45 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Genesis 30 This chapter gives an account of Rachel's envy of her sister for her fruitfulness, and of her earnest desire of having children, which she expressed to Jacob in an unbecoming manner, for which he reproved her, Genesis 30:1, of her giving her maid Bilhah to Jacob, by whom he had two sons, Dan and Naphtali, Genesis 30:3;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children,.... In the space of three or four years after marriage, and when her sister Leah had had four sons: Rachel envied her sister; the honour she had of bearing children, and the pleasure in nursing and bringing them up, when she lay under the reproach of barrenness: or, "she emulated her sisters"...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
In this chapter we have an account of the increase, I. Of Jacob's family. Eight children more we find registered in this chapter; Dan and Naphtali by Bilhah, Rachel's maid, ver. 1-8. Gad and Asher by Zilpah, Leah's maid, ver. 9-13. Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, by Leah, ver. 14-21. And, last of all, Joseph, by Rachel, ver. 22-24. II. Of Jacob's...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel,.... Whom yet he dearly loved, hearing her talk in such an extravagant manner, as her words seemed to be, and were not: only expressive of great uneasiness and impatience, but implied what was not in the power of man to do: and he said, [am] I in God's stead: do you take me to be God, or one that has a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she said,.... in order to pacify Jacob, and explain her meaning to him; which was, not that she thought it was in his power to make her the mother of children, but that he would think of some way or another of obtaining children for her, that might go for hers; so the Arabic version, "obtain a son for me": but, since no method occurred to him,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid,.... To be enjoyed as a wife, though she was no other than a concubine; yet such were sometimes called wives, and were secondary ones, and were under the proper lawful wife, nor did their children inherit; but those which Jacob had by his wives' maids did inherit with the rest: and Jacob went in unto her;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. This was so far countenanced by the Lord, that he blessed her with conception, and Jacob with a son by her.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Rachel said,.... As soon as she heard that Bilhah had bore a son: God hath judged me: and hereby testified his approbation, as she understood it, of the step she had took in giving her maid to her husband, and she was justified in what she had done: and hath also heard my voice: of prayer; she had prayed to God that her maid might have a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again,.... Soon after the birth of her first child: and bare Jacob a second son; this was his sixth son, but the second by Bilhah.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Rachel said, with great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister,.... Or, "with the wrestlings of God" (a), wrestling and striving in prayer with God; being vehement and importunate in her petitions to him, that she might have children as well as her sister: some render it, "I used the craftinesses of God", or "great craftiness with my...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
When Leah saw that she had left bearing,.... For a little while, for she afterwards bore again, and observing also what her sister had done; she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife: in this she was less excusable than Rachel, since she had four children of her own, and therefore might have been content without desiring others by her...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob a son. For it seems he consented to take her to wife at the motion of Leah, as he had took Bilhah at the instance of Rachel; and having gratified the one, he could not well deny the other; and went in to her, and she conceived, though neither of these things are mentioned, but are all necessarily supposed.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Leah said, a troop cometh,.... A troop of children, having bore four herself, and now her maid another, and more she expected; or the commander of a troop cometh, one that shall head an army and overcome his enemies; which agrees with the prophecy of Jacob, Genesis 49:19; and she called his name Gad: which signifies a "troop", glorying in the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a second son. As well as Bilhah, and no more.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Leah said,.... Upon the birth of the second son by her maid: happy am I; or, "in my happiness"; or, "for my happiness" (c); that is, this child is an addition to my happiness, and will serve to increase it: for the daughters will call me blessed; the women of the place where she lived would speak of her as a happy person, that had so many...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest,.... Leah's eldest son, who is supposed to be at this time about four or five years of age (e), who went out from the tent to the field, to play there perhaps; and this was at the time of wheat harvest, in the month Sivan, as the Targum of Jonathan, which answers to part of our May; a time of the year...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she said unto her,.... Leah to Rachel, taking this opportunity to bring out a thing which had some time lain with uneasiness upon her mind: [is it] a small thing that thou hast taken away my husband? got the greatest share of his affections, and had most of his company; which last was very probably the case, and more so, since Leah had left...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Jacob came out of the field in the evening,.... From feeding his flocks; and Leah went out to meet him; knowing full well the time he used to come home: and said, thou must come in unto me; into her tent, for the women had separate tents from the men; as Sarah from Abraham; and so these wives of Jacob had not only tents separate from his, but...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And God hearkened unto Leah,.... To the prayer of Leah, as the Targum of Jonathan, for more children: the desire of these good women for the company of their husband was not from lust, or an amorous desire in them, but for the sake of having many children, as appears by giving their maids to him; and the reason of this was, as Bishop Patrick well...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Leah said, God hath given me my hire,.... Of the mandrakes with which she had hired of Rachel a night's lodging with Jacob, and for which she had a sufficient recompense, by the son that God had given her: and she added another reason, and a very preposterous one, and shows she put a wrong construction on the blessing she received: because I...