Genesis 30

The Birth of Jacob's Children

¹When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.”

²Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

³She said, “Behold, my maid Bilhah. Go in to her, that she may bear on my knees, and I also may obtain children by her.”

⁴She gave him Bilhah her servant as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

⁵Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

⁶Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.

⁷Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son.

⁸Rachel said, “I have wrestled with my sister with mighty wrestlings, and have prevailed.” She named him Naphtali.

⁹When Leah saw that she had finished bearing, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

¹⁰Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a son.

¹¹Leah said, “How fortunate!” She named him Gad.

¹²Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a second son.

¹³Leah said, “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me happy.” She named him Asher.

¹⁴Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, 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.”

¹⁵Leah said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes, also?” Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶Jacob came from the field in the evening, and 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.” He lay with her that night.

¹⁷God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son.

¹⁸Leah said, “God has given me my hire, because I gave my servant to my husband.” She named him Issachar.

¹⁹Leah conceived again, and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

²⁰Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good dowry. Now my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons.” She named him Zebulun.

²¹Afterwards, she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.

²²God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb.

²³She conceived, bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

²⁴She named him Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add another son to me.”

Jacob's Prosperity with Laban

²⁵When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country.

²⁶Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service with which I have served you.”

²⁷Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have divined that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.”

²⁸He said, “Appoint me your wages, and I will give it.”

²⁹Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me.

³⁰For it was little which you had before I came, and it has increased to a multitude. The LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. Now when will I provide for my own house also?”

³¹Laban said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.

³²I will pass through all your flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. This will be my hire.

³³So my righteousness will answer for me hereafter, when you come concerning my hire that is before you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that might be with me, will be considered stolen.”

³⁴Laban said, “Behold, let it be according to your word.”

³⁵That day, he removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

³⁶He set three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷Jacob took to himself rods of fresh poplar, almond, and plane tree, peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

³⁸He set the rods which he had peeled opposite the flocks in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.

³⁹The flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks produced streaked, speckled, and spotted.

⁴⁰Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the black in Laban’s flock. He put his own droves apart, and didn’t put them into Laban’s flock.

⁴¹Whenever the stronger of the flock conceived, Jacob laid the rods in front of the eyes of the flock in the watering troughs, that they might conceive among the rods;

⁴²but when the flock were feeble, he didn’t put them in. So the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

⁴³The man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Previous Genesis 29

Next Genesis 31

Genesis 30 chronicles the intense rivalry between Rachel and Leah as they compete to bear children for Jacob, leading to the birth of eight more sons through themselves and their servants Bilhah and Zilpah. The chapter then shifts to Jacob's desire to return home and his negotiations with Laban over wages, resulting in a clever breeding strategy that greatly increases Jacob's wealth. This narrative demonstrates both human striving and divine sovereignty in building the twelve tribes of Israel while setting up Jacob's eventual departure from Laban.

Context

This chapter continues the account of Jacob's twenty-year sojourn with Laban that began in chapter 29, setting up his eventual return to Canaan in chapters 31-33.

Key Themes

Outline

1-8
Rachel's Sons Through Bilhah Rachel, desperate for children, gives her servant Bilhah to Jacob, who bears Dan and Naphtali.
9-13
Leah's Sons Through Zilpah Leah responds by giving her servant Zilpah to Jacob, who bears Gad and Asher.
14-21
The Mandrake Bargain Rachel trades a night with Jacob for Leah's mandrakes, leading to Leah bearing Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah.
22-24
Joseph's Birth God remembers Rachel and opens her womb, and she bears Joseph.
25-36
Jacob's Wage Agreement Jacob requests to leave but agrees to stay and tend Laban's flocks for speckled and spotted animals.
37-43
Jacob's Breeding Strategy Jacob uses selective breeding techniques and becomes exceedingly prosperous with large flocks and herds.

The Birth of Jacob's Children

30:1–30:24

narrative narration anguished

Rachel's barrenness leads to jealousy and competition between Jacob's wives, resulting in the birth of children through their servants and continued rivalry. The passage shows the complex family dynamics and God's role in providing children despite human scheming.

person_contrast

Rachel's desperate cry "Give me children, or else I will die" transforms her from the beloved wife into a figure consumed by envy, marking the only time she speaks with such raw desperation in Genesis.

Jacob's Prosperity with Laban

30:25–30:43

narrative dialogue contemplative

Jacob negotiates with Laban for wages and cleverly arranges to receive the speckled and spotted livestock as payment. Through divine blessing and strategic breeding practices, Jacob prospers greatly at Laban's expense.

person_contrast

Rachel's birth of Joseph triggers Jacob's boldest economic maneuver, linking her maternal fulfillment directly to his demand for independence and wealth accumulation.

Insight Character Study

Rachel's birth of Joseph triggers Jacob's boldest economic maneuver, linking her maternal fulfillment directly to his demand for independence and wealth accumulation.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Genesis 30:1 2 references

Lexicals 2

Genesis 46:25 Lexical

These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were s…

Genesis 30

The Birth of Jacob's Children

Jacob's Prosperity with Laban

The Birth of Jacob's Children

Jacob's Prosperity with Laban

Insights

Cross-References

Genesis 30:1 2 references

Genesis 30:5 1 reference

Genesis 30:7 5 references

Genesis 30:9 5 references

Genesis 30:10 5 references

Genesis 30:12 5 references

Genesis 30:14 4 references

Genesis 30:16 1 reference

Genesis 30:17 5 references

Genesis 30:19 5 references

Genesis 30:20 1 reference

Genesis 30:22 1 reference

Genesis 30:25 5 references

Genesis 30:27 1 reference

Genesis 30:31 1 reference

Genesis 30:32 3 references

Genesis 30:33 1 reference

Genesis 30:35 3 references

Genesis 30:36 3 references

Genesis 30:39 3 references

Genesis 30:40 5 references

Genesis 30:42 2 references

Genesis 30:43 5 references

Interlinear