301 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 e 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 e 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 . 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 .
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 e her Dinah . 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 e him Joseph , saying , " May the Lord give me another son ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 30:1-24
Commentary on Genesis 30:1-13
(Read Genesis 30:1-13)
Rachel envied her sister: envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more hateful to God, or more hurtful to our neighbours and ourselves. She considered not that God made the difference, and that in other things she had the advantage. Let us carefully watch against all the risings and workings of this passion in our minds. Let not our eye be evil towards any of our fellow-servants, because our Master's is good. Jacob loved Rachel, and therefore reproved her for what she said amiss. Faithful reproofs show true affection. God may be to us instead of any creature; but it is sin and folly to place any creature in God's stead, and to place that confidence in any creature, which should be placed in God only. At the persuasion of Rachel, Jacob took Bilhah her handmaid to wife, that, according to the usage of those times, her children might be owned as her mistress's children. Had not Rachel's heart been influenced by evil passions, she would have thought her sister's children nearer to her, and more entitled to her care than Bilhah's. But children whom she had a right to rule, were more desirable to her than children she had more reason to love. As an early instance of her power over these children, she takes pleasure in giving them names that carry in them marks of rivalry with her sister. See what roots of bitterness envy and strife are, and what mischief they make among relations. At the persuasion of Leah, Jacob took Zilpah her handmaid to wife also. See the power of jealousy and rivalship, and admire the wisdom of the Divine appointment, which joins together one man and one woman only; for God hath called us to peace and purity.
Commentary on Genesis 30:14-24
(Read Genesis 30:14-24)
The desire, good in itself, but often too great and irregular, of being the mother of the promised Seed, with the honour of having many children, and the reproach of being barren, were causes of this unbecoming contest between the sisters. The truth appears to be, that they were influenced by the promises of God to Abraham; whose posterity were promised the richest blessings, and from whom the Messiah was to descend.