In 29:31 30:24 Moses recounts Jacob s mishandling of God s blessing. 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. The real issue of the two sisters' conflicts, in this pericope, is the same as that of the brothers', Esau's and Jacob's, struggle: "Who will take the lead and be first, and who will have to serve? 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. 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. 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. 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 proved to be the cue for Jacob to return home (30:25). 455
31 Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me. 33 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. So she named him Simeon. 34 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 he was named Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, This time I will praise the LORD. Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing (Gen. 29:31 35). 29:31 35 Moses recorded the births of Leah's first four sons: Reuben ( Look, a son ), Simeon ( hearing ), Levi ( attachment ), and Judah ( praise ). 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). 456
There are several life lessons (applications) that derive from a study of Genesis 29: 1. Those who believe that God is working in their lives will be inspired to magnanimous and enthusiastic service to others. 2. God s people often pursue His blessing naively, forgetting their unresolved sins. 3. God s people often find their sin coming back on them to discipline them. 4. Even though God s people may experience God s blessing on their endeavors, God will effectively discipline them by making them painfully aware of their unresolved sins. 5. God may wait patiently before disciplining his people, but discipline He will, often using means similar to the offense to correct them. 6. When we are thrown together with people who are crafty, arrogant, deceitful, contentious, gossipy, or a host of other human frailties, before we lament that we have to be around such people, we perhaps should take a long look at ourselves. Perhaps some of those traits characterize us, and other people may be part of God s disciplining us. 457
1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2 Then Jacob s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb? 3 She said, Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may have children. 4 So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, God has vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son. Therefore she named him Dan. 7 Rachel s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 So Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed. And she named him Naphtali (Gen. 30:1 8). 30:1 8 Rachel's reaction to her barrenness (anger and despair), and Jacob's response (anger and defensiveness), contrast with how Rebekah and Isaac (prayed), and Sarah and Abraham (laughter and disbelief), had 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 had prayed that God would open Rebekah's womb, and had waited (25:21). Rachel and Jacob followed the example of Sarah and Abraham, however, to "correct" the problem. 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. The account of the birth of Bilhah's sons, Dan ( justice ) and Naphtali ( wrestling ), follows (vv. 5 8). 458
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, How fortunate! So she named him Gad. 12 Leah s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, Happy am I! For women will call me happy. So she named him Asher (Gen. 30:9 13). 30:9 13 Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob two sons: Gad ( luck or fortune ) and Asher ( happy ). The terms wife and concubine are used more loosely in the patriarchal period than in other periods of Old Testament history. Three women in the patriarchal period are called both wife and concubine: Hagar (Gen. 16:3; 25:6 indirectly), Keturah (25:1; cf. 25:6; 1 Chron. 1:32), and Bilhah (Gen. 30:4; 35:22). Each of these concubines is an auxiliary wife to the patriarch, not a slave, but subordinate to the wife who is her mistress. After the patriarchal period, the term wife is never used as a synonym for concubine. Zilpah, though never called a concubine (cf. 30:9), has the same social position as Bilhah (cf. 37:2). 459
14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went 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. 15 But she said to her, Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son s mandrakes also? So Rachel said, Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son s mandrakes. 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then 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. So he lay with her that night. 17 God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband. So she named him Issachar. 19 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons. So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah (Gen. 30:14 21). 30:14 21 The mandrake, a member of the potato and tomato family, is a plant that bears bluish flowers in winter and yellowish plum-size 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, and call it "devil's apple" (cf. Song of Sol. 7:13). The outcome was ironical, the mandrakes doing nothing for Rachel, while Leah gained another son by parting with them. 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). In Genesis lie with (shakab, vv. 15, 16), as a euphemism for sex, is never used for loving marital intercourse, only for illicit or forced sex: Lot's daughters with Lot (19:32 35); the Philistines with Rebekah (26:10); Shechem with Dinah (34:2, 7); Reuben with Bilhah (35:22); Potiphar's wife with Joseph (39:7, 10, 12, 14). Leah received her other children, Issachar ( reward ), Zebulun ( dwelling ), and Dinah ( judgment ), only because God gave heed to Leah (v. 17), not because of some magic supposedly connected with the mandrakes. Jacob may have had other daughters besides Dinah (cf. 37:35 and 46:7). However, she may be the only one mentioned by name, simply because she is the only one whose experience Moses recorded later in Genesis (ch. 34). Her name is related to the Hebrew word that means "judgment." 460
22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. 23 So she conceived and bore a son and said, God has taken away my reproach. 24 She named him Joseph, saying, May the LORD give me another son (Gen. 30:22 24). 30:22 24 God eventually granted Rachel a son, Joseph ( May the Lord add or He has taken away ; perhaps there is deliberate ambiguity). Joseph was born at the end of Jacob's fourteenth year in Laban's service; that is, in 1916 B.C. 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," in each story, reflects the attitudes toward God of the various characters, 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. 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. 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. 461