The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 30
Chapter XXX · Vol. I, pp. 262–264
1 Rachel, in grief for her barrenness, giveth Bilhah her maid unto Jacob. 5 She beareth Dan and Naphtali. 9 Leah giveth Zilpah her maid, who beareth Gad and Asher. 14 Reuben findeth mandrakes, with which Leah buyeth her husband of Rachel. 17 Leah beareth Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah. 22 Rachel beareth Joseph. 25 Jacob desireth to depart. 27 Laban stayeth him on a new covenant. 37 Jacob's policy, whereby he becometh rich.
1 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel aenvied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, bor else I die.
2 And Jacob's canger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, dAm I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the efruit of the womb?
3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear fupon my knees, that I may also have children by her.5
f To be nursed as my own, ch. 50.23. Job 3.12.
5 Heb. be built by her.
4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife;g and Jacob went in unto her.
g Concubine, ch. 35. 22; 16.3; 22.24; 25.1,6.
5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
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 hDan.6
h That is, judging, ch. 40. 16,17; 35.25; 46. 23.
6 1747.
7 And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings7 have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name iNaphtali.
7 Heb. wrestlings of God. With great earnestness have I and my sister striven for children; and I have got my wish beyond her expectation.
i That is, my wrestling, ch. 35. 25; 46. 24; 49. 21; called, Mat. 4. 13, Nephthalim.
9 When Leah saw that she had kleft bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
k For a time, ch. 29. 35; ver. 17.
10 And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a son.
11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name lGad.8
l That is, a troop, or company, ch. 35.26; 46.16; 49.19.
8 1747.
12 And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bare Jacob a second son.
13 And Leah said, Happy am I,9 for the daughters will mcall me blessed: and she called his name nAsher.1
14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat-harvest, and found omandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.2
o Precious fruits, or sweet flowers, Ca. 7. 13.
2 The mandrakes (in Heb. dudaim) has been very variously described. Some translate the Hebrew dudaim, violet; others, lilies, jasmines, mushroom; others, flowers in general. Abbe Marite thus describes the plant commonly called mandrakes. 'It grows low, like a lettuce, to which its leaves have a great resemblance, except that they have a dark green colour. The flowers are purple. The fruit, when ripe, in the beginning of May (the wheat harvest in Palestine) is of the size and colour of a small apple, exceedingly ruddy, and of an agreeable odour. Pythagoras denominated it anthropomorphon. Theophrastus refers to it as productive of love. There can be no doubt that in ancient times the plant, commonly called mandrakes, was in high repute as an ingredient in philtres or love potions; and it is not unlikely that some such idea might have occupied the mind of Rachel; who, though a believer in the true God and his promises, was not yet thoroughly clear of the superstition of her country, as especially appears from ch. 31.34.—C.
15 And she said unto her,3 Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes.
3 These contentions chiefly sprang from a desire to have children for increasing the church, and introducing the Messiah.
16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
18 And Leah said, God hath given me5 my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name pIssachar.
5 Instead of acknowledging her fault, she boasts as if God had rewarded her for it.
p That is, an hire, ch. 35.23; 46.13; 40.14, 15.
19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
20 And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowery; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name qZebulun.
A.M. 2257. B.C. 1747.
q That is, dwelling, ch. 35.23; 46.14; 49.13; called Zabulon, Mat. 4.13.
21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name rDinah.
r That is, judgment, ch. xxxiv.; 46. 15.
22 And God sremembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
s ch. 8. 1. 1 Sa. 1. 19, 20. ch. 21.1.
23 And she conceived,6 and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my treproach:
6 1745.
t i.e. barrenness. Barrenness was accounted a great reproach, as it excluded from the honour of increasing Abraham's seed, and of introducing the promised Messiah, Lu. 1. 25,27. 1 Sa. 1.6. Is. 4.1.
24 And she called his name uJoseph; and said, The LORD shall xadd to me another son.
u That is, adding, ch. 35. 24; xxxvii. xxxix.-xlviii. 1; 49. 22-26.
x ch. 35.17.
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to ymy country.
y ch. 28.13; 26.3. He. 11.9.
26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go:7 for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
7 His fourteen years of service were now fulfilled, and he desires to quit so ungrateful a service, and such covetous exaction of his labours, to return to the land of his father—the land of promise—having no other substance than his large family. God, however, rewards his toil, and defeats the covetousness of Laban.—I.
27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have zfound favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that athe LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
z ch. 18.3; 39.21. Ex. 3.21. Nu. 11.11,15. Ru. 2. 13. 1 Sa. 16. 16. 1 Ki. 11.19. Da. 1.9.
29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest chow I have served8 thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
c 1 Pe. 2.15,18. Tit. 2. 9,10.
8 How faithful and successful my service has been, so that I now well deserve to be dismissed.—Wells.
30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now dincreased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee esince my coming: and now, when shall I provide for mine own house also?
d Heb. broken forth, ver. 43.
e Heb. at my feet, De. 11.10.
31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me fany thing. If thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.
32 I will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and of gsuch shall be my hire.
g Speckled young produced by white dams, ver. 35.
33 So shall my hrighteousness answer for me iin time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.9
9 Laban agreed to this, as he expected that all of these colours agreed upon being removed from the flock, scarce any more such would be produced in it.
35 And he removed that day the he-goats that were ring-straked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36 And he set three days' journey9 betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.1
A.M. 2259. B.C. 1745.
9 In the East distances are always measured by time. A day's journey is about eight hours' ordinary travel, or sixteen miles. Three days' journey, therefore, would be nearly fifty miles.—P.
1 After this verse, in the Samaritan text, is inserted, the angel of God speaking to Jacob in a vision, as ch. 31. 11-13.
37 And Jacob took him krods of green poplar,2 and of the lhazel and mchestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
k Directed by an angel, ch. 31.9-11.
2 The Hebrew word libneh denotes whiteness—hence the Populus alba, or white poplar, is here meant. It is found in Egypt, Syria, and frequently in Persia.
l Heb. luz, ch. 28. 10. (Luz is sometimes translated hazel, though the hazel was called Nux Pontica, on account of its having been transplanted to Italy from Pontus.)
m Eze. 31.8. (There seems to be no doubt that the plane-tree is the armon of Scripture, as all the versions agree in so considering it. The Hebrew appellation armon comes from a root which signifies to be stripped, and agrees very well with the plane, where the bark spontaneously peels off.)
38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive3 when they came to drink.
3 Heb. be in heat.
39 And the flocks nconceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ring-straked, speckled, and spotted.
n ch. 31.9. Ex. 12.35, 36.
40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ring-straked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.4
4 Lest that should make them bring forth young like Laban's share.
41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
43 And the man oincreased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and camels, and asses.
o ch. 28. 15; 31. 7,42. Job 1.3. Ec. 2.7. ch. 13. 2. Eze. 39.10.
Notes
Reflections.—Sinful marriages have sad consequences. Wives chosen for their beauty often bring a troublesome temper along with them. Envious discontentment and disappointed pride make multitudes miserable! Immoderate desire of children, or other created enjoyments, hurry many into fearful disorders! But it is vain ever to expect that happiness from creatures which can be had only in and from God himself. No love to persons should hinder our detestation and reproof of their sins. Even the godly are apt to fall into snares laid for them by their near relations. And bad examples are more readily imitated than good ones. If we are once overcome by sin, we are apt to yield to it more easily afterward. Many are more governed by the estimation of the world than by reason or religion. It is very wicked for parents to transmit their quarrels to their children. It is no lessening of our guilt that God brings good out of our evil. People often promise themselves happiness in that which will be their death or ruin. Saints have need to trust their God, as all others may deceive them; and reason to desire their heavenly home, as this world is not their rest. What an advantage to families are servants remarkably pious! How criminal for covetous masters to defraud them of their wages! What good words worldly men can give to serve their own ends, and how wise they are for their own carnal interests! But their caution is vain when God designs to frustrate their purposes; and they often outwit themselves who intend to impose upon others. All agreements ought to be made with great clearness and accuracy, that no stain be thereby occasioned to our character; and in the use of lawful means to promote our wealth, our trust should be fixed on the promised providence of God. His blessing can quickly increase a little, and make it a great store.