:11

And Leah said, a troop cometh,.... A troop of children, having bore four herself, and now her maid another, and more she expected; or the commander of a troop cometh, one that shall head an army and overcome his enemies; which agrees with the prophecy of Jacob, Gen 49:19,

and she called his name Gad: which signifies a "troop", glorying in the multitude of her children, that she had or hoped to have.

Gill: Gen 30:12

And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a second son. As well as Bilhah, and no more.

Gill: Gen 30:13

And Leah said,.... Upon the birth of the second son by her maid:

happy am I; or, "in my happiness"; or, "for my happiness" ^c; that is, this child is an addition to my happiness, and will serve to increase it: for the daughters will call me blessed; the women of the place where she lived would speak of her as a happy person, that had so many children of her own, and others by her maid; see Psa 127:5,

and she called his name Asher, which signifies "happy" or "blessed". These two sons of Zilpah, according to the Jewish writers ^d, were born, Gad on the tenth day of Marchesvan or October, and lived one hundred and twenty five years; and Asher on the twenty second day of Shebet or January, and lived one hundred and twenty three years.

Gill: Gen 30:14

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest,.... Leah's eldest son, who is supposed to be at this time about four or five years of age ^e, who went out from the tent to the field, to play there perhaps; and this was at the time of wheat harvest, in the month Sivan, as the Targum of Jonathan, which answers to part of our May; a time of the year when the earth is covered with flowers:

and found mandrakes in the field; the flowers or fruit of mandrakes, mandrake apples, as the Septuagint. This plant is said to excite love, provoke lust, dispose for, and help conception; for which reasons it is thought Rachel was so desirous of these "mandrakes", which seem to have their name "dudaim" from love: the word is only used here and in Son 7:13; where they are commended for their good smell, and therefore cannot be the plant which goes now by that name; since they neither give a good smell, nor bear good fruit, and are of a cold quality, and so not likely to produce the above effects ascribed unto them. It is very probable they were lovely and delightful flowers the boy picked up in the field, such as children delight in; some think the "jessamin", others lilies, and others violets ^f; it is not easy to determine what they were; See Gill on Son 7:13,

and brought them unto his mother Leah; as children are apt to do, to show what line flowers or fruit they have gathered:

then Rachel said to Leah, give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes; being taken with the colour or smell of them; for as for the notion of helping conception, or removing barrenness and the like, there is no foundation for it; for Rachel, who had them, did not conceive upon having them; and the conception both of her and Leah afterwards is ascribed to the Lord's remembering and hearkening to them.

Gill: Gen 30:15

And she said unto her,.... Leah to Rachel, taking this opportunity to bring out a thing which had some time lain with uneasiness upon her mind:

is it a small thing that thou hast taken away my husband? got the greatest share of his affections, and had most of his company; which last was very probably the case, and more so, since Leah had left off bearing; and this she could not well stomach, and therefore upon this trifling occasion outs with it:

and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? which were poor things to be mentioned along with an husband; and besides, Rachel did not offer to take them away from the child without her leave, which she in very humble manner asked of her:

and Rachel said, therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes; which showed no great affection to her husband, and a slight of his company, to be willing to part with it for such a trifle; and it seems by this as if they took their turns to lie with Jacob, and this night being Rachel's turn, she agrees to give it to Leah for the sake of the mandrakes: or however, if she had engrossed him to herself very much of late, as seems by the words of Leah above, she was willing to give him up to her this night, on that consideration; which Leah agreed she should have, as appears by what follows.

Gill: Gen 30:16

And Jacob came out of the field in the evening,.... From feeding his flocks:

and Leah went out to meet him; knowing full well the time he used to come home:

and said, thou must come in unto me; into her tent, for the women had separate tents from the men; as Sarah from Abraham; and so these wives of Jacob had not only tents separate from his, but from one another:

for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes: that is, she had hired that night's lodging with him of Rachel, with the mandrakes her son Reuben had brought out of the field. Jacob made no objection to it; but consented, being willing to please both his wives, who he perceived had made this agreement between themselves:

and he lay with her that night; and that only, for the present: for, by the way of speaking, it looks as if he did not continue with her more nights together at that time, but went, as before that evening, to Rachel's tent.

Gill: Gen 30:17

And God hearkened unto Leah,.... To the prayer of Leah, as the Targum of Jonathan, for more children: the desire of these good women for the company of their husband was not from lust, or an amorous desire in them, but for the sake of having many children, as appears by giving their maids to him; and the reason of this was, as Bishop Patrick well observes, that the promise made to Abraham of the multiplication of his seed, and of the Messiah springing from thence, might be fulfilled; and is the true reason of Moses's taking such particular notice of those things, which might seem below the dignity of such a sacred history:

and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son; the fifth he had by her, but the ninth in all, that were born unto him.

Gill: Gen 30:18

And Leah said, God hath given me my hire,.... Of the mandrakes with which she had hired of Rachel a night's lodging with Jacob, and for which she had a sufficient recompense, by the son that God had given her: and she added another reason, and a very preposterous one, and shows she put a wrong construction on the blessing she received:

because I have given my maiden to my husband; which, she judged, was so well pleasing to God, that he had rewarded her with another son:

and she called his name Issachar, which signifies "hire" or "reward"; or, there is a reward, or a man of reward.

Gill: Gen 30:19

And Leah conceived again,.... For bearing children Jacob took more to her, and more frequently attended her apartment and bed:

and bare Jacob a sixth son; the sixth by her, but the tenth by her and his two maids.

Gill: Gen 30:20

And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry,.... Having so many children; for though her husband could give her nothing at marriage, and her father gave her no more than one handmaid, yet God had abundantly made it up to her, in giving her so many sons: these are the heritage of the Lord, Psa 127:3,

now will my husband dwell with me; constantly; and not come to her tent now and then only, as he had used to do:

because I have borne him six sons; this she thought would fix his affections to her, and cause him to cleave to her, and continue with her:

and she called his name Zebulun; which signifies "dwelling". These two sons of Leah, according to the Jewish writers ^g, were born, Issachar on the tenth day of Ab or July, and lived one hundred and twenty two years, and Zebulun on the seventh of Tisri or September, and lived one hundred and twenty four years.

Gill: Gen 30:21

And afterwards she bare a daughter,.... Which some writers, as Aben Ezra observes, say, was at the same birth with Zebulun, a twin with him; but being said to be afterwards shows the contrary:

and called her name Dinah; which signifies "judgment": perhaps she may have some reference to the first son of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, whom she called Dan, a name of the same signification; intimating as if it was a clear case that judgment went on her side; and that by the number of children she had, it was plain God had determined in her favour.

Gill: Gen 30:22

And God remembered Rachel,.... In a way of mercy and kindness, whom he seemed to have forgotten, by not giving her children:

and God hearkened to her; to her prayer, which had been made time after time, that she might have children; but hitherto God had delayed to answer, but now gives one:

and opened her womb; gave her conception, and made her fruitful, and she became the mother of a child she so much desired.

Gill: Gen 30:23

And she conceived and bare a son,.... Through the goodness of God unto her, and for which she was greatly thankful:

and said, God hath taken away my reproach; the reproach of barrenness with which she was reproached among her neighbours; and perhaps by her sister Leah, and indeed it was a general reproach in those times; and especially, it was the more grievous to good women in the family of Abraham, because they were not the means of multiplying his seed according to the promise, and could have no hope of the Messiah springing from them.

Gill: Gen 30:24

And she called his name Joseph,.... Which signifies "adding", or rather, "to be added"; or, "God shall add", giving this reason for it:

and said, the Lord shall add to me another son: which is expressive of strong faith; that as she had begun to bear children, she should bear another, as she did; though some read the words as a wish or prayer, "may the Lord", or, "and that the Lord would add", &c. ^h; but our version seems best: the name Joseph is composed of two words, one which signifies to gather or take away, used in Gen 30:23, and another which signifies to add; and so has respect to the Lord's taking away her reproach, and adding to her another son: Melo, an Heathen writer, makes mention of Joseph by name, as Polyhistor ⁱ relates, and makes him the twelfth and last son of Abraham, whereas he was the eleventh of Jacob. He was born, as the Jews say ^k, the twenty seventh of Tammuz or June, and lived one hundred and ten years.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Gen 29:31

¹ tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.

² tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

NET Notes: Gen 29:32

¹ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

² sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

³ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the Lord has “looked” with pity on her oppressed condition. See further S. R. Driver, Genesis, 273.

NET Notes: Gen 29:33

¹ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

² sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

NET Notes: Gen 29:34

¹ tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

² sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.

NET Notes: Gen 29:35

¹ sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.

NET Notes: Gen 30:1

¹ tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn Heb “sons.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:2

¹ tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”

² tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:3

¹ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

² tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

³ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.

⁵ tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).

NET Notes: Gen 30:4

¹ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

NET Notes: Gen 30:5

¹ tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).

² tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:6

¹ tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.

² tn Or “therefore.”

³ sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.

NET Notes: Gen 30:7

¹ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:8

¹ tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.

² sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:9

¹ tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:10

¹ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:11

¹ tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”

² sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.

NET Notes: Gen 30:12

¹ tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”

NET Notes: Gen 30:13

¹ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

² tn Heb “daughters.”

³ sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.

NET Notes: Gen 30:14

¹ tn Heb “during the days.”

² sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.

NET Notes: Gen 30:15

¹ tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “therefore.”

³ tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.

NET Notes: Gen 30:16

¹ tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.

² tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.

³ tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.

NET Notes: Gen 30:17

¹ tn Heb “listened to.”

² tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

³ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.

NET Notes: Gen 30:18

¹ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

² tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

sn Leah seems to regard the act of giving her servant Zilpah to her husband as a sacrifice, for which (she believes) God is now rewarding her with the birth of a son.

³ sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.

NET Notes: Gen 30:19

¹ tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.

NET Notes: Gen 30:20

¹ sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.

NET Notes: Gen 30:22

¹ tn Heb “remembered.”

² tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons

NET Notes: Gen 30:23

¹ tn Or “conceived.”

² tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.

NET Notes: Gen 30:24

¹ sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף,’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.

Geneva Bible: Gen 29:31

And when the LORD saw that Leah [was] hated, he ^{( k )} opened her womb: but Rachel [was] barren.

^{( k )} This declares that often they who are despised by men are favoured by God.

Geneva Bible: Gen 29:32

And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the ^{( l )} LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will ^{( m )} love me.

^{( l )} By this it appears that she had sought help from God in her affliction.

^{( m )} For children are a great cause of mutual love between man and wife.

Geneva Bible: Gen 30:2

And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, [Am] I in ^{( a )} God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

^{( a )} It is only God who makes one barren or fruitful, and therefore I am not at fault.

Geneva Bible: Gen 30:3

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

^{( b )} I will receive her children on my lap, as though they were my own.

Geneva Bible: Gen 30:8

And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, ^{( c )} and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

^{( c )} The arrogancy of man's nature appears in that she condemns her sister, after she has received this benefit from God to bear children.

Geneva Bible: Gen 30:11

And Leah said, ^{( d )} A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

^{( d )} That is, God increases me with a multitude of children for so Jacob explains this name Gad (Gen 49:19).

Geneva Bible: Gen 30:14

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found ^{( e )} 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.

^{( e )} Which is a kind of herb whose root has a likeness to the figure of a man.

Geneva Bible: Gen 30:18

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

^{( f )} Instead of acknowledging her fault she boasts as if God had rewarded her for it.

Geneva Bible: Gen 30:23

And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my ^{( g )} reproach:

^{( g )} Because fruitfulness came as God's blessing, who said "Increase and multiply", barrenness was counted as a curse.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Gen 29:1-35

1 Jacob comes to the well of Haran.

9 He becomes acquainted with Rachel.

13 Laban entertains him.

18 Jacob covenants for Rachel.

23 He is deceived by Laban with Leah.

28 He marries also Rachel, and serves for her seven years more.

32 Leah bears Reuben;

33 Simeon;

34 Levi;

35 and Judah.

TSK Synopsis: Gen 30:1-43

1 Rachel, in grief for her barrenness, gives Bilhah her maid unto Jacob.

5 Bilhah bears Dan and Naphtali.

9 Leah gives Zilpah her maid, who bears Gad and Asher.

14 Reuben finds mandrakes, with which Leah buys her husband's company of Rachel.

17 Leah bears Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah.

22 Rachel bears Joseph.

25 Jacob desires to depart.

27 Laban detains him on a new agreement.

37 Jacob's policy, whereby he becomes rich.

MHCC: Gen 29:31-35

The names Leah gave her children, expressed her respect and regard, both to God and to her husband. Reuben, or See a son, with this thought, Now will my husband love me; Levi, or joined, expecting, Now will my husband be joined unto me. Mutual affection is both the duty and comfort of the married relation; and yoke-fellows should study to recommend themselves to each other, 1Co 7:33, 1Co 7:34. She thankfully acknowledges the kind providence of God in hearing her. Whatever supports and comforts us under afflictions, or tends to our deliverance from them, God must be owned in it. Her fourth son she called Judah, or praise, saying, Now will I praise the Lord. This was he, of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. Fresh favours should quicken us to praise God for former favours; Now will I praise the Lord more and better than I have done. All our praises must centre in Christ, both as the matter of them, and as the Mediator of them. He descended after the flesh from him whose name was " Praise," and He is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord.

MHCC: Gen 30:1-13

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.

MHCC: Gen 30:14-24

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.

Matthew Henry: Gen 29:31-35

We have here the birth of four of Jacob's sons, all by Leah. Observe, 1. That Leah, who was less beloved, was blessed with children, when Rachel was denied that blessing, Gen 29:31. See how Providence, in dispensing its gifts, observes a proportion, to keep the balance even, setting crosses and comforts one over-against another, that none may be either too much elevated or too much depressed. Rachel wants children, but she is blessed with her husband's love; Leah wants that, but she is fruitful. Thus it was between Elkana's two wives (1Sa 1:5); for the Lord is wise and righteous. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, that is, loved less than Rachel, in which sense it is required that we hate father and mother, in comparison with Christ (Luk 14:26), then the Lord granted her a child, which was a rebuke to Jacob, for making so great a difference between those that he was equally related to, - a check to Rachel, who perhaps insulted over her sister upon that account, - and a comfort to Leah, that she might not be overwhelmed with the contempt put upon her: thus God giveth abundant honour to that which lacked, 1Co 12:24. 2. The names she gave her children were expressive of her respectful regards both to God and to her husband. (1.) She appears very ambitious of her husband's love: she reckoned the want of it her affliction (Gen 29:32); not upbraiding him with it as his fault, nor reproaching him for it, and so making herself uneasy to him, but laying it to heart as her grief, which yet she had reason to bear with the more patience because she herself was consenting to the fraud by which she became his wife; and we may well bear that trouble with patience which we bring upon ourselves by our own sin and folly. She promised herself that the children she bore him would gain her the interest she desired in his affections. She called her first-born Reuben ( see a son ), with this pleasant thought, Now will my husband love me; and her third son Levi ( joined ), with this expectation, Now will my husband by joined unto me, Gen 29:34. Mutual affection is both the duty and comfort of that relation; and yoke-fellows should study to recommend themselves to each other, 1Co 7:33, 1Co 7:34. (2.) She thankfully acknowledges the kind providence of God in it: The Lord hath looked upon my affliction, Gen 29:32. " The Lord hath heard, that is, taken notice of it, that I was hated (for our afflictions, as they are before God's eyes, so they have a cry in his ears), he has therefore given me this son. "Note, Whatever we have that contributes either to our support and comfort under our afflictions or to our deliverance from them, God must be owned in it, especially his pity and tender mercy. Her fourth she called Judah ( praise ), saying, Now will I praise the Lord, Gen 29:35. And this was he of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Note, [1.] Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. Fresh favours should quicken us to praise God for former favours. Now will I praise the Lord more and better than I have done. [2.] All our praises must centre in Christ, both as the matter of them and as the Mediator of them. He descended from him whose name was praise, for he is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord.

Matthew Henry: Gen 30:1-13

We have here the bad consequences of that strange marriage which Jacob made with the two sisters. Here is,

I. An unhappy disagreement between him and Rachel (Gen 30:1, Gen 30:2), occasioned, not so much by her own barrenness as by her sister's fruitfulness. Rebekah, the only wife of Isaac, was long childless, and yet we find no uneasiness between her and Isaac; but here, because Leah bears children, Rachel cannot live peaceably with Jacob.

1. Rachel frets. She envied her sister, Gen 30:1. Envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more offensive to God, nor more injurious to our neighbour and ourselves. She considered not that it was God that made the difference, and that though, in this single instance her sister was preferred before her, yet 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. But this was not all; she said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. Note, We are very apt to err in our desires of temporal mercies, as Rachel here. (1.) One child would not content her; but, because Leah has more than one, she must have more too: Give me children. (2.) Her heart is inordinately set upon it, and, if she have not what she would have, she will throw away her life, and all the comforts of it. "Give them to me, or else I die, "that is, "I shall fret myself to death; the want of this satisfaction will shorten my days."Some think she threatens Jacob to lay violent hands upon herself, if she could not obtain this mercy. (3.) She did not apply to God by prayer, but to Jacob only, forgetting that children are a heritage of the Lord, Psa 127:3. We wrong both God and ourselves when our eye is more to men, the instruments of our crosses and comforts, than to God the author. Observe a difference between Rachel's asking for this mercy and Hannah's, 1Sa 1:10, etc. Rachel envied; Hannah wept. Rachel must have children, and she died of the second; Hannah prayed for one child, and she had four more. Rachel is importunate and peremptory; Hannah is submissive and devout. If thou wilt give me a child, I will give him to the Lord. Let Hannah be imitated, and not Rachel; and let our desires be always under the direction and control of reason and religion.

2. Jacob chides, and most justly. He loved Rachel, and therefore reproved her for what she said amiss, Gen 30:2. Note, Faithful reproofs and products and instances of true affection, Psa 141:5; Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6. Job reproved his wife when she spoke the language of the foolish women, Job 2:10. See 1Co 7:16. He was angry, not at the person, but at the sin; he expressed himself so as to show this displeasure. Note, sometimes it is requisite that a reproof should be given warm, like a medical potion; not too hot, lest it scald the patient; yet not cold, lest it prove ineffectual. It was a very grave and pious reply which Jacob gave to Rachel's peevish demand: Am I in God's stead? The Chaldee paraphrases it well, Dost thou ask sons of me? Oughtest thou not to ask them from before the Lord? The Arabic reads it, " Am I above God? can I give thee that which God denies thee?"This was said like a plain man. Observe, (1.) He acknowledges the hand of God in the affliction which he was a sharer with her in: He hath withheld the fruit of the womb. Note, Whatever we want, it is God that withholds it, a sovereign Lord, most wise, holy, and just, that may do what he will with his own, and is debtor to no man, that never did, nor ever can do, any wrong to any of his creatures. The keys of the clouds, of the heart, of the grave, and of the womb, are four keys which God had in his hand, and which (the rabbin say) he entrusts neither with angels nor seraphim. See Rev 3:7. Job 11:10; Job 12:14. (2.) He acknowledges his own inability to alter what God had appointed: " Am I in God's stead? What! dost thou make a god of me?" Deos qui rogat ille facit - He to whom we offer supplications is to us a god. Note, [1.] There is no creature that is, or can be, to us, in God's stead. God may be to us instead of any creature, as the sun instead of the moon and stars; but the moon and all the stars will not be to us instead of the sun. No creature's wisdom, power, and love, will be to us instead of God's. [2.] It is therefore our sin and folly to place any creature in God's stead, and to place that confidence in any creature which is to be placed in God only.

II. An unhappy agreement between him and the two handmaids.

1. At the persuasion of Rachel, he took Bilhah her handmaid to wife, that, according to the usage of those times, his children by her might be adopted and owned as her mistress's children, Gen 30:3, etc. She would rather have children by reputation than none at all, children that she might fancy to be her own, and call her own, though they were not so. One would think her own sister's children were nearer akin to her than her maid's, and she might with more satisfaction have made them her own if she had so pleased; but (so natural is it for us all to be fond of power) children that she had a right to rule were more desirable to her than children that she had more reason to love; and, as an early instance of her dominion over the children born in her apartment, she takes a pleasure in giving them names that carry in them nothing but marks of emulation with her sister, as if she had overcome her, (1.) At law. She calls the first son of her handmaid Dan ( judgement ), saying, " God hath judged me "(Gen 30:6), that is, "given sentence in my favour."(2.) In battle. she calls the next Naphtali ( wrestlings ), saying, I have wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed (Gen 30:8); as if all Jacob's sons must be born men of contention. See what roots of bitterness envy and strife are, and what mischief they make among relations.

2. At the persuasion of Leah, he took Zilpah her handmaid to wife also, Gen 30:9. Rachel had done that absurd and preposterous thing of giving her maid to her husband, in emulation with Leah; and now Leah (because she missed one year in bearing children) does the same, to be even with her, or rather to keep before her. See the power of jealousy and rivalship, and admire the wisdom of the divine appointment, which unites one man and one woman only; for God hath called us to peace and purity, 1Co 7:15. Two sons Zilpah bore to Jacob, whom Leah looked upon herself as entitled to, in token of which she called one Gad (Gen 30:11), promising herself a little troop of children; and children are the militia of a family, they fill the quiver, Psa 127:4, Psa 127:5. The other she called Asher ( happy ), thinking herself happy in him, and promising herself that her neighbours would think so too: The daughters will call me blessed, Gen 30:13. Note, It is an instance of the vanity of the world, and the foolishness bound up in our hearts, that most people value themselves and govern themselves more by reputation than either by reason or religion; they think themselves blessed if the daughters do but call them so. There was much amiss in the contest and competition between these two sisters, yet God brought good out of this evil; for, the time being now at hand when the seed of Abraham must begin to increase and multiply, thus Jacob's family was replenished with twelve sons, heads of the thousands of Israel, from whom the celebrated twelve tribes descended and were named.

Matthew Henry: Gen 30:14-24

Here is, I. Leah fruitful again, after she had, for some time, left off bearing. Jacob, it should seem, associated more with Rachel than with Leah. The law of Moses supposes it a common case that, if a man had two wives, one would be beloved and the other hated, Deu 21:15. But at length Rachel's strong passions betrayed her into a bargain with Leah that Jacob should return to her apartment. Reuben, a little lad, five or six years old, playing in the field, found mandrakes, dudaim . It is uncertain what they were, the critics are not agreed about them; we are sure they were some rarities, either fruits or flowers that were very pleasant to the smell, Son 7:13. Note, The God of nature has provided, not only for our necessities, but for our delights; there are products of the earth in the exposed fields, as well as in the planted protected gardens, that are very valuable and useful. How plentifully is nature's house furnished and her table spread! Her precious fruits offer themselves to be gathered by the hands of little children. It is a laudable custom of the devout Jews, when they find pleasure, suppose in eating an apple, to lift their hearts, and say, "Blessed be he that made this fruit pleasant!"Or, in smelling a flower, "Blessed be he that made this flower sweet."Some think these mandrakes were jessamine flowers. Whatever they were, Rachel could not see them in Leah's hands, where the child had placed them, but she must covet them. She cannot bear the want of these pretty flowers, but will purchase them at any rate. Note, There may be great sin and folly in the inordinate desire of a small thing. Leah takes this advantage (as Jacob had of Esau's coveting his red pottage) to obtain that which was justly due to her, but to which Rachel would not otherwise have consented. Note, Strong passions often thwart one another, and those cannot but be continually uneasy that are hurried on by them. Leah is overjoyed that she shall have her husband's company again, that her family might yet further be built up, which is the blessing she desires and devoutly prays for, as is intimated, Gen 30:17, where it is said, God hearkened unto Leah. The learned bishop Patrick very well suggests here that the true reason of this contest between Jacob's wives for his company, and their giving him their maids to be his wives, was the earnest desire they had to fulfil the promise made to Abraham (and now lately renewed to Jacob), that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and that in one seed of his, the Messiah, all the nations of the earth should be blessed. And he thinks it would have been below the dignity of this sacred history to take such particular notice of these things if there had not been some such great consideration in them. Leah was now blessed with two sons; the first she called Issachar ( a hire ), reckoning herself well repaid for her mandrakes, nay (which is a strange construction of the providence) rewarded for giving her maid to her husband. Note, We abuse God's mercy when we reckon that his favours countenance and patronize our follies. The other she called Zebulun ( dwelling ), owning God's bounty to her: God has endowed me with a good dowry, Gen 30:20. Jacob had not endowed her when he married her, nor had he wherewithal in possession; but she reckons a family of children not a bill of charges, but a good dowry, Psa 113:9. She promises herself more of her husband's company now that she had borne him six sons, and that, in love to his children at least, he would often visit her lodgings. Mention is made (Gen 30:21) of the birth of a daughter, Dinah, because of the following story concerning her, ch. 34. Perhaps Jacob had other daughters, though their names are not registered.

II. Rachel fruitful at last (Gen 30:22): God remembered Rachel, whom he seemed to have forgotten, and hearkened to her whose prayers had been long denied; and then she bore a son. Note, As God justly denies the mercy we have been inordinately desirous of, so sometimes he graciously grants, at length, that which we have long waited for. He corrects our folly, and yet considers our frame, and does not contend for ever. Rachel called her son Joseph, which in Hebrew is akin to two words of a contrary signification, Asaph ( abstulit ), He has taken away my reproach, as if the greatest mercy she had in this son was that she had saved her credit; and Jasaph ( addidit ), The Lord shall add to me another son, which may be looked upon either as the language of her inordinate desire (she scarcely knows how to be thankful for one unless she may be sure of another), or of her faith - she takes this mercy as an earnest of further mercy. "Has God given me his grace? I may call it Joseph, and say, He shall add more grace! Has he given me his joy? I may call it Joseph, and say, He will give me more joy. Has he begun, and shall he not make an end?"

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 29:31-35

Leah's First Sons. - Jacob's sinful weakness showed itself even after his marriage, in the fact that he loved Rachel more than Leah; and the chastisement of God, in the fact that the hated wife was blessed with children, whilst Rachel for a long time remained unfruitful. By this it was made apparent once more, that the origin of Israel was to be a work not of nature, but of grace. Leah had four sons in rapid succession, and gave them names which indicated her state of mind: (1) Reuben , "see, a son!"because she regarded his birth as a pledge that Jehovah had graciously looked upon her misery, for now her husband would love her; (2) Simeon , i.e., "hearing,"for Jehovah had heard, i.e., observed that she was hated; (3) Levi , i.e., attachment, for she hoped that this time, at least, after she had born three sons, her husband would become attached to her, i.e., show her some affection; (4) Judah ( יהוּדה , verbal , of the fut. hoph . of ידה ), i.e., praise, not merely the praised one, but the one for whom Jehovah is praised. After this fourth birth there was a pause (Gen 29:31), that she might not be unduly lifted up by her good fortune, or attribute to the fruitfulness of her own womb what the faithfulness of Jehovah , the covenant God had bestowed upon her.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 30:1-8

Bilhah's Sons. - When Rachel thought of her own barrenness, she became more and more envious of her sister, who was blessed with sons. But instead of praying, either directly or through her husband, as Rebekah had done, to Jehovah , who had promised His favour to Jacob (Gen 28:13.), she said to Jacob, in passionate displeasure, "Get me children, or I shall die;" to which he angrily replied, " Am I in God's stead (i.e., equal to God, or God), who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? "i.e., Can I, a powerless man, give thee what the Almighty God has withheld? Almighty like God Jacob certainly was not; but he also wanted the power which he might have possessed, the power of prayer, in firm reliance upon the promise of the Lord. Hence he could neither help nor advise his beloved wife, but only assent to her proposal, that he should beget children for her through her maid Bilhah (cf. Gen 16:2), through whom two sons were born to her. The first she named Dan , i.e., judge, because God had judged her, i.e., procured her justice, hearkened to her voice (prayer), and removed the reproach of childlessness; the second Naphtali , i.e., my conflict, or my fought one, for "fightings of God, she said, have I fought with my sister, and also prevailed." אלהים נפתּוּלי are neither luctationes quam maximae , nor "a conflict in the cause of God, because Rachel did not wish to leave the founding of the nation of God to Leah alone"( Knobel ), but "fightings for God and His mercy"(Hengstenberg), or, what comes to the same thing, "wrestlings of prayer she had wrestled with Leah; in reality, however, with God Himself, who seemed to have restricted His mercy to Leah alone"( Delitzsch ). It is to be noticed, that Rachel speaks of Elohim only, whereas Leah regarded her first four sons as the gift of Jehovah . In this variation of the names, the attitude of the two women, not only to one another, but also to the cause they served, is made apparent. It makes no difference whether the historian has given us the very words of the women on the birth of their children, or, what appears more probable, since the name of God is not introduced into the names of the children, merely his own view of the matter as related by him (Gen 29:31; Gen 30:17, Gen 30:22). Leah, who had been forced upon Jacob against his inclination, and was put by him in the background, was not only proved by the four sons, whom she bore to him in the first years of her marriage, to be the wife provided for Jacob by Elohim , the ruler of human destiny; but by the fact that these four sons formed the real stem of the promised numerous seed, she was proved still more to be the wife selected by Jehovah , in realization of His promise, to be the tribe-mother of the greater part of the covenant nation. But this required that Leah herself should be fitted for it in heart and mind, that she should feel herself to be the handmaid of Jehovah , and give glory to the covenant God for the blessing of children, or see in her children actual proofs that Jehovah had accepted her and would bring to her the affection of her husband. It was different with Rachel, the favourite and therefore high-minded wife. Jacob should give her, what God alone could give. The faithfulness and blessing of the covenant God were still hidden from her. Hence she resorted to such earthly means as procuring children through her maid, and regarded the desired result as the answer of God, and a victory in her contest with her sister. For such a state of mind the term Elohim , God the sovereign ruler, was the only fitting expression.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 30:9-13

Zilpah's Sons. - But Leah also was not content with the divine blessing bestowed upon her by Jehovah . The means employed by Rachel to retain the favour of her husband made her jealous; and jealousy drove her to the employment of the same means. Jacob begat two sons by Zilpah her maid. The one Leah named Gad , i.e., "good fortune,"saying, בּגד , "with good fortune,"according to the Chethib , for which the Masoretic reading is גּד בּא , "good fortune has come,"- not, however, from any ancient tradition, for the Sept . reads ἐν τύχῃ , but simply from a subjective and really unnecessary conjecture, since בּגד = "to my good fortune,"sc., a son is born, gives a very suitable meaning. The second she named Asher , i.e., the happy one, or bringer of happiness; for she said, בּאשׁרי , "to my happiness, for daughters call me happy,"i.e., as a mother with children. The perfect אשּׁרני relates to "what she had now certainly reached"( Del .). Leah did not think of God in connection with these two births. They were nothing more than the successful and welcome result of the means she had employed.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 30:14-21

The Other Children of Leah. - How thoroughly henceforth the two wives were carried away by constant jealousy of the love and attachment of their husband, is evident from the affair of the love-apples, which Leah's son Reuben, who was then four years old, found in the field and brought to his mother. דּוּדאים , μῆλα μανδραγορῶν (lxx), the yellow apples of the alraun ( Mandragora vernalis ), a mandrake very common in Palestine. They are about the size of a nutmeg, with a strong and agreeable odour, and were used by the ancients, as they still are by the Arabs, as a means of promoting child-bearing. To Rachel's request that she would give her some, Leah replied (Gen 30:15): " Is it too little, that thou hast taken (drawn away from me) my husband, to take also "( לקחת infin .), i.e., that thou wouldst also take, " my son's mandrakes? "At length she parted with them, on condition that Rachel would let Jacob sleep with her the next night. After relating how Leah conceived again, and Rachel continued barren in spite of the mandrakes, the writer justly observes (Gen 30:17), " Elohim hearkened unto Leah, "to show that it was not from such natural means as love-apples, but from God the author of life, that she had received such fruitfulness. Leah saw in the birth of her fifth son a divine reward for having given her maid to her husband - a recompense, that is, for her self-denial; and she named him on that account Issaschar , ישּׂשׂכר , a strange form, to be understood either according to the Chethib שׂכר ישׁ "there is reward,"or according to the Keri שׁכר ישּׂא "he bears (brings) reward."At length she bore her sixth son, and named him Zebulun , i.e., "dwelling;"for she hoped that now, after God had endowed her with a good portion, her husband, to whom she had born six sons, would dwell with her, i.e., become more warmly attached to her. The name is from זבל to dwell, with acc . constr . "to inhabit,"formed with a play upon the alliteration in the word זבד to present - two ἅπαξ λεγόμενα . In connection with these two births, Leah mentions Elohim alone, the supernatural giver, and not Jehovah , the covenant God, whose grace had been forced out of her heart by jealousy. She afterwards bore a daughter, Dinah , who is mentioned simply because of the account in Gen 34; for, according to Gen 37:35 and Gen 46:7, Jacob had several daughters, though they were nowhere mentioned by name.

Keil-Delitzsch: Gen 30:22-24

Birth of Joseph. - At length God gave Rachel also a son, whom she named Joseph , יוסף , i.e., taking away (= יאסף , cf. 1Sa 15:6; 2Sa 6:1; Psa 104:29) and adding (from יסף ), because his birth not only furnished an actual proof that God had removed the reproach of her childlessness, but also excited the wish, that Jehovah might add another son. The fulfilment of this wish is recorded in Gen 35:16. The double derivation of the name, and the exchange of Elohim for Jehovah , may be explained, without the hypothesis of a double source, on the simple ground, that Rachel first of all looked back at the past, and, thinking of the earthly means that had been applied in vain for the purpose of obtaining a child, regarded the son as a gift of God. At the same time, the good fortune which had now come to her banished from her heart her envy of her sister (Gen 30:1), and aroused belief in that God, who, as she had no doubt heard from her husband, had given Jacob such great promises; so that in giving the name, probably at the circumcision, she remembered Jehovah and prayed for another son from His covenant faithfulness.

After the birth of Joseph, Jacob asked Laban to send him away, with the wives and children for whom he had served him (Gen 30:25). According to this, Joseph was born at the end of the 14 years of service that had been agreed upon, or seven years after Jacob had taken Leah and (a week later) Rachel as his wives (Gen 29:21-28). Now if all the children, whose births are given in Gen 29:32-30:24, had been born one after another during the period mentioned, not only would Leah have had seven children in 7, or literally 6 1/4 years, but there would have been a considerable interval also, during which Rachel's maid and her own gave birth to children. But this would have been impossible; and the text does not really state it. When we bear in mind that the imperf . c . ו consec . expresses not only the order of time, but the order of thought as well, it becomes apparent that in the history of the births, the intention to arrange them according to the mothers prevails over the chronological order, so that it by no means follows, that because the passage, "when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children,"occurs after Leah is said to have had four sons, therefore it was not till after the birth of Leah's fourth child that Rachel became aware of her own barrenness. There is nothing on the part of the grammar to prevent our arranging the course of events thus. Leah's first four births followed as rapidly as possible one after the other, so that four sons were born in the first four years of the second period of Jacob's service. In the meantime, not necessarily after the birth of Leah's fourth child, Rachel, having discovered her own barrenness, had given her maid to Jacob; so that not only may Dan have been born before Judah, but Naphtali also not long after him. The rapidity and regularity with which Leah had born her first four sons, would make her notice all the more quickly the cessation that took place; and jealousy of Rachel, as well as the success of the means she had adopted, would impel her to attempt in the same way to increase the number of her children. Moreover, Leah herself may have conceived again before the birth of her maid's second son, and may have given birth to her last two sons in the sixth and seventh years of their marriage. And contemporaneously with the birth of Leah's last son, or immediately afterwards, Rachel may have given birth to Joseph. In this way Jacob may easily have had eleven sons within seven years of his marriage. But with regard to the birth of Dinah, the expression "afterwards"(Gen 30:21) seems to indicate, that she was not born during Jacob's years of service, but during the remaining six years of his stay with Laban.

Constable: Gen 11:27--Exo 1:1

II. PATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES 11:27--50:26

One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. How Abram's family gained these blessings unfolds. Israel could, and we can, identify with their experiences.

"Chapters 1-11 are set in Babylonia; chs. 12-36 are set in Palestine; chs. 37-50 are set in Egypt. (The same kind of tripartite geographical focus emerges from Exodus: [1] 1:1-12:36, in Egypt; [2] 12:37-18:27, to Sinai; [3] 19:1-40:38, at Sinai.) In other words, each part of the Mediterranean world is highlighted in some part of Genesis. The crucial center section of Genesis (chs. 12-36) is bracketed geographically by two sections of the Near Eastern world with whose history that of Israel would be constantly interlocked. . . .

"In chs. 1-11 we read of individuals who had land, but are either losing it or being expelled from it. In chs. 12-50 the emphasis is on individuals who do not have land, but are on the way toward it. One group is losing; another group is expecting.

"Genesis is moving us progressively from generation (chs. 1-2), to degeneration (chs. 3-11), to regeneration (chs. 12-50)."³⁹³

Chapters 1-11 present a structural pattern that carries over into the rest of the Pentateuch.

"The importance of Genesis 1-11 for the rest of the Pentateuch can be seen in the fact that its narrative structure provides a pattern by which the author often shapes subsequent pentateuchal narratives. Thus the order and arrangement of the Creation accounts in Genesis 1-2 exhibit the same pattern as the description of the building of the tabernacle (Ex 25-31); the tabernacle is portrayed as a return to the Garden of Eden. The instructions given to Noah for building the ark foreshadow those given to Moses for building the tabernacle. Furthermore, one can demonstrate that whole sections of laws in the Pentateuch have been grouped and arranged in patterns that parallel the narrative structure of Genesis 1-11."³⁹⁴

"The ancient oriental background to Gen 1-11 shows it to be concerned with rather different issues from those that tend to preoccupy modern readers. It is affirming the unity of God in the face of polytheism, his justice rather than his caprice, his power as opposed to his impotence, his concern for mankind rather than his exploitation. And whereas Mesopotamia clung to the wisdom of primeval man, Genesis records his sinful disobedience. Because as Christians we tend to assume these points in our theology, we often fail to recognize the striking originality of the message of Gen 1-11 and concentrate on subsidiary points that may well be of less moment."³⁹⁵

Some notable changes take place in the second part of Genesis. Instead of the genealogies being prominent and the stories secondary, as in chapters 1-11, the reverse becomes true now. God retreats farther into the background of the events recorded than was the case earlier, and there is corresponding emphasis on the personalities of the patriarchs. The promises to the patriarchs form the central theme of this section, especially those concerning descendants, land, and divine blessing. There also seems to be increasing depth in the moral awareness of the patriarchs as generation follows generation from Abram to Joseph.³⁹⁶

Constable: Gen 25:19--36:1

C. What became of Isaac 25:19-35:29

A new toledot begins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."⁶²⁵

Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment of the promise of the seed and the seed's prosperity.

"A Oracle sought; Rebekah struggles in childbirth; bekorah birthright; birth; themes of strife, deception, fertility (25:19-34).

B Interlude: strife; deception; berakah blessing; covenant with foreigner (26).

C Deception; berakah stolen; fear of Esau; flight from land (27:1-28:9).

D Encounter (<paga') with the divine at sacred site near border; berakah (28:10-22).

E Internal cycle opens: arrival; Laban at border; deception; wages; Rachel barren; Leah fertile (29:1-30:21).

F Rachel fertile; Jacob increases the herds (30:22-43).

E' Internal cycle closes: departure; Laban at border; deception; wages (31).

D' Encounters (<paga') with divine beings at sacred sites near border; berakah (32).

C' Deception planned; fear of Esau; berakah gift returned; return to land (33).

B' Interlude: strife; deception; covenant with foreigner (34).

A' Oracle fulfilled; Rachel struggles in childbirth; berakah; death resolutions (35:1-22)."⁶²⁶

The Flood story also has a palistrophic structure, and both stories have a similar statement at the middle (turning point): God remembered Noah (8:1) and God remembered Rachel (30:22). This emphasizes that God controls events and saves His people.

". . . the author of Genesis has deliberately split the Jacob-Joseph story into two parts by putting the family history of Esau 36:1-37:1 in the middle. This allows him to alternate the genealogies of the non-elect lines of Ishmael (25:12-18) and Esau (36:1-37:1) with the fuller family histories of the chosen lines of Terah (Abraham) (11:27-25:11), Isaac (Jacob) (25:19-35:29), and Jacob (Joseph) (37:2-50:26) to produce a total of five patriarchal family histories. This matches the five family histories of pre-patriarchal times . . ."⁶²⁷

Constable: Gen 29:31--30:25

8. Jacob's mishandling of God's blessing 29:31-30:24

God formed Jacob's family, the ancestors of the tribes of Israel, as He had promised Jacob at Bethel. Unfortunately Jacob and his wives lived in envy and friction over how God chose to bless them.

"Jacob had planned to take Rachel as his wife, but God intended him to have Leah. Thus in two major reversals in Jacob's life, we can begin to see the writer's theme taking shape. Jacob sought to marry Rachel, but Laban tricked him. Then Jacob sought to build a family through Rachel, but she was barren; and God opened Leah's womb."⁷⁰³

This record of Jacob's children, the center of the Jacob story structurally, is important for at least three reasons.

1. It shows God's faithfulness in providing descendants as He had promised.

"Now the account centers on the fulfillment of Yahweh's promise to be with Jacob and to bless him."⁷⁰⁴

2. It gives the origins and circumstances surrounding the births of the tribal heads of Israel.

"The theme of the Pentateuch is not difficult to discern. It is the story of the birth and adolescence of a nation."⁷⁰⁵

3. It explains much of the tribal rivalry that follows in Israel's history.

The section culminates with the birth of Joseph (30:24), which was the cue for Jacob to return home (30:25).

29:31-35 Moses recorded the births of Leah's first four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. When the clause "the LORD saw" occurs (v. 31), His acting decisively, often for the weak and oppressed, follows soon (cf. 6:5; 7:1; 18:21; 31:12; Exod. 2:25; 4:31).

30:1-8 Rachel's reaction to her barrenness and Jacob's response contrast with how Rebekah and Isaac, and Sarah and Abraham behaved in similar circumstances. Sarah resorted to a custom acceptable in her culture, though contrary to God's will, to secure an heir for Abraham (cf. 16:1-2). Isaac prayed that God would open Rebekah's womb and waited (25:21). Rachel and Jacob followed the example of Sarah and Abraham.

The conflict between Rachel and Leah focuses on love and motherhood. Rachel had Jacob's love, but she could not become a mother. Conversely Leah was the mother of Jacob's children, but she could not win his love.⁷⁰⁶

The account of the birth of Bilhah's sons, Dan and Naphtali, follows (vv. 5-8).

30:9-13 Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob two sons: Gad and Asher.

30:14-20 The mandrake is a plant that bears bluish flowers in winter and yellowish plum-sized fruit in summer. The fruit has a strong, pleasant fragrance, and was thought to help barren women conceive. Some Arabs still use it as an aphrodisiac (cf. Song of Sol. 7:13).⁷⁰⁷

"The outcome was ironical, the mandrakes doing nothing for Rachel, while Leah gained another son by parting with them."⁷⁰⁸

"Just as Jacob had purchased the birthright for a pot of stew (25:29-34), so also Leah purchased the right to more children by Jacob with the mandrakes of her son Reuben (30:14-16)."⁷⁰⁹

Leah received her other children, Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, because "God gave heed to Leah" (v. 17), not because of some magic supposedly connected with the mandrakes.

Jacob may have had daughters besides Dinah (cf. 37:35 and 46:7). She may be the only one mentioned by name because she is the only one whose experience Moses recorded later in Genesis (ch. 34).

30:22-24 Eventually God granted Rachel a son, Joseph. He was born at the end of Jacob's fourteenth year in Laban's service.

The jealousy, bickering, superstition, and weak faith demonstrated by Jacob and his wives stand out in this section. God's gift of children was gracious; He gave them in spite of, rather than because of, the behavior of the parents. Rachel acknowledged this finally (vv. 23-24) as did Jacob. The use of the names "Elohim" and "Yahweh" reflects the attitudes of the various characters to God and shows their relationships with Him.

"On the human plane the story demonstrates the craving of human beings for love and recognition, and the price of thwarting it; on the divine level it shows once again the grace of God choosing difficult and unpromising material."⁷¹⁰

"Jacob's partiality and his general handling of his family led to strife and mother groupings that were to affect the history of Israel for centuries thereafter."⁷¹¹

Believers should not envy and strive, which leads to bitter conflicts, but should obey God trusting Him to dispense His blessings wisely, justly, and compassionately.

The actions of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah in this chapter, and those of Abraham and Sarah in chapter 16, raise questions about surrogate parenting. Today husbands and wives who cannot have children normally sometimes choose to secure the services of a third person who can provide a needed function and thus enable them to have children. For example, if the wife cannot carry a baby in her womb for a full term pregnancy some doctors recommend that the couple use the services of another woman. If acceptable, they implant the couple's fertilized egg in her womb that she agrees to "rent" for the nine-month gestation period. Another example is the securing of sperm from a donor if the husband is sterile. There are many ways in which childless couples can now become parents with this kind of help from a third, and sometimes fourth party. These situations are somewhat similar to what we find in Genesis 16 and 30. The common tie is that in all these cases someone other than the husband and wife is essential to the conception of the child. I do not believe that adoption is similar because in adoption a husband and wife simply agree to rear a child that has been or will be born. They do not require a third party for the conception of the child as in surrogate parenting.

Guzik: Gen 29:1-35

Genesis 29 - Jacob's Marriages and Children

A. Jacob meets Rachel.

1. (1-3) Jacob comes to a covered well.

So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well's mouth. Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well's mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well's mouth.

a. And came to the land of the people of the East: Because the LORD blessed his trip, Jacob returns to the land that his mother came from, being also the land of his grandfather Abraham.

2. (4-10) Jacob meets Rachel at the well.

And Jacob said to them, "My brethren, where are you from?" And they said, "We are from Haran." Then he said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know him." So he said to them, "Is he well?" And they said, "He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep." Then he said, "Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them." But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep." Now while he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

a. My brethren, where are you from? In an age before clearly marked roads and signs, Jacob didn't know where he was until he asked some of the locals, and he discovered he was at his destination.

b. Water the sheep, and go and feed them: Jacob definitely seems like he is trying to get rid of the shepherd boys, probably so he can be alone with Rachel.

c. Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth: Jacob also knew he had come to marry one of the daughters of Laban (Genesis 28:2), so he is more than willing to show kindness (and perhaps his strength) to Laban's daughter Rachel.

3. (11-14) Rachel arranges for her father Laban to meet Jacob.

Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebekah's son. So she ran and told her father. Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him for a month.

a. Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept: Initially, Rachel must have been quite surprised when a man she never saw appears before weeping and greeting her with a kiss. Yet she heard of her relatives (Rebekah is her aunt) who lived in the Promised Land, and she understood Jacob is from this family.

B. Laban's deal with Jacob.

1. (15-20) Jacob offers to work for seven years as a dowry to receive Rachel in marriage.

Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?" Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter." And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

a. What should your wages be: This might sound like a nice offer, but really Laban let Jacob know if he wants to stay around, he must stay as a hired servant. Jacob was the son of a man of tremendous wealth. Certainly he was not lazy, but he wasn't used to hard work. Servants did the hard work back home. But now Jacob is the servant.

i. Jacob's reaction in this situation will reveal much of his character. This demonstrates the principle that you never know what kind of servant you are until others treat you like a servant.

b. Now Jacob loved Rachel: Not only was Rachel beautiful of form and appearance, but she was also the first friendly face Jacob met in the area. It is understandable why he had a "love at first sight" attachment to Rachel.

i. There is dispute as to exactly what the phrase "Leah's eyes were delicate" means. Some think it means her eyes were bad, and she couldn't see well. Others think it means her eyes were "dull," not beautiful and full of life like her sister Rachel's eyes.

c. I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter:

The offer to work for seven years was essentially a dowry. Though Jacob came from a family with great wealth, he left home penniless. Before he could take a woman in marriage he had to provide a dowry to demonstrate he was fit to support a family and to compensate for the taking of the daughter.

i. Seven years was a very generous offer, far above a normal dowry. Jacob didn't want to risk a refusal. When Laban saw how badly Jacob wanted Rachel, he knew he could take advantage of him.

d. They seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her: We notice the great love he had for her. The seven years of labor without pay (except for room and board) seemed to pass as quickly as a few days.

i. In this ancient culture, Jacob was not allowed to spend as much time as he wanted with Rachel. There were strict social guidelines keeping unmarried men and women apart from each other.

ii. This clearly demonstrates an important principle: true love waits. Jacob was willing to wait seven years for Rachel.

iii. In 1990, it was reported that in response to the excesses of the sexual revolution, some 400 concerned single adults have joined the National Chastity Association. Member Elaine Marsh, a 35-year-old legal secretary from Orange County, described her commitment to celibacy before her marriage: "It comes from my religion, but it's more than that," she says. "I just feel it's such a precious part of yourself, you don't give it to someone when you haven't made the commitment of marriage." Founder Mary Meyer says the group isn't against sex: "I love hand-holding, I love kissing, I love caressing, I love sex," she says. "But even more than I would love to experience these things right now, I want to be able to have a relationship where I can experience them forever." This is the kind of wisdom and heart Jacob had.

iv. In the 1990s there was a successful campaign among teens titled "True Love Waits." It persuaded them to take the following pledge: "Believing that true love waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, those I date, my future mate and my future children to be sexually pure until the day I enter a covenant marriage relationship." One 18-year-old named Rick said he used to be one of the guys who would come into school on Monday morning and brag about his sexual exploits. His views changed when he became a Christian two years ago, and now he is happy to take the pledge. "Sex is something God made to say, 'I love you,'" he said. "If you have sex with everybody, you can't say I've saved this one thing to say, 'I love you.' "

2. (21-25) Laban switches Leah for Rachel on the wedding night.

Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her." And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?"

a. Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her: These words are clear enough. Even though Jacob waited and the time went quickly because of love, when the time was done he was done waiting.

b. He took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her: It was possible for Jacob to be fooled because of the wedding customs of the day. According to those customs the wife was veiled until she was finally alone with her husband in the "honeymoon suite." If it was dark by the time Jacob and his new bride were alone together (something Laban would not have difficulty arranging), it helps explain how Jacob was fooled.

c. He took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob: We assume that Leah was in agreement with this. "She may have loved Jacob secretly. She may have considered this her one chance to get a husband. She may have thought this an unsought, and therefore justifiable, opportunity to steal a march on her sister." (Leupold) Yet even it she was not in agreement, she was under the absolute authority of her father.

i. The absolute authority of the father in the home in that culture also explains why Rachel "agreed" to this.

d. So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah: We can Imagine how Jacob felt - and how Leah felt, and of course how poor Rachel felt. All this was because of Laban's sin. Or, perhaps one should say it was because of Jacob's sin - now the deceiver is deceived.

e. Why then have you deceived me? Significantly, Laban's deception towards Jacob is similar to the deception Jacob put upon his father Isaac and his brother Esau. This is an example of Jacob reaping what he had sown. Jacob exchanged the younger for the older; Laban exchanged the older for the younger.

i. When Jacob deceived his father and cheated his brother, God did not change His plan to choose Jacob to receive the birthright. Instead, God took Jacob to the school of hard knocks to discipline him. This shows that our disobedience may not derail God's plan for our life, but it will greatly affect how we end up experiencing it. You may spend 20 years working for someone like Laban while God teaches you a few things.

ii. Though we can see this is God's correction upon Jacob, it in no way justifies Laban's deception. The fact God does work all things together for good never excuses the evil acts God works for good.

3. (26-30) Laban agrees to give Rachel to Jacob in return for another seven years worth of work.

And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years." Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

a. It must not be done so in our country: This excuse by Laban basically says, "Well, didn't we tell you? We don't do it this way around here. Thought you knew." The only reason Jacob submits to this clever trick of Laban's is because he had no other option. But Laban's "reason" was really nothing more than an excuse.

b. Serve with me still another seven years: The second seven years made up Jacob's post-graduate work in the school of hard knocks. Jacob's "major" in the school of hard knocks was "You Reap What You Sow."

c. And he served with Laban still another seven years: Laban is a perfect picture of a deceptive manipulator. He ends up getting exactly what he wanted (both his daughters married). Yet, this will turn out badly for both himself and his daughters. Oftentimes, God judges manipulators by giving them what they in their sinful desires and methods want and allowing it to be loss for them.

i. The problems in this family can be seen immediately. Not only has Jacob married two sisters, but he also lets everyone know one is favored and loved more than the other. Ultimately, all these problems stem from Laban's manipulative deception, and the prior sin of Jacob that brought it upon himself.

ii. Well, then, what should Jacob have done? Some say Jacob should have gone to Laban and told him to correct the whole mess, and simply be married to Rachel and let Leah be Laban's problem. Others believe that according to the standards of the culture, he could not have put Leah aside, because she was unable to marry another after having been given to Jacob. Perhaps, he should have done the best he could in the situation, which would have been to love his two wives equally. What a mess!

d. He gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also: We don't practice polygamy, but we do practice "serial marriage." We can think of polygamy as "mass marriage" in the sense we speak about "mass murder": someone who marries more than one at the same time. But there is also "serial murder": where a murderer kills many, but one at a time. In our modern culture we multiply wives to ourselves; we just do it one at a time.

i. We can't do anything about our marriages that have broken up in the past, but we can do all we can before God to make sure that from now on, it is one partner for all time.

C. Jacob's first four sons born through Leah.

1. (31) God's gracious love for Leah.

When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

a. When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved: God's compassion on Leah is touching. She is truly the innocent party in all of this mess. God can minister to a wife and meet her needs even when the husband acts in an ungodly manner.

i. "Wretched Leah sits sadly in her tent with her maid and spends her time spinning and weeping. For the rest of the household, and especially Rachel, despises her because she has been scorned by her husband, who prefers Rachel and is desperately in love with Rachel alone. She is not beautiful, not pleasing. No, she is odious and hated . . .. There the poor girl sits; no one pays any attention to her. Rachel gives herself airs before; she does not deign to look at her. 'I am the lady of the house,' she thinks, 'Leah is a slave.' These are truly carnal things in the saintly fathers and mothers, like the things that usually happen in our houses." (Luther, cited in Boice)

b. When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb: Isaiah 54:5 says, For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is His name. God can meet the needs a hurting wife has, needs that are neglected by the husband.

2. (32) The birth of Reuben.

So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me."

a. She called his name Rueben: The first child born to Jacob, through Leah, is named Reuben by Leah, meaning "behold, a son." This is her statement to Jacob and all others that the LORD had looked upon my affliction.

i. Reuben is the firstborn son of Jacob; he is the logical one to inherit the promise God had made to Abraham and passed on to Isaac and then to Jacob.

b. Now therefore, my husband will love me: Jacob, even though he did not love Leah, still would have sex with her. Unfortunately, men are much more able to detach sex from love than women are. Worse yet, Leah was painfully aware of the fact Jacob did not love her, even though he was obviously having sex with her.

3. (33) The birth of Simeon.

Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.

a. She called his name Simeon: The second child born to Jacob, through Leah again, is named by Leah Simeon, meaning "hearing." Leah hopes all will notice the LORD has heard her.

b. Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved: Apparently, the birth of Reuben did not turn the heart of Jacob towards Leah. She is still aware he does not love her, though he is still having sex with her.

i. Of course, Jacob and Leah were married, so there was nothing sinful in sexual relationship. But this plainly shows that Jacob, like most any man in the flesh, was able and willing to have sex with someone he did not love.

ii. Women should never think a man loves them just because they have sex. A 1993 Los Angeles Times article interviewed young men to find out their views on sex. One man named Christian (17 years old) explained how things work between men and women: "We're just not sentimental. That's why we're men . . .. We like girls, we don't love them . . . You see a girl and you just think, yeah, she's really pretty and the first thing that comes to mind is you want to have sex." He then explained how he seduced a girl: "You start kissing her and hugging her and little by little you start touching her." After sex, he explained many boys dump the girls. "Girls get mad, but they don't take it hard. They get over it."

iii. This is the kind of man a woman might have sex with in the misguided effort to keep him as her boyfriend, because he has deceived her into thinking he loves her. How dangerous can this be? Consider the words of a woman who caught AIDS from a Ventura man who knew he was infected but never told her: "All I wanted is someone to love me, and now I'm going to die for that. I don't think I should have to die for that."

iv. A 1995 survey asked the following question: "Have you ever had sex with a woman you have actively disliked?" 58% of men answered "yes."

4. (34) The birth of Levi.

She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

a. Therefore his name was called Levi: The third child born to Jacob, again through Leah, is named Levi, meaning "attachment." Leah still lives in the hope her husband Jacob will love her and become attached to her through the birth of these sons.

b. Now this time my husband will become attached to me: The pain in the heart of Leah is as evident as the hardness of Jacob's heart, and as evident as his fleshly attitude towards his wife Leah.

5. (35) The birth of Judah.

And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

a. She called his name Judah: The fourth son born to Jacob, again through Leah, is named Judah meaning, "praise." Apparently, Leah has stopped naming her children to reflect the pain and longing in her heart. Now she focuses on God and can praise Him.

b. Now I will praise the LORD: To some extent, and for some period of time, Leah has allowed the LORD to meet her need, and she can now praise God! Leah knew the LORD better, driven to Him by the neglect of her husband.

i. Leah, though she was neglected by Jacob and despised by Rachel, had a great purpose in God's plan. The two greatest tribes came from Leah, not Rachel: Levi (the priestly tribe) and Judah (the royal tribe). And most importantly, the Messiah came from Leah, the uglier sister, who was neglected and despised, but learned to look to the LORD and praise Him.

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Guzik: Gen 30:1-43

Genesis 30 - The Children Born to Jacob

A. Two sons born to Bilhah.

1. (1-4) Rachel, out of frustration, gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob in a "surrogate mother" arrangement.

Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!" And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" So she said, "Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her." Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

a. Give me children, or else I die! Despite Rachel's great beauty, she also was near despair. No doubt, Leah often said, "If I only had my sister's beauty and the love of my husband as she does." And, no doubt, Rachel often said, "If I only had sons like my sister." Beautiful or plain, we all have our problems. Stop looking to how God deals with others and set your eyes on Him!

b. Rachel envied her sister . . . Give me children, or else I die . . . Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel: The tension in this family is apparent. At least Jacob saw the hand of God in the matter, even though he stated it to Rachel cruelly.

i. Can you imagine how vain Rachel was, knowing Jacob worked 14 years with no pay out of love for her, and knowing Jacob would not have worked one day for Leah?

c. Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her: Much like Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham in a surrogate-mother type arrangement (Genesis 16), Rachel gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob.

i. On my knees refers to the custom where the husband impregnated the surrogate while the surrogate reclined on the lap of the wife, and how she might even recline on the wife as she gave birth. The symbolism clearly showed the child was legally the child of the mother, not the surrogate, who merely "stood in" for the wife both in conception and birth.

d. She gave him Bilhah her maid as wife:This does not mean that Jacob actually married Bilhah. It means Jacob did with Bilhah what a man should only do with his wife.

2. (5-6) The birth of Dan.

And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, "God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.

a. She called his name Dan: Jacob's fifth son, born to him through Bilhah, the maid of Rachel, is named by Rachel Dan meaning, "judgment." Because of her own envy, she viewed this child born of the flesh as a victory and a vindication for her.

b. God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son: "Can a woman get so low that she will hit her sister over the head with a baby? Rachel did." (Barnhouse)

3. (7-8) The birth of Naphtali.

And Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.

a. She called his name Naphtali: Jacob's sixth son, born to him through Bilhah, the maid of Rachel, is named Naphtali by Rachel, meaning "wrestle." Relationships in this home have broken down to the point where Rachel will openly acknowledge this "baby competition" between her and her sister by naming the new baby wrestle.

b. With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed: This seems strange. How do two sons prevail over four? Perhaps she meant it in the sense that now Leah seemed to have stopped having children.

B. Two sons born to Zilpah.

1. (9-11) The birth of Gad.

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, "A troop comes!" So she called his name Gad.

a. She took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife: Leah, who has stopped bearing children, figured she could use the same "surrogate mother" method to increase "her" number of children, so she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob as Rachel gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob.

b. She called his name Gad: Jacob's seventh son, born to him through Zilpah, the maid of Leah, is named Gad, meaning "troop" or "good fortune"; the wives of Jacob are still using their children as pawns in a power struggle within the home.

i. Leah has apparently lost the peace she had when her fourth son was born; she no longer has the peace "praise" brings.

2. (12-13) The birth of Asher.

And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, "I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed." So she called his name Asher.

a. So she called his name Asher: Jacob's eighth son, born to him through Zilpah, the maid of Leah, is named Asher, meaning "happy"; Leah is more concerned about the status the child will bring her (all the daughters will call me blessed) than about the child himself.

C. Leah herself bears two more sons and a daughter.

1. (14-18) The birth of Issachar.

Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes." When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, 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." And he lay with her that night. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.

a. Found mandrakes in the field: The mandrake is a root, called "love-apples" in Hebrew. They were thought (and still are among some peoples) to increase fertility in women. Because Leah had the mandrakes, she knew Jacob would have relations with her, believing there was a greater likelihood she would become pregnant.

i. We don't know if the effect of the mandrakes was something biological, or if it functioned more as a placebo. But under the guiding hand of God, the mandrakes seemed to "work" in the case of Leah and Jacob. Whatever strange agencies God may allow to be used (such as mandrakes), the real factor is His sovereign will (God listened to Leah).

b. You have taken away my husband: The hostility between Leah and Rachel is as obvious as it is painful. It must have been terrible living in a home where one wife believed the other had stolen her husband from her.

i. This confirms the wisdom of God's original plan, as expressed in Genesis 2:24: one man to be joined to one woman in a one-flesh relationship.

ii. "Is it any wonder that this family had a history of strife and bloodshed? Children reflect the atmosphere of the home." (Barnhouse)

iii. Later, Leviticus 18:18 forbids the marrying of sisters, and this shows why!

c. So she called his name Issachar: Jacob's ninth son, born to Leah, is named Issachar, meaning "reward"; Leah saw this son as a reward from God because she was "generous" enough to offer her maid to Jacob.

2. (19-20) The birth of Zebulun.

Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun.

a. So she called his name Zebulun: Jacob's tenth son, born to Leah, is named Zebulun, meaning "dwelling." In the pain of her heart, she still waits for her husband to truly love her and live with her, and she hopes the sheer quantity of sons will win his heart to her.

3. (21) The birth of Dinah.

Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

a. Afterward she bore a daughter: Finally, after ten children, Jacob becomes father to a daughter through Leah, who is named Dinah. Apparently, there was nothing symbolically significant in her name.

b. The ungodly competition has, in one sense, ended. Leah and the two maids will have no more children.

i. But the wives fought each other as in a poker game:

"I bid one wife, loved and beautiful."

"I bid one wife and four sons."

"I'll match your one wife and raise you a concubine and the concubine's two sons."

"I'll raise you another concubine and two more sons by her; plus two more sons on my own, and I'll throw in a daughter. I'll stand with one wife, one concubine, six sons, and one daughter." Nobody was the winner at this competition.

D. Rachel herself bears a son to Jacob.

1. (22) God's sovereignty over the womb.

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

a. And opened her womb: The idea of God's sovereignty over the womb is a persistent theme in the Bible; God granted twins to Rebekah (Genesis 25:21); He opens the womb of Leah (Genesis 29:31), and closes the womb of Hannah (1 Samuel 1:5). The purposes of God in opening one and closing the other may be completely unknowable, but God has His purpose.

2. (23-24) The birth of Joseph.

And she conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach." So she called his name Joseph, and said, "The LORD shall add to me another son."

a. So she called his name Joseph: The eleventh son born to Jacob, through Rachel, is named Joseph, meaning "may he add"; Rachel feels she has been "vindicated" by the birth of one son, but longs for more children to continue the competition with her sister Leah.

b. At this point, none would think this eleventh son would end up being the key son used to further God's redemptive purpose through this family. Yet Isaiah 55:8-9 is true: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts."

E. Jacob's agreement with Laban.

1. (25-27) Jacob knows it is time to go back to Canaan.

And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you." And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake."

a. Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country: Though Jacob was in Haran with Laban and his daughters for more than 14 years, he knew that he belonged in the land promised to him by God, through the covenant made with his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. After 14 years, Jacob still called the Promised Land my country.

b. Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake: Laban knows Jacob has been an invaluable worker for him. Laban says this knowledge was learned by experience. Literally this means, "learned by divination." Laban practiced occult divination and by this he knew the source of blessing.

2. (28-34) Jacob negotiates a deal with Laban to start building a flock of sheep and goats for himself.

Then he said, "Name me your wages, and I will give it." So Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?" So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me." And Laban said, "Oh, that it were according to your word!"

a. The spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages: Jacob will take the speckled and spotted offspring, but will separate the currently speckled or spotted animals from the rest of the flock, so the odds are set against him. Allowing the speckled and spotted sheep and goats to remain in the flock would increase the likelihood of more speckled and spotted offspring coming from the flock at large.

b. Laban said, "Oh, that it were according to your word!" This is an agreeable deal to both parties. First, it was a foolproof way to distinguish between the flocks of Laban and Jacob. As well, Laban liked the deal because the odds were stacked in his favor. Jacob may have proposed the deal because he was willing to trust in God.

3. (35-36) The agreement is made, and the flocks are separated.

So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

a. Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks: Jacob now will care for the large flock of his father-in-law Laban, made up of solid-colored animals, and Jacob will receive any speckled or spotted offspring of this flock. Obviously, if there was a way Jacob could encourage these solid-colored sheep to bring forth spotted and speckled offspring, it would greatly increase his personal wealth.

b. He put three days' journey between himself and Jacob: So there would be no mixing of the flocks, Laban's sons took care of all the existing speckled and spotted sheep and goats, keeping them a three-day journey from the main flock. Jacob himself would take care of the solid-colored flock of Laban, as well as their speckled and spotted offspring, which belonged to him.

4. (37-43) God blesses Jacob's method of breeding, and he greatly increases in wealth.

Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's flock. And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

a. Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees: When Jacob put these branches in the the drinking troughs of the flocks it apparently increased the number of speckled and spotted offspring from the solid-colored flock Jacob managed on Laban's behalf.

b. So the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's: Jacob also used selective breeding to increase the strength and vitality of his flock. We don't know exactly how this method worked. It is possible Jacob knew more about animal husbandry than we do today; but it is more likely Jacob did the best he knew, and God blessed it.

c. Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous: The ancient Hebrew says, "the man burst out exceedingly exceedingly." God blessed Jacob, but it was not because Jacob was especially good. It was because of the promises God made to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15) and the covenant made to Abraham. In the same way, blessing comes from the LORD to us, not because we are great or good, but because of the covenant God has made with us through Jesus, and promises He has given us in His word.

i. We may note Jacob's principles for prosperity:

· Don't make wealth your goal (Genesis 30:25-26)

· Don't be afraid to work for others and try to increase their wealth before or as you work to increase your own wealth (Genesis 30:27)

· Work hard, dedicating yourself to your employer's success (Genesis 30:26, 31:38-42)

· Trust God (Genesis 30:31-33)

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Bible Query: Gen 29:31

Q: In Gen 29:31, why did God not just tell Jacob to love Leah too, instead of just making Rachel barren?

A: Sometimes people can only learn lessons the hard way. Are we any different?

Bible Query: Gen 30:8

Q: In Gen 30:8, how do you pronounce "Naphtali"?

A: Cruden’s Concordance, the Wycliffe Bible Dictionary, and Harper’s Bible Dictionary all say it is pronounced "NAF-ta-li", with short, a long i, and the accent on the first syllable.

Bible Query: Gen 30:14-15

Q: In Gen 30:14-15, doesn’t using mandrakes sound like a superstition?

A: Much of folk medicine does not work. The long time Rachel was childless afterwards clearly indicates that mandrakes had nothing to do with God opening Rachel’s womb. This passage shows that even believers can make mistakes and trust in foolish cures.

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Genesis (Book Introduction)

GENESIS, the book of the origin or production of all things, consists of two parts: the first, comprehended in the first through eleventh chapters, gives a general history; the second, contained in the subsequent chapters, gives a special history. The two parts are essentially connected; the one, which sets out with an account of the descent of the human race from a single pair, the introduction of sin into the world, and the announcement of the scheme of divine mercy for repairing the ruins of the fall, was necessary to pave the way for relating the other, namely, the call of Abraham, and the selection of his posterity for carrying out the gracious purpose of God. An evident unity of method, therefore, pervades this book, and the information contained in it was of the greatest importance to the Hebrew people, as without it they could not have understood the frequent references made in their law to the purposes and promises of God regarding themselves. The arguments that have been already adduced as establishing the Mosaic origin of the Pentateuch prove of course that Moses was the author of Genesis. The few passages on which the rationalists grounded their assertions that it was the composition of a later age have been successfully shown to warrant no such conclusion; the use of Egyptian words and the minute acquaintance with Egyptian life and manners, displayed in the history of Joseph, harmonize with the education of Moses, and whether he received his information by immediate revelation, from tradition, or from written documents, it comes to us as the authentic work of an author who wrote as he was inspired by the Holy Ghost (2Pe 1:21).

JFB: Genesis (Outline)

• THE CREATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. (Gen 1:1-2)
• THE FIRST DAY. (Gen 1:3-5)
• SECOND DAY. (Gen 1:6-8)
• THIRD DAY. (Gen 1:9-13)
• FOURTH DAY. (Gen 1:14-19)
• FIFTH DAY. The signs of animal life appeared in the waters and in the air. (Gen 1:20-23)
• SIXTH DAY. A farther advance was made by the creation of terrestrial animals, all the various species of which are included in three classes: (1) cattle, the herbivorous kind capable of labor or domestication. (Gen 1:24-31)
• THE NARRATIVE OF THE SIX DAYS' CREATION CONTINUED. The course of the narrative is improperly broken by the division of the chapter. (Gen 2:1)
• THE FIRST SABBATH. (Gen 2:2-7)
• THE GARDEN OF EDEN. ( Gen 8-17)
• THE MAKING OF WOMAN, AND INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE. (Gen 2:18-25)
• THE TEMPTATION. (Gen 3:1-5)
• THE FALL. (Gen 3:6-9)
• THE EXAMINATION. (Gen 3:10-13)
• THE SENTENCE. (Gen 3:14-24)
• BIRTH OF CAIN AND ABEL. (Gen. 4:1-26)
• GENEALOGY OF THE PATRIARCHS. (Gen. 5:1-32)
• WICKEDNESS OF THE WORLD. (Gen. 6:1-22)
• ENTRANCE INTO THE ARK. (Gen. 7:1-24)
• ASSUAGING OF THE WATERS. (Gen 8:1-14)
• DEPARTURE FROM THE ARK. (Gen 8:15-22)
• COVENANT. (Gen 9:1-7)
• RAINBOW. (Gen. 9:8-29)
• GENEALOGIES. (Gen. 10:1-32)
• CONFUSION OF TONGUES. (Gen. 11:1-32) the whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned (Gen 10:10), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.
• CALL TO ABRAM. (Gen. 12:1-20)
• RETURN FROM EGYPT. (Gen. 13:1-18)
• WAR. (Gen. 14:1-24)
• DIVINE ENCOURAGEMENT. (Gen. 15:1-21)
• BESTOWMENT OF HAGAR. (Gen. 16:1-16)
• RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. (Gen. 17:1-27)
• ENTERTAINMENT OF ANGELS. (Gen 18:1-8)
• REPROOF OF SARAH. An inquiry about his wife, so surprising in strangers, the subject of conversation, and the fulfilment of the fondly cherished promise within a specified time, showed Abraham that he had been entertaining more than ordinary travellers (Heb 13:2). (Gen 18:9-15)
• DISCLOSURE OF SODOM'S DOOM. (Gen 18:16-22)
• ABRAHAM'S INTERCESSION. (Gen 18:23-33)
• LOT'S ENTERTAINMENT. (Gen. 19:1-38)
• ABRAHAM'S DENIAL OF HIS WIFE. (Gen. 20:1-18)
• BIRTH OF ISAAC. (Gen 21:1-13)
• EXPULSION OF ISHMAEL. (Gen 21:14-21)
• COVENANT. (Gen 21:22-34)
• OFFERING ISAAC. (Gen. 22:1-19)
• AGE AND DEATH OF SARAH. (Gen 23:1-2)
• PURCHASE OF A BURYING-PLACE. (Gen. 23:3-20)
• A MARRIAGE COMMISSION. (Gen 24:1-9)
• THE JOURNEY. (Gen. 24:10-67)
• SONS OF ABRAHAM. (Gen 25:1-6)
• DEATH OF ABRAHAM. (Gen 25:7-11)
• DESCENDANTS OF ISHMAEL. Before passing to the line of the promised seed, the historian gives a brief notice of Ishmael, to show that the promises respecting that son of Abraham were fulfilled--first, in the greatness of his posterity (compare Gen 17:20); and, secondly, in their independence. (Gen 25:12-18)
• HISTORY OF ISAAC. (Gen 25:19-34)
• SOJOURN IN GERAR. (Gen. 26:1-35)
• INFIRMITY OF ISAAC. (Gen. 27:1-27)
• THE BLESSING. (Gen. 27:28-46)
• JACOB'S DEPARTURE. (Gen. 28:1-19)
• JACOB'S VOW. (Gen 28:20-22)
• THE WELL OF HARAN. (Gen. 29:1-35)
• DOMESTIC JEALOUSIES. (Gen. 30:1-24)
• JACOB'S COVENANT WITH LABAN. (Gen. 30:25-43)
• ENVY OF LABAN AND SONS. (Gen. 31:1-21)
• LABAN PURSUES JACOB--THEIR COVENANT AT GILEAD. (Gen. 31:22-55)
• VISION OF ANGELS. (Gen 32:1-2)
• MISSION TO ESAU. (Gen 32:3-32)
• KINDNESS OF JACOB AND ESAU. (Gen 33:1-11)
• THE PARTING. (Gen 33:12-20)
• THE DISHONOR OF DINAH. (Gen. 34:1-31) Though freed from foreign troubles, Jacob met with a great domestic calamity in the fall of his only daughter. According to JOSEPHUS, she had been attending a festival; but it is highly probable that she had been often and freely mixing in the society of the place and that she, being a simple, inexperienced, and vain young woman, had been flattered by the attentions of the ruler's son. There must have been time and opportunities of acquaintance to produce the strong attachment that Shechem had for her.
• REMOVAL TO BETHEL. (Gen 35:1-15)
• BIRTH OF BENJAMIN--DEATH OF RACHEL, &c. (Gen 35:16-27)
• DEATH OF ISAAC. (Gen 35:28-29)
• POSTERITY OF ESAU. (Gen. 36:1-43)
• PARENTAL PARTIALITY. (Gen 37:1-4)
• THE DREAMS OF JOSEPH. (Gen. 37:5-36)
• JUDAH AND FAMILY. (Gen. 38:1-30)
• JOSEPH IN POTIPHAR'S HOUSE. (Gen. 39:1-23)
• TWO STATE PRISONERS. (Gen 40:1-8)
• THE BUTLER'S DREAM. (Gen 40:9-15)
• THE BAKER'S DREAM. (Gen 40:16-23)
• PHARAOH'S DREAM. (Gen. 41:1-24)
• JOSEPH INTERPRETS PHARAOH'S DREAMS. (Gen 41:25-36)
• JOSEPH MADE RULER OF EGYPT. (Gen. 41:37-57)
• JOURNEY INTO EGYPT. (Gen. 42:1-38)
• PREPARATIONS FOR A SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT. (Gen 43:1-14)
• ARRIVAL IN EGYPT. (Gen. 43:15-30)
• THE DINNER. (Gen 43:31-34)
• POLICY TO STAY HIS BRETHREN. (Gen. 44:1-34)
• JOSEPH MAKING HIMSELF KNOWN. (Gen. 45:1-28)
• SACRIFICE AT BEER-SHEBA. (Gen 46:1-4)
• IMMIGRATION TO EGYPT. (Gen. 46:5-27)
• ARRIVAL IN EGYPT. (Gen 46:28-34)
• JOSEPH'S PRESENTATION AT COURT. (Gen. 47:1-31)
• JOSEPH'S VISIT TO HIS SICK FATHER. (Gen. 48:1-22)
• PATRIARCHAL BLESSING. (Gen. 49:1-33)
• MOURNING FOR JACOB. (Gen. 50:1-26)

TSK: Genesis (Book Introduction)

The Book of Genesis is the most ancient record in the world; including the History of two grand and stupendous subjects, Creation and Providence; of each of which it presents a summary, but astonishingly minute and detailed accounts. From this Book, almost all the ancient philosophers, astronomers, chronologists, and historians have taken their respective data; and all the modern improvements and accurate discoveries in different arts and sciences, have only served to confirm the facts detailed by Moses, and to shew, that all the ancient writers on these subjects have approached, or receded from, truth and the phenomena of Nature, in exactly the same proportion as they have followed or receded from, the Mosaic history. The great fact of the deluge is fully confirmed by the fossilised remains in every quarter of the globe. Add to this, that general traditions of the deluge have been traced among the Egyptians, Chinese, Japanese, Hindoos, Burmans, ancient Goths and Druids, Mexicans, Peruvians, Brazilians, North American Indians, Greenlanders, Otaheiteans, Sandwich Islanders, and almost every nation under heaven; while the allegorical turgidity of these distorted traditions sufficiently distinguishes them from the unadorned simplicity of the Mosaic narrative. In fine, without this history the world would be in comparative darkness, not knowing whence it came, nor whither it goeth. In the first page, a child may learn more in an hour, than all the philosophers in the world learned without it in a thousand years. (The original publisher remembers these words addressed to him and other boys in the year 1780, by his excellent tutor, the later Rev. John Ryland, of Northampton.)

TSK: Genesis 29 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Gen 29:1, Jacob comes to the well of Haran; Gen 29:9, He becomes acquainted with Rachel; Gen 29:13, Laban entertains him; Gen 29:18, Jacob covenants for Rachel; Gen 29:23, He is deceived by Laban with Leah; Gen 29:28, He marries also Rachel, and serves for her seven years more; Gen 29:32, Leah bears Reuben; Gen 29:33, Simeon; Gen 29:34, Levi; Gen 29:35, and Judah.

TSK: Genesis 30 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Gen 30:1, Rachel, in grief for her barrenness, gives Bilhah her maid unto Jacob; Gen 30:5, Bilhah bears Dan and Naphtali; Gen 30:9, Leah gives Zilpah her maid, who bears Gad and Asher; Gen 30:14, Reuben finds mandrakes, with which Leah buys her husband’s company of Rachel; Gen 30:17, Leah bears Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah; Gen 30:22, Rachel bears Joseph; Gen 30:25, Jacob desires to depart; Gen 30:27, Laban detains him on a new agreement; Gen 30:37, Jacob’s policy, whereby he becomes rich.

Poole: Genesis 29 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 29

Jacob comes to the well of Haran, Gen 29:1-3 ; inquires of the shepherds concerning Laban, Gen 29:4-8 . They show him Rachel, Laban’ s daughter, coming with the sheep, Gen 29:9 . Jacob goeth near to her; waters the flock, Gen 29:10 ; tells her who he was, Gen 29:12 . She tells it her father, who brings him to his house, hears what had happened to him, Gen 29:12-14 . They bargain that Jacob should serve seven years for Rachel, Gen 29:15-19 . He performs his service, and desires her to be given him, Gen 29:20,21 . Laban makes a feast, and invites all the men of the place, Gen 29:22 ; and puts Leah, his eldest daughter, in the room of Rachel, Gen 29:23-26 . Jacob obtains Rachel, promising other seven years’ service, Gen 29:27-30 . Rachel is beloved and barren; Leah hated, and bears Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Gen 29:31-35 .

Heb. Jacob lift up his feet; which may note either the gesture of his body, that he went on foot; or the temper of his mind, that he went not sadly and unwillingly, drawing his legs after him, as we use to say, but readily and cheerfully, being encouraged by God’ s word.

Poole: Genesis 30 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 30

Rachel being barren, envies her sister, impatiently desires children of Jacob, Gen 30:1 . He is angry, and reproves her, Gen 30:2 . She gives him her handmaid Bilhah, who bears him Dan and Naphtali, Gen 30:3-8 . Leah ceasing to bear, gives Zilpah her maid to Jacob, Gen 30:9 . She bears him Gad and Asher, Gen 30:10-13 . Reuben, Leah’ s son, finds mandrakes, and brings them to his mother; Rachel desires them; they bargain, Gen 30:14,15 . Jacob goes in to Leah, who conceives again and bears Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, Gen 30:16-21 . God remembers Rachel; she conceives and bears Joseph, Gen 30:22-24 . Jacob desires to return unto his own country with his wives and children, Gen 30:25,26 . Laban denies his consent; having learnt by experience that God had blessed him for Jacob’ s sake, Gen 30:27 . They make a new contract, Gen 30:28-36 . Jacob’ s device, and the success of it, Gen 30:37-43 .

cir. 1749 A speech full of impatience, and bordering upon blasphemy, and striking at God himself through Jacob’ s sides; for which therefore she afterwards smarted, dying by that very means whereby she hoped to prevent her death, and prolong her life, Gen 35:18 .

MHCC: Genesis (Book Introduction)

Genesis is a name taken from the Greek, and signifies " the book of generation or production;" it is properly so called, as containing an account of the origin of all things. There is no other history so old. There is nothing in the most ancient book which exists that contradicts it; while many things recorded by the oldest heathen writers, or to be traced in the customs of different nations, confirm what is related in the book of Genesis.

MHCC: Genesis 29 (Chapter Introduction)

(Gen 29:1-8) Jacob comes to the well of Haran.

(Gen 29:9-14) His interview with Rachel, Laban entertains him.

(v. 15-30) Jacob's covenant for Rachel, Laban's deceit.

(Gen 29:31-35) Leah's sons.

MHCC: Genesis 30 (Chapter Introduction)

(Gen 30:1-13) A further account of Jacob's family.

(Gen 30:14-24) Rachel beareth Joseph.

(v. 25-43) Jacob's new agreement with Laban to serve him for cattle.

Matthew Henry: Genesis (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis

We have now before us the holy Bible, or book, for so bible signifies. We call it the book, by way of eminency; for it is incomparably the best book that ever was written, the book of books, shining like the sun in the firmament of learning, other valuable and useful books, like the moon and stars, borrowing their light from it. We call it the holy book, because it was written by holy men, and indited by the Holy Ghost; it is perfectly pure from all falsehood and corrupt intention; and the manifest tendency of it is to promote holiness among men. The great things of God's law and gospel are here written to us, that they might be reduced to a greater certainty, might spread further, remain longer, and be transmitted to distant places and ages more pure and entire than possibly they could be by report and tradition: and we shall have a great deal to answer for if these things which belong to our peace, being thus committed to us in black and white, be neglected by us as a strange and foreign thing, Hos 8:12. The scriptures, or writings of the several inspired penmen, from Moses down to St. John, in which divine light, like that of the morning, shone gradually (the sacred canon being now completed), are all put together in this blessed Bible, which, thanks be to God, we have in our hands, and they make as perfect a day as we are to expect on this side of heaven. Every part was good, but all together very good. This is the light that shines in a dark place (2Pe 1:19), and a dark place indeed the world would be without the Bible.

We have before us that part of the Bible which we call the Old Testament, containing the acts and monuments of the church from the creation almost to the coming of Christ in the flesh, which was about four thousand years - the truths then revealed, the laws then enacted, the devotions then paid, the prophecies then given, and the events which concerned that distinguished body, so far as God saw fit to preserve to us the knowledge of them. This is called a testament, or covenant ( diatheke ), because it was a settled declaration of the will of God concerning man in a federal way, and had its force from the designed death of the great testator, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Rev 8:8. It is called the Old Testament, with relation to the New, which does not cancel and supersede it, but crown and perfect it, by the bringing in of that better hope which was typified and foretold in it; the Old Testament still remains glorious, though the New far exceeds in glory, 2Co 3:9.

We have before us that part of the Old Testament which we call the Pentateuch, or five books of Moses, that servant of the Lord who excelled all the other prophets, and typified the great prophet. In our Saviour's distribution of the books of the Old Testament into the law, the prophets, and the psalms, or Hagiographa , these are the law; for they contain not only the laws given to Israel, in the last four, but the laws given to Adam, to Noah, and to Abraham, in the first. These five books were, for aught we know, the first that ever were written; for we have not the least mention of any writing in all the book of Genesis, nor till God bade Moses write (Exo 17:14); and some think Moses himself never learned to write till God set him his copy in the writing of the ten Commandments upon the tables of stone. However, we are sure these books are the most ancient writings now extant, and therefore best able to give us a satisfactory account of the most ancient things.

We have before us the first and longest of those five books, which we call Genesis, written, some think, when Moses was in Midian, for the instruction and comfort of his suffering brethren in Egypt: I rather think he wrote it in the wilderness, after he had been in the mount with God, where, probably, he received full and particular instructions for the writing of it. And, as he framed the tabernacle, so he did the more excellent and durable fabric of this book, exactly according to the pattern shown him in the mount, into which it is better to resolve the certainty of the things herein contained than into any tradition which possibly might be handed down from Adam to Methuselah, from him to Shem, from him to Abraham, and so to the family of Jacob. Genesis is a name borrowed from the Greek. It signifies the original, or generation: fitly is this book so called, for it is a history of originals - the creation of the world, the entrance of sin and death into it, the invention of arts, the rise of nations, and especially the planting of the church, and the state of it in its early days. It is also a history of generations - the generations of Adam, Noah, Abraham, etc., not endless, but useful genealogies. The beginning of the New Testament is called Genesis too (Mat 1:1), Biblos geneseos the book of the genesis, or generation, of Jesus Christ. Blessed be God for that Book which shows us our remedy, as this opens our wound. Lord, open our eyes, that we may see the wondrous things both of thy law and gospel!

Matthew Henry: Genesis 29 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter gives us an account of God's providences concerning Jacob, pursuant to the promises made to him in the foregoing chapter. I. How he was brought in safety to his journey's end, and directed to his relations there, who bade him welcome (Gen 29:1-14). II. How he was comfortably disposed of in marriage (v. 15-30). III. How his family was built up in the birth of four sons (Gen 29:31-35). The affairs of princes and mighty nations that were then in being are not recorded in the book of God, but are left to be buried in oblivion; while these small domestic concerns of holy Jacob are particularly recorded with their minute circumstances, that they may be in everlasting remembrance. For " the memory of the just is blessed."

Matthew Henry: Genesis 30 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter we have an account of the increase, I. Of Jacob's family. Eight children more we find registered in this chapter; Dan and Naphtali by Bilhah, Rachel's maid (Gen 30:1-8). Gad and Asher by Zilpah, Leah's maid (Gen 30:9-13). Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, by Leah (Gen 30:14-21). And, last of all, Joseph, by Rachel (Gen 30:22-24). II. Of Jacob's estate. He makes a new bargain with Laban (Gen 30:25-34). And in the six years' further service he did to Laban God wonderfully blessed him, so that his stock of cattle became very considerable (Gen 30:35-43). Herein was fulfilled the blessing with which Isaac dismissed him (Gen 28:3), " God make thee fruitful, and multiply thee." Even these small matters concerning Jacob's house and field, though they seem inconsiderable, are improvable for our learning. For the scriptures were written, not for princes and statesmen, to instruct them in politics; but for all people, even the meanest, to direct them in their families and callings: yet some things are here recorded concerning Jacob, not for imitation, but for admonition.

Constable: Genesis (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

Each book of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Torah [instruction] by the Jews) originally received its title in the Hebrew Bible from the first word or words in the book.¹ The Hebrew word translated "in the beginning" is beresit. The English title "Genesis," however, has come to us from the Latin Vulgate translation of Jerome (Liber Genesis). The Latin title came from the Septuagint translation (the Greek translation of the Old Testament made about 300 years before Christ). "Genesis" is a transliteration of the Greek word geneseos, the Greek word that translates the Hebrew toledot. This Hebrew word is the key word in identifying the structure of Genesis, and the translators have usually rendered it "account" or "generations" (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2).

Date

The events recorded date back to the creation of the world.

Many Christians believe the earth is millions of years old. They base this belief on the statements of scientists and understand Scripture in the light of these statements. Likewise, many Christians believe that the human race began hundreds of thousands of years ago for the same reason.

Most evangelicals who take the Scriptures seriously believe that the earth is not much older than 10, 000 years. They base this on the genealogies in Scripture (Gen. 5; 10; 11; et al.), which they understand to be "open" (i.e., not complete). Evangelicals usually hold to a more recent date for man's creation, also for the same reason.

A smaller group of evangelicals believes that the genealogies are either "closed" (i.e., complete) or very close to complete. This leads us to date the creation of the world and man about 6, 000 years ago.²

Liberal interpreters have placed the date of composition of Genesis much later than Moses' lifetime.

If one accepts Mosaic authorship, as most conservative evangelicals do, the date of composition of Genesis must be within Moses' lifetime (ca. 1525-1405 B.C.). This book was perhaps originally intended to encourage the Israelites to trust in their faithful, omnipotent God as they anticipated entrance into the Promised Land from Kadesh Barnea or from the Plains of Moab.³ Moses may have written it earlier to prepare them for the Exodus,⁴ but this seems less likely.

Writer

The authorship of the Pentateuch has been the subject of great controversy among professing Christians since Spinoza introduced "higher criticism" of the Bible in the seventeenth century. The "documentary hypothesis," which developed from his work, is that Moses did not write the Pentateuch, as most scholars in Judaism and the church until that day believed. Instead, it was the product of several writers who lived much later than Moses. A redactor (editor) or redactors combined these several documents into the form we have now. These documents (J, E, D, P, and others) represent a Yahwistic tradition, an Elohistic tradition, a Deuteronomic tradition, a Priestly tradition, etc.⁵

The evidence that Moses wrote the Pentateuch is conclusive if one believes that Jesus Christ spoke the truth when He attributed authorship to Moses (Matt. 19:8; Mark 7:10; Luke 18:29-31; 20:37; 24:27; John 7:19). Jesus Christ did not specifically say that Moses wrote Genesis, but in our Lord's day the Jews regarded the Pentateuch (Torah) as a whole unit. They recognized Moses as the author of all five books. Consequently they would have understood what Jesus said about any of the five books of Moses as an endorsement of the Mosaic authorship of them all.⁶

Scope

The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The history of the patriarchs recorded in this second main division of the text covers a period of about 300 years.

The scope of the book progressively and consistently narrows. The selection of content included in Genesis points to the purpose of the divine author: to reveal the history of and basic principles involved in God's relationship with people.⁷

Purpose

Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 record the covenant and its initial outworking. The Abrahamic Covenant continues to be the basic arrangement by which God operates in dealing with humanity throughout the Pentateuch and the rest of the Bible.

"The real theme of the Pentateuch is the selection of Israel from the nations and its consecration to the service of God and His Laws in a divinely appointed land. The central event in the development of this theme is the divine covenant with Abraham and its . . . promise to make his offspring into the people of God and to give them the land of Canaan as an everlasting inheritance."⁸

Genesis provides an indispensable prologue to the drama that unfolds in Exodus and the rest of the Pentateuch. The first 11 chapters constitute a prologue to the prologue.

"Two opposite progressions appear in this prologue [chs. 1-11]: (a) God's orderly Creation with its climax in His blessing of man, and (b) the totally disintegrating work of sin with its two greatest curses being the Flood and the dispersion at Babel.⁹ The first progression demonstrates God's plan to bring about perfect order from the beginning in spite of what the reader may know of man's experience. The second progression demonstrates the great need of God's intervention to provide the solution for the corrupt human race."¹⁰

Theology

"The subject matter of the theology in Genesis is certainly God's work in establishing Israel as the means of blessing the families of the earth. This book forms the introduction to the Pentateuch's main theme of the founding of the theocracy, that is, the rule of God over all Creation. It presents the origins behind the founding of the theocracy: the promised blessing that Abraham's descendants would be in the land.

"Exodus presents the redemption of the seed out of bondage and the granting of a covenant to them. Leviticus is the manual of ordinances enabling the holy God to dwell among His people by making them holy. Numbers records the military arrangement and census of the tribes in the wilderness, and shows how God preserves His promised blessings from internal and external threats. Deuteronomy presents the renewal of the covenant.

"In the unfolding of this grand program of God, Genesis introduces the reader to the nature of God as the sovereign Lord over the universe who will move heaven and earth to establish His will. He seeks to bless mankind, but does not tolerate disobedience and unbelief. Throughout this revelation the reader learns that without faith it is impossible to please God' (Heb. 11:6)."¹¹

Message¹²

The message of the Bible might be the best place to begin our study of the Old Testament. What is the Bible all about? We could state it as follows: God desires to glorify Himself by blessing humankind.

The message of the Pentateuch (Torah) is that people can experience God's blessing by trusting Him (believing His word) and by obeying Him (following His initiative).

Genesis is in the Bible primarily to teach us this lesson. People can enjoy a personal relationship with God and thereby realize their own fulfillment as human beings only through trust in God and obedience to God. This is the message statement. Genesis reveals that God is faithful to His promises and powerful enough to bring them to fulfillment.

Genesis reveals that God originally intended people to have an immediate relationship with their Creator. Evidences for this are as follows.

1. God made man as a special creation (2:7).

2. He made man with special care (2:7).

3. He made man in His own image (1:26-27).

4. He regarded man as His son (1:28-30).

5. He consistently demonstrated concern for man's welfare (3:9).

God's immediate relationship with Adam was broken by the Fall (ch. 3). In the Fall man did two things.

1. He failed to trust God's goodness with his mind.

2. He rebelled against God's government with his will (3:6).

God then took the initiative to re-establish the relationship with man that He had created man to enjoy. He provided a covering for man's sin until He would finally remove it. This temporary covering came through the sacrificial system.

Throughout Genesis we see that people in general consistently failed to trust and obey God (e.g., in Noah's day, at Babel, in the patriarchal period).

Genesis also records what God has done to encourage people to trust and obey Him. It is only by living by these two principles that people can enjoy a relationship with God and realize all that God created them to experience.

On the one hand, Genesis reveals much about the person and work of God. This revelation helps us trust and obey Him. It is through His personal revelations to the main characters in Genesis that God revealed Himself initially (e.g., Adam and Eve, Noah, the patriarchs).

On the other hand, Genesis reveals much about the nature of man. Not only did God reveal the perversity of man, but He also identified positive examples of faith and obedience in the lives of the godly.

In Genesis we learn that faith in God is absolutely essential if we are to have fellowship with Him and realize our potential as human beings.

Faith is the law of life. If one lives by faith he flourishes, but if he does not, he fails. The four patriarchs are primarily examples of what faith is and how it manifests itself. In each of their lives we learn something new about faith.

Abraham's faith demonstrates unquestioning obedience. When God told him to do something, he did it. This is the most basic characteristic of faith. That is one reason why Abraham is "the father of the faithful." God revealed Himself nine times to Abraham and each time Abraham's response was unquestioning obedience.

Isaac's faith helps us see the quality of passive acceptance that characterizes true faith in God. This was his response to God's two revelations to him.

Jacob's story is one of conflict with God until he came to realize his own limitations. Then he trusted God. We can see his faith in his acknowledged dependence on God. God's seven revelations to him eventually led him to this position.

Joseph's life teaches us what God can do with a person who trusts Him consistently in the face of adversity. The outstanding characteristic of Joseph's life was his faithful loyalty to God. He believed God's two revelations to him in dreams even though God's will did not seem to be working out as he thought it would. Patient faith and its reward shine through the story of Joseph.

Faith, the key concept in Genesis, means trusting that what God has prescribed is indeed best for me and waiting for God to provide what He has promised. A person of faith is one who commits to acting on this basis even though he or she may not see how it is best.

The Pentateuch is all about God, man, and our relationship. In our study of it, we will be building a model to show how each new book builds on what has preceded. The key concept in Genesis is faith.

Constable: Genesis (Outline)

Outline

The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of" (toledot in Hebrew, from yalad meaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduces a new section of the book.¹³ The first part of Genesis is introductory and sets the scene for what follows. An outline of Genesis based on this structure is as follows.

1. Introduction 1:1-2:3

2. The generations of heaven and earth 2:4-4:26

3. The generations of Adam 5:1-6:8

4. The generations of Noah 6:9-9:29

5. The generations of the sons of Noah 10:1-11:9

6. The generations of Shem 11:10-26

7. The generations of Terah 11:27-25:11

8. The generations of Ishmael 25:12-18

9. The generations of Isaac 25:19-35:29

10. The generations of Esau 36:1-43

11. The generations of Jacob 37:1-50:26

A full expository outline designed to highlight the relative emphases of the book follows. We shall follow this outline in these notes as we seek to unpack the message of the book.

I. Primeval events 1:1-11:26

A. The story of creation 1:1-2:3

1. An initial statement of creation 1:1

2. Conditions at the time of creation 1:2

3. The six days of creation 1:3-31

4. The seventh day 2:1-3

B. What became of the creation 2:4-4:26

1. The garden of Eden 2:4-3:24

2. The murder of Abel 4:1-16

3. The spread of civilization and sin 4:17-26

C. What became of Adam 5:1-6:8

1. The effects of the curse on humanity ch. 5

2. God's sorrow over man's wickedness 6:1-8

D. What became of Noah 6:9-9:29

1. The Flood 6:9-8:22

2. The Noahic Covenant 9:1-17

3. The curse on Canaan 9:18-29

E. What became of Noah's sons 10:1-11:9

1. The table of nations ch. 10

2. The dispersion at Babel 11:1-9

F. What became of Shem 11:10-26

II. Patriarchal narratives 11:27-50:26

A. What became of Terah 11:27-25:11

1. Terah and Abraham's obedience 11:27-12:9

2. Abram in Egypt 12:10-20

3. Abram's separation from Lot ch. 13

4. Abram's military victory ch. 14

5. The Abrahamic covenant ch. 15

6. The birth of Ishmael ch. 16

7. The sign of circumcision ch. 17

8. Yahweh's visit to Abraham 18:1-15

9. Abraham's intercession for Lot 18:16-33

10. The destruction of Sodom ch. 19

11. Abraham's sojourn at Gerar ch. 20

12. The birth of Isaac 21:1-21

13. Abimelech's treaty with Abraham 21:22-34

14. The sacrifice of Isaac 22:1-19

15. The descendants of Nahor 22:20-24

16. The purchase of Sarah's tomb ch. 23

17. The choice of a bride for Isaac ch. 24

18. Abraham's death 25:1-11

B. What became of Ishmael 25:12-18

C. What became of Isaac 25:19-35:29

1. Isaac's twin sons 25:19-26

2. The sale of the birthright 25:27-34

3. Isaac and Abimelech 26:1-11

4. Isaac's wells 26:12-33

5. Jacob's deception for Isaac's blessing 26:34-28:9

6. Jacob's vision at Bethel 28:10-22

7. Jacob's marriages and Laban's deception 29:1-30

8. Jacob's mishandling of God's blessings 29:31-30:24

9. Jacob's new contract with Laban 30:25-43

10. Jacob's flight from Haran ch. 31

11. Jacob's attempt to appease Esau 32:1-21

12. Jacob at the Jabbok 32:22-32

13. Jacob's meeting with Esau and his return to Canaan ch. 33

14. The rape of Dinah and the revenge of Simeon and Levi ch. 34

15. Jacob's return to Bethel ch. 35

D. What became of Esau 36:1-37:1

E. What became of Jacob 37:2-50:26

1. God's choice of Joseph 37:2-11

2. The sale of Joseph into Egypt 37:12-36

3. Judah and Tamar ch. 38

4. Joseph in Potiphar's house ch. 39

5. The prisoners' dreams and Joseph's interpretations ch. 40

6. Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph's interpretation ch. 41

7. Joseph's brothers' first journey into Egypt ch. 42

8. Joseph's brothers' second journey into Egypt ch. 43

9. Joseph's last test and its results ch. 44

10. Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers 45:1-15

11. Israel's move to Egypt 45:16-46:30

12. Joseph's wise leadership 46:31-47:27

13. Jacob's worship in Egypt 47:28-48:22

14. Jacob's blessing of his sons 49:1-28

15. Deaths and a promise yet to be fulfilled 49:29-50:26¹⁴

Constable: Genesis

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_____. "Issachar: Slave or Freeman? (Gen. 49:14-15)." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 29:4 (December 1986):385-96.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Genesis (Book Introduction)

THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

INTRODUCTION.

The Hebrews now entitle all the Five Books of Moses, from the initial words, which originally were written like one continued word or verse; but the Septuagint have preferred to give the titles the most memorable occurrences of each work. On this occasion, the Creation of all things out of nothing, strikes us with peculiar force. We find a refutation of all the heathenish mythology, and of the world's eternity, which Aristotle endeavoured to establish. We behold the short reign of innocence, and the origin of sin and misery, the dispersion of nations, and the providence of God watching over his chosen people, till the death of Joseph, about the year of the world 2369 (Usher) 2399 (Salien and Tirinus), the year before Christ 1631. We shall witness the same care in the other Books of Scripture, and adore his wisdom and goodness in preserving to himself faithful witnesses, and a true Holy Catholic Church, in all ages, even when the greatest corruption seemed to overspread the land. (Haydock)

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This Book is so called from its treating of the Generation, that is, of the Creation and the beginning of the world. The Hebrews call it Bereshith, from the word with which it begins. It contains not only the History of the Creation of the World, but also an account of its progress during the space of 2369 years, that is, until the death of Joseph.

Gill: Genesis (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS

This book, in the Hebrew copies of the Bible, and by the Jewish writers, is generally called Bereshith, which signifies "in the beginning", being the first word of it; as the other four books of Moses are also called from their initial words. In the Syriac and Arabic versions, the title of this book is "The Book of the Creation", because it begins with an account of the creation of all things; and is such an account, and so good an one, as is not to be met with anywhere else: the Greek version calls it Genesis, and so we and other versions from thence; and that because it treats of the generation of all things, of the heavens, and the earth, and all that are in them, and of the genealogy of men: it treats of the first men, of the patriarchs before the flood, and after it to the times of Joseph. It is called the "first" book of Moses, because there are four more that follow; the name the Jewish Rabbins give to the whole is חמשה חומשי תורה, "the five fifths of the law", to which the Greek word "pentateuch" answers; by which we commonly call these books, they being but one volume, consisting of five parts, of which this is the first. And that they were all written by Moses is generally believed by Jews and Christians. Some atheistical persons have suggested the contrary; our countryman Hobbes ^a would have it, that these books are called his, not from his being the author of them, but from his being the subject of them; not because they were written by him, but because they treat of him: but certain it is that Moses both wrote them, and was read, as he was in the Jewish synagogues, every sabbath day, which can relate to no other writings but these, Joh 1:45. And Spinosa, catching at some doubts raised by Aben Ezra on Deu 1:1 concerning some passages which seemed to him to have been added by another hand, forms objections against Moses being the author of the book of Genesis; which are sufficiently answered by Carpzovius ^b. Nor can Ezra be the author of the Pentateuch, as Spinosa suspects; since it is plain these writings were in being before his time, in the times of Josiah, Amaziah, yea, of David, and also of Joshua, 2Ch 34:14 nay, they are even referred to in the book of Ezra as the writings of Moses, Ezr 3:2 to which may be added, in proof of the same, Deu 31:9. Nor are there any other writings of his authentic; what are ascribed to him, as the Analepsis of Moses, his Apocalypse, and his Last Will and Testament, are apocryphal. That this book of Genesis particularly was written by him, is evident from the testimony of Philip, and even of our Lord Jesus Christ, who both testify that he wrote concerning the Messiah, Joh 1:45 as he did in this book, where he speaks of him as the seed of the woman that should break the serpent's head; as the seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed; and as the Shiloh, to whom the gathering of the people should be, Gen 3:15. Nor is there any reason to believe that he wrote this book from the annals of the patriarchs, since it does not appear, nor is it very probable, that they had any; nor from traditions delivered down from one to another, from father to son, which is more probable, considering the length of the lives of the patriarchs: but yet such a variety of particulars respecting times, places, persons, their genealogies and circumstances, so nicely and exactly given, can scarcely be thought to be the fruit of memory; and much less is it to be imagined that he was assisted in it by Gabriel, when he lived in solitude in Midian: but it is best of all to ascribe it to divine inspiration, as all Scripture is by the apostle, 2Ti 3:16 for who else but God could have informed him of the creation, and the manner and order in which every creature was brought into being, with a multitude of things recorded in this book? the design of which is to lead men into the knowledge and worship of the one true God, the Creator of all things, and of the origin of mankind, the fall of our first parents, and their posterity in them; and to point at the means and method of the recovery of man by the Messiah, the promised seed; and to give an account of the state and case of the church of God, in the times of the patriarchs, both before and after the flood, from Adam, in the line of Seth, to Noah; and from Noah to the times of Joseph, in whose death it ends: and, according to Usher ^c, it contains an history of two thousand, three hundred, and sixty nine years.

Gill: Genesis 29 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 29

This chapter informs us of Jacob's coming to a well near Haran, where meeting with some shepherds he inquires after Laban, Gen 29:1; and there also with Rachel his daughter, the shepherds made known to him, and acquainted her who he was, Gen 29:9; upon which she ran to her father, and told him who was at the well, who went forth and brought him to his house, and kindly entertained him, Gen 29:13; with whom he agreed to stay and serve seven years for Rachel his daughter, Gen 29:15; at the end of which Jacob demands his wife, but instead of Rachel, Leah was brought to him as his wife, Gen 29:21; which being discovered, and complained of, it was proposed he should have Rachel also, provided he would serve yet seven years more, to which he agreed, Gen 29:26; and the chapter is concluded with an account of four sons being born to Jacob of Leah, Gen 29:31.

Gill: Genesis 30 (Chapter Introduction)

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, Gen 30:1, of her giving her maid Bilhah to Jacob, by whom he had two sons, Dan and Naphtali, Gen 30:3; and of Leah's giving her maid Zilpah to him, by whom he had two other sons, Gad and Asher, Gen 30:9; and of Reuben's mandrakes he found in the field, and the agreement made between Rachel and Leah about them, Gen 30:14; and of Leah's bearing Jacob two more sons and one daughter, Gen 30:17, and of Rachel's also bearing him a son, whose name was Joseph, Gen 30:22; upon which he desires leave of Laban to depart into his own country, his time of servitude being up, Gen 30:25; 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, Gen 30:27; 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, Gen 30:37.