70 | Genesis 29:33
Reu ben , a for she said , “ It is be cause the Lord has seen my mis ery . s Surely my hus band will love me now .”
33 She con ceived again , and when she gave birth to a son she said , “ Be cause the Lord heard that I am not loved , he gave me this one too .” So she named him Sim eon . b t
34 Again she con ceived , and when she gave birth to a son she said , “ Now at last my hus band will be come at tached to me , u be cause I have borne him three sons .” So he was named Levi . c v
35 She con ceived again , and when she gave birth to a son she said , “ This time I will praise the Lord .” So she named him Ju dah . d w Then she stopped having children .
30 When Ra chel saw that she was not bear ing Ja cob any chil dren , x she be came jeal ous
of her sis ter . y So she said to Ja cob , “ Give me chil dren , or I ’ ll die !” 2 Ja cob be came an gry with her and said , “ Am I in the place of God , who has kept you from having children ?” z
3 Then she said , “ Here is Bil hah , my ser vant . Sleep with her so that she can bear chil dren for me and I too can build a fam ily through her .” a
4 So she gave him her ser vant Bil hah as a wife . b Jacob slept with her , c
5 and she be came preg nant and bore him a son . 6 Then Ra chel said , “ God has vin di cated me ; d he has lis tened to my plea and given me a son .” Be cause of this she named him Dan . e e
7 Ra chel ’ s ser vant Bil hah con ceived again and bore Ja cob a sec ond son . 8 Then Ra chel said , “ I have had a great strug gle with my sis ter , and I have won .” f So she named him Naphtali . f g
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped hav ing chil dren , she took her ser vant Zil pah and gave her to Ja cob as a wife . h 10 Le ah ’ s ser vant Zil pah bore Ja cob a son . 11 Then Leah said , “ What good for tune !” g So she named him Gad . h i
12 Le ah ’ s ser vant Zil pah bore Ja cob a sec ond son . 13 Then Leah said , “ How happy I am ! The women will call me j happy .” k So she named him Asher . i l
14 Dur ing wheat har vest , Reu ben went out into the fields and found some man drake plants , m which he brought to his mother Leah . Ra chel said to Leah , “ Please give me some of your son ’ s mandrakes .”
15 But she said to her , “ Wasn ’ t it enough n that you took away my hus band ? Will you take my son ’ s mandrakes too ?”
“ Very well ,” Ra chel said , “ he can sleep with you to night in re turn for your son ’ s mandrakes .”
16 So when Ja cob came in from the fields that eve ning , Leah went out to meet him . “ You must sleep with me ,” she said . “ I have hired you with my son ’ s man drakes .” So he slept with her that night .
17 God lis tened to Leah , o and she be came preg nant and bore Ja cob a fifth son . 18 Then Leah said , “ God has re warded me for giv ing my ser vant to my hus band .” So she named him Issachar . j p
29:32 s Ge 16:11 ; 31:42 ; Ex 4:31 ; Dt 26:7 ; Ps 25:18
29:33 t Ge 34:25 ; 49:5
29:34 u Ge 30:20 ; 1Sa 1:2-4 v Ge 49:5‐7
29:35 w Ge 49:8 ; Mt 1:2‐3
30:1 x Ge 29:31 ; 1Sa 1:5-6 y Lev 18:18
30:2 z Ge 16:2 ; 20:18 ; 29:31
30:3 a Ge 16:2
30:4 b ver 9 , 18 c Ge 16:3‐4
30:6 d Ps 35:24 ; 43:1 ; La 3:59 e Ge 49:16‐17
30:8 f Hos 12:3-4 g Ge 49:21
30:9 h ver 4 30:11 i Ge 49:19
30:13 j Ps 127:3 k Pr 31:28 ; Lk 1:48
l Ge 49:20
30:14 m SS 7:13 30:15 n Nu 16:9 , 13 30:17 o Ge 25:21 30:18 p Ge 49:14 a 32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery ; the name means see , a son . b 33 Simeon probably
means one who hears . c 34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached . d 35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise . e 6 Dan here means he has vindicated . f 8 Naphtali means my struggle . g 11 Or “ A troop is coming !” h 11 Gad can mean good fortune or a troop . i 13 Asher means happy . j 18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward .
Leah gives her servant Zilpah to Jacob , and she bears Gad and Asher . Afterward Leah has two more sons , Issachar and Zebulun , and a daughter , Dinah . Finally , Rachel conceives and gives birth to Joseph . While Jacob ’ s family increases in size , with so many different women involved , the internal dynamics of the family are far from harmonious . In all this , the women perceive the hand of God at work in giving them children . 29:31 Leah was not loved . While the peculiar circumstances of Jacob ’ s marriage to Leah explain why he does not love her as he does Rachel ( v . 30 ), the way he treats Leah is nevertheless inappropriate . In Genesis the human tendency to favor one person over another frequently causes tension . In such circumstances God often acts on behalf of the underdog . 29:32 – 35 The Lord ’ s enabling Leah to conceive ( v . 31 ) accounts for how she names her first three sons . Significantly , the motif of Jacob not loving Leah repeats with the births of
Reuben , Simeon , and Levi ( see NIV text notes on vv . 32 – 34 ). However , there is no mention of it with Judah ’ s birth ( see NIV text note on v . 35 ). Possibly this implies that by this stage Jacob has started to love Leah on account of the sons that she has borne him . Most appropriately Leah praises God for the birth of Judah , the ancestor of the Messianic lineage ( Matt 1:1 – 16 ). See note on 49:8 – 12 .
30:1 – 2 Jealous of her sister , Rachel vents her frustration , accusing Jacob of not giving her children . Jacob blames Rachel ’ s childlessness on God . Unlike Isaac in 25:21 , the text does not say that Jacob prayed for his barren wife . 30:3 – 8 Like Sarah ( 16:1 – 4 ), Rachel proposes that her maidservant become a surrogate mother . When Bilhah bears Dan and Naphtali , Rachel names them , indicating in this particular context that they belong to her . The boys ’ names reflect Rachel ’ s desire to outdo her sister : God has vindicated her , and she has won ( see NIV text notes on vv . 6,8 ). Rachel ’ s struggle with her sister recalls the struggle between Jacob and Esau . 30:9 – 13 Responding to Rachel , Leah gives her maidservant Zilpah to Jacob . The births of Gad and Asher bring joy to Leah , as their names indicate ( see NIV text notes on vv . 11,13 ). 30:14 – 16 Jacob ’ s relationships with Rachel and with Leah are dysfunctional . Their dispute becomes so twisted that Rachel is prepared to sell Leah a night with Jacob for the price of some mandrake plants that Reuben has collected . Rachel ’ s behavior is reminiscent of Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew ( 25:29 – 34 ). 30:17 – 21 Although it appeared that Leah had stopped having children ( v . 9 ), Leah becomes pregnant not once but three more times . She bears two sons , Issachar and Zebulun , once again acknowledging God ’ s role in their births ( see NIV text notes on vv . 18,20 ), and a daughter , Dinah . The brief mention of Dinah ’ s birth prepares for the events in ch . 34 .