Sons born to Jacob. The details of this paragraph are given with great minuteness, because they concern the twelve sons of Jacob, the forefathers of Israel. After all, history is made in the nursery, and we are very much what our mothers have made us in the formative years. F.B.Meyer
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
II. GOD AND THE CHOSEN FAMILY, Genesis 12-50
2. The History of Isaac and Jacob, Genesis 25:19-35:29
54. Mention Jacob’s sons and tell how each received his name.
JACOB’S CHILDREN
When Rachel saw that she conceived no children for Jacob, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.”
Then Jacob became furious with Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has denied you children?”
She said, “Here, take my maid Bilhah and go in to her; and [when the baby comes] she shall deliver it [while sitting] on my knees, so that by her I may also have children [to count as my own].”
So she gave him Bilhah her maid as a [secondary] wife, and Jacob went in to her.
Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob.
Then Rachel said, “God has judged and vindicated me, and has heard my plea and has given me a son [through my maid].” So she named him Dan (He judged).
Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob.
So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings [in prayer to God] I have struggled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she named him Naphtali (my wrestlings).
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing [children], she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a [secondary] wife.
Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a son for Jacob.
Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad (good fortune).
Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a second son for Jacob.
Then Leah said, “I am happy! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher (happy).
Now at the time of wheat harvest Reuben [the eldest child] went and found some 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 Leah answered, “Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Jacob shall sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me [tonight], for I have in fact hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
God listened and answered [the prayer of] Leah, and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.
Then Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.
Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good [marriage] gift [for my husband]; now he will live with me [regarding me with honor as his wife], because I have given birth to six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
Afterward she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
Then God remembered [the prayers of] Rachel, and God thought of her and opened her womb [so that she would conceive].
So she conceived and gave birth to a son; and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace and humiliation.”
She named him Joseph (may He add) and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
SONS BORN TO JACOB
The details of this paragraph are given with great minuteness, because they concern the twelve sons of Jacob, the forefathers of Israel. After all, history is made in the nursery, and we are very much what our mothers have made us in the formative years. An old Spanish proverb says, “An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.” Leah’s influence on her boys, as judged by their subsequent life, was anything but healthy; yet with Jacob being the man he was, there was poor chance for them to realize the highest ideals. Rachel’s anguish of heart led her to earnest prayer. Compare Gen_30:1; Gen_30:22. Wait on God, oh, anguished ones: ye shall surely have reason to praise him. Was it not worth waiting for, to bear a Joseph, whose branches were to run over the wall in blessing? There are more compensations in life than we think for. If Rachel had her husband’s love, Leah had a large family of boys. In the saddest lives there are glints of sunshine.
Comments by
WILLIAM MACDONALD
Believers Bible Commentary
On
Genesis 30:1-24
II. THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL (Chaps. 12-50)
C. Jacob (27:1–36:43)
3. Jacob, His Wives, and His Offspring (29:1–30:24)
30:1-13 In desperation to have a child playing on her knees, Rachel gave her maid, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife or concubine. Even though such arrangements were common in those days, they were contrary to God’s will. Bilhah bore two sons, Dan and Naphtali. Not to be outdone by Rachel, Leah gave her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob, and two more sons were born, Gad and Asher.
30:14-24 The mandrakes which Reuben found were a sort of love-apple, believed by the superstitious to impart fertility. Since Rachel was barren, she was anxious to have some of the mandrakes. In exchange, she agreed to let Leah live as wife with Jacob. (For some unexplained reason, Leah had apparently lost her privileges as wife.) After this, two more sons were born to Leah—Issachar and Zebulun—and also a daughter, Dinah. At last Rachel bore her first son and named him Joseph, expressing faith that God would give her still another son.
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