Genesis 30:11

30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ¹  So she named him Gad. ² 

Genesis 30:21

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

Genesis 38:4

38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan.

Genesis 19:37

19:37 The older daughter ³  gave birth to a son and named him Moab. ⁴  He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today.

Genesis 30:8

30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ⁵  So she named him Naphtali. ⁶ 

Genesis 30:13

30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ⁷  for women ⁸  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ⁹ 

Genesis 30:18

30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ¹⁰  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ¹¹  So she named him Issachar. ¹² 

Genesis 30:24

30:24 She named him Joseph, ¹³  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

Genesis 38:5

38:5 Then she had ¹⁴  yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. ¹⁵ 

[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.”

[30:11]  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.

[19:37]  ³ tn Heb “the firstborn.”

[19:37]  ⁴ sn The meaning of the name Moab is not certain. The name sounds like the Hebrew phrase “from our father” (מֵאָבִינוּ, me’avinu) which the daughters used twice (vv. 32, 34). This account is probably included in the narrative in order to portray the Moabites, who later became enemies of God’s people, in a negative light.

[30:8]  ⁵ 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.

[30:8]  ⁶ 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.”

[30:13]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”

[30:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “daughters.”

[30:13]  ⁹ 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.

[30:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

[30:18]  ¹⁰ tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

[30:18]  ¹¹ 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.

[30:24]  ¹¹ 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.

[38:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and she added again and she gave birth.” The first verb and the adverb emphasize that she gave birth once more.

[38:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “and he [i.e., Judah] was in Kezib when she gave birth to him.”