Genesis 30:1-13

The Sons of Bilhah and Zilpah

v. 1. And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. Barrenness was considered a special punishment and curse of God in the Old Testament, especially in the families of the patriarchs, in whose case the longing for the Messiah intensified the desire for children. Rachel, therefore, seeing her sister Leah bearing one son after the other, was filled with envy and impatience, believing, apparently, that all her prayers for offspring were vain. That explains her outburst of temper, which caused her to state that she would die from dejection and grief unless Jacob would manage to bring her children.

v. 2. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? The stern reproof of Jacob was fully deserved by Rachel: In the place of God am I supposed to be, who has denied thee children? He was powerless so far as his own strength was concerned, and probably, together with Rachel, did not make a sufficient use of prayer as a power to storm the heart of God.

v. 3. And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. This was not the manner of faith, but the expedient of the flesh: the children of Rachel's slave would belong to her mistress, all the more so if Jacob, at Rachel's suggestion, was the father.

v. 4. And she gave him Bilhah, her handmaid, to wife; and Jacob went in unto her. His own condition of mind with regard to his favorite wife's barrenness and his advancing age, since he was now almost ninety years old, caused Jacob to agree to his wife's plan.

v. 5. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

v. 6. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son; therefore called she his name Dan (judge). So Rachel considered the situation as a quarrel between herself and her sister, in which God had now put aside the injustice in giving her a son by proxy.

v. 7. And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

v. 8. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali (one obtained by wrestling), In the struggle between herself and Leah, yea, between herself and God, Rachel had succeeded in obtaining also this son. Her words indicate her longing to share in the patriarchal blessing, although there is still a measure of self-will in her statement.

v. 9. When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah, her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife, thus following the example of her sister. The matter was now actually becoming a carnal struggle.

v. 10. And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a son.

v. 11. And Leah said, A troop cometh; and she called his name Gad (good fortune). She considered the birth of this son a fortunate event to herself.

v. 12. And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a second son.

v. 13. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed; and she called his name Asher (the happy one). She believed that daughters, women, no matter where they might be, would consider her fortunate and happy in having brought her husband six sons. It seems that the Lord's blessing did not enter into Leah's calculations at this time. It was simply a race between herself and Rachel.