60 | Genesis 29:35
to a son she said,“ Now at last my hus band will be come at tached to me, be cause I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi. a
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. b Then she stopped having chil dren.
30
When Ra chel saw that she was not bear ing
Ja cob any chil dren, she be came jeal ous of her sis ter. 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 chil dren?”
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 i ly through her.”
4
So she gave him her ser vant Bil hah as a wife. Ja cob slept with her, 5 and she be came preg nant and bore him a son. 6 Then Ra chel said,“ God has vin di cat ed me; he has lis tened to my plea and given me a son.” Be cause of this she named him Dan. c
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.” So she named him Naph ta li. d
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. 10 Le ah’ s ser vant Zil pah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said,“ What good for tune!” e So she named him Gad. f
12
Le ah’ s ser vant Zil pah bore Ja cob a sec ond son.
13
Then Leah said,“ How hap py I am! The wom en will call me hap py.” So she named him Ash er. g
14
Dur ing wheat har vest, Reu ben went out into the fields and found some man drake plants, which he brought to his moth er Leah. Ra chel said to Leah,“ Please give me some of your son’ s man drakes.”
15
But she said to her,“ Wasn’ t it enough that you took away my hus band? Will you take my son’ s man drakes too?”
“ Very well,” Ra chel said,“ he can sleep with you to night in re turn for your son’ s man drakes.”
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, and she be came pregnant and bore Ja cob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said,“ God has re ward ed me for giv ing my ser vant to my hus band.” So she named him Is sa char. h
19
Leah con ceived again and bore Ja cob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said,“ God has pre sent ed me with a pre cious gift. This time my hus band will treat me with hon or, be cause I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zeb u lun. i
21
Some time lat er she gave birth to a daugh ter and named her Di nah.
22
Then God re mem bered Ra chel; he lis tened to her and en abled her to con ceive. 23 She be came preg nant and gave birth to a son and said,“ God has tak en away my dis grace.” 24 She named him Jo seph, j and said,“ May the Lord add to me an oth er son.”
Jacob’ s Flocks Increase
25
Af ter Ra chel gave birth to Jo seph, Ja cob said to La ban,“ Send me on my way so I can go back to my own home land. 26 Give me my wives and chil dren,
a
34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached. b
35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise. c
6 Dan here means he has vindicated. d
8 Naphtali means my struggle. e
11 Or“ A troop is coming!” f
11 Gad can mean good fortune or a troop. g
13 Asher means happy. h
18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward. i
20 Zebulun probably means honor. j
24 Joseph means may he add.
29:35 Judah As Leah hints, this name derives from the Hebrew word yadah, meaning“ to praise.” 30:2 Am I in the place of God Jacob considers Rachel’ s plea irrational since he views conception as the province of God. His response to Rachel’ s barrenness differs sharply from his father’ s response to Rebekah’ s barrenness. Both men consider their wives’ ability to conceive to be within God’ s purview, but Isaac petitions God for help, whereas Jacob deflects blame away from himself( compare 25:21). 30:6 Dan As Rachel indicates, this name is derived from the Hebrew word meaning“ to judge,”“ to vindicate” or“ to contend.” In the Hebrew text, Jacob later makes a similar wordplay as Rachel, but does so when speaking of Dan in unflattering terms( 49:16 – 17). This negative reputation continues in later texts( see Jdg 17:1 – 18:31; note on Rev 7:4). 30:8 Naphtali Rachel is making a wordplay in naming Naphtali; his name sounds like the Hebrew word niphtalti she uses in this verse to refer to her wrestling or struggling with Leah. 30:11 Gad The Hebrew word gad can mean“ troop,” but it is also the word for luck or good fortune, as Leah uses it here. Though there was a god of good fortune in the ancient Near East( mentioned in Isa 65:11 with“ Destiny”), Leah refers here to her good fortune, not the deity. 30:13 Asher Asher is also the Hebrew word for happiness— hence Leah’ s remark in this verse. 30:14 During wheat harvest This corresponds roughly to the month of May. mandrake plants Mandrakes( duda’ im in Hebrew) were believed in the ancient Near East to have magical fertility powers. 30:16 I have hired you The Hebrew verb used here, sakhar, is a sound play on the name Issachar( yissakhar in Hebrew)— the son who results from the rendezvous between Leah and Jacob( Ge 30:18). 30:18 Issachar See note on 30:16. 30:20 Zebulun The Hebrew name zevulun sounds similar to the Hebrew verb zaval, meaning“ to honor”— hence Leah’ s remark in this verse. 30:24 Joseph The name Joseph has two possible Hebrew derivations: the Hebrew word asaph( meaning“ to take away”) and the Hebrew word yasaph( meaning“ to add”). Rachel uses the word yasaph in this verse, suggesting that she viewed it as related to that word. However, both possible derivations are pertinent to the story in chs. 37 – 50. If Joseph’ s name comes from the Hebrew word asaph, it alludes to the loss of Joseph via the treachery