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Rachel, distressed by barrenness, gives the slave Bilhah to Jacob as a concubine Gen.30:1. And Rachel saw that she was not bearing children for Jacob, and Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob: Give me children, and if not, I die. Mutual jealousy of wives, an inevitable accompaniment of polygamy in general, receives special strength and severity in the case when one of the wives was childless and the other had children (cf. 1 Samuel 1:2, 6; Deut. 21:15, etc.). Jacob’s family was not free from this evil: “the daughters of an ungodly husband, who called idols gods, were also imperfect. That is why the lawmaker God forbids such a marriage and says: “Do not take a wife together with her sister to make her a rival” (Lev.18:18); (Blessed Theodoret, answer to question 87). Jacob's demand for children, besides God, on Rachel's part is an unreasonable and ungodly demand, “characteristic of a wife and a soul tormented by jealousy” (John Chrysostom, Demon. 61, p. 601). That is why it arouses the wrath of Jacob, although the burden of childlessness among the ancient Jews made it almost synonymous with death (only leprosy and blindness, also likened to death, were considered similar to this disaster), as Rachel says here, and this softens her guilt. Gen.30:2. Jacob was angry with Rachel and said to [her], “Am I God, who did not give you the fruit of the womb?” Jacob turns Rachel's thought to God, the Author of all life and the source of the reproduction of humanity through birth (Gen. 1:28, 9:1, 7; Ps. 126:3). According to the ancient Jewish view (Beresch. r. par. 78, s. 355), God keeps three keys, which he does not give to either the Angel or the seraphim: life and birth (1 Sam. 2:5-6; Ps. 113:9, 126:3); rain or fertility (Deut. 28:12) and the tomb and resurrection (Ezek. 37:12–13). A reverent and comforting teaching, which places in the hand of God himself the beginning, continuation, and completion of human existence (M. Philar., Note on the book of Genesis 2.65–66). Gen.30:3. She said: Here is my maid Bilhah; come in to her; Let her give birth on my knees, so that I too may have children by her. Following the example of Sarah, who offered Hagar to Abraham (Gen. 16:2), Rachel gives her slave Bilhah as a wife to Jacob so that the children from this marriage will be born “on the lap” of the mistress (cf. Gen. 30:3; Job 3:12), i.e. by adoption were considered her own children - a custom that still exists in China, but among biblical Jews it stemmed from the same passionate desire for offspring, which prompted the husband to polygamy (at least to bigamy), and forced the wife to decide on such self-denial as the willingness to temporarily cede her rights in relation to her husband to a slave. Instead of: “so that I may have children by her” from Heb. (ibbaneh): “so that I may build myself a house (offspring) from her.” Gen.30:6. And Rachel said, God judged me, and heard my voice, and gave me a son. Therefore she called his name Dan. “So Rachel received some consolation when the slave gave birth; That’s why she herself gives the name to the child” (Zlat. 61, 603). The name "Dan" from Hebrew. “judged”, i.e. God, in the judgment of His righteousness, freed Rachel from the shame of childlessness. In Gen. 49:16 This name is close to the appointment of the tribe of Dan to “judge” Israel. Gen.30:7–8. And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived and bare a son, another son to Jacob. And Rachel said, I fought mightily with my sister, and prevailed. And she called his name Naphtali. The name Naphtali, Hebrew. Naphtali, - “struggle”, “struggle” (or “fighter”), of course, the struggle is not so much open and waged by force, but by art, intrigue (Heb. patal means “to wriggle”, from where niphtal, twisted, insidious (cf. Job 5:13; Proverbs 8:8) 3. Rachel calls her struggle with Leah “Godly,” perhaps in the sense of the strength, intensity of this struggle (cf. the expressions: “mountains of God”, “cedars of God” (Ps. 35:7, 79:11), or (according to the Targum) - in the sense of Rachel’s prayerful appeal to God in competition with Leah; Jacob later fought with such a struggle of prayer (Gen. 32:24-30; Hos. 12:3-4). About the victory of Rachel over Leah, after the first had only two adopted sons, and the second already had 4 of her own, it was possible to speak only in the high spirit that Rachel was now experiencing, Vulg., express the idea that Rachel was only comparable to her sister. (s.302) that, according to the Elohist (the supposed author of Genesis XXX), Leah hitherto had one son. Leah, out of jealousy, gives Jacob her maidservant Zilpah, and the latter gives birth to Gad and Assir Gen.30:9. Leah saw that she had ceased to give birth, and she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her to Jacob to be his wife, [and he went in to her]. The act of Leah, who already had 4 sons, is even less excusable than that of Rachel, who was childless for a long time. But the latter’s exaltation with all its might aroused jealousy in Leah, and she arranges a new cohabitation for Jacob; “Knowing,” says Abarbanel, “that Jacob will have 4 wives, Leah hastens to warn him lest he take a 4th wife from outside” (Philipps. 151). Gen.30:10–11. And Zilpah the servant of Leah [conceived and] bore Jacob a son. And Leah said: it has increased. And she called his name Gad. Gad - from Hebrew happiness (in Is. 65:11 Gad is the deity of happiness among the pagans). The word bagad is in happiness or: fortunately, LXX: ἐυτύχη, Vulg:. feliciter, slav:. “It was good for me” – some Heb. the codes (in Kenicott) are divided into two: ba + gad, “happiness is coming or has come”; The last reading is marked among the Masoretes with the sign Keri. But the authority of the LXX, I. Josephus, the Targum and the parallelism of the word bagad with the word beaschri (v. 13) speak in favor of the first reading. To the question: why does Scripture mention here the incident (τύχη), Blessed Theodoret answers (p. 88): “the words: “good things happened to me” were spoken not by Jacob, but by his wife Leah, who was not brought up in piety or had little instruction in the divine.” In Gen. 49:19 the name Gad is close to the word gedud, host, troop (“a host goes”, i.e. children, as some interpreted). Gen.30:12–13. And Zilpah Leah's servant [conceived again], [and] bare another son to Jacob. And Leah said: It is for my good, for the women will call me blessed. And she called his name Asher. The name of Zilpah's second son, Asher-Asir, is synonymous in meaning with the name Gad: beaschri (Vulg: pro beatudine mea) - “fortunately, for my good”; the motive: “for they will please me” (v. 13) is reminiscent of the majestic confession of the Mother of God (Luke 1:48). Leah gives birth to her last children: Issachar, Zebulun and daughter Dinah Gen.30:14. Reuben went during the wheat harvest and found mandrake apples in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to Leah [her sister], Give me the mandrakes of your son. Reuben (who was probably 5 years old at this time), during the wheat harvest, i.e. in May, he finds mandrakes or mandrake apples in the field, Heb. name: dudaim, amatoria (LXX: μῆλα μανδραγόρων) – apples of love; According to the most likely explanation, this plant is the so-called Atropa belladona (genus of henbane), growing in Palestine or neighboring countries, having narcotic properties and considered promoting fertility. On the strong trunk of this plant, greenish-white flower petals appear, serving as a harbinger of spring (Song 7:14), from which, by May, small red-yellow apples ripen, with a strong narcotic, although pleasant, odor. Belief in the mysterious relationship of this plant (which in its structure resembles a person) encouraged both in ancient times and in the Middle Ages to prepare a drink of love from it. Apparently, mandrakes were rare in Mesopotamia, and the passionate Rachel, who has not yet lost hope of having her own children, resorts to the supposed magical power of mandrakes. In the context of the latter, the struggle between Leah and Rachel reaches its highest degree. Gen.30:15–16. But [Leah] said to her: Is it really not enough for you to take possession of my husband, that you also covet my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: So let him lie with you this night, for the mandrakes of your son. Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah came out to meet him and said: Come in to me [today], for I bought you with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay down with her that night. Leah, sharing Rachel’s faith in the fertilizing power of mandrakes, does not agree to give them up to Rachel, and both from her reproach and from Rachel’s response it is clear that Rachel has completely taken possession of Jacob (cf. “overcame”, v. 8), so that only with her permission, for the mandrakes given to her by Leah, the latter receives marital communication with Jacob. Without a doubt, the sacred writer does not share the superstitions of Leah and Rachel about the action of mandrakes and even less attributes (contrary to the opinion of some rabbis and new biblical critics) any influence on the subsequent birth of children from Leah - Issachar and Zebulun and from Rachel - Joseph: he represents all this as a matter of God’s grace (Gen. 30:18, 20, 22). Gen.30:17–18. And God heard Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. And Leah said: God has given me retribution because I gave my maid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar [which means retribution]. “Because God saw that Leah was depressed by grief and was not in favor, he heard her” (John Chrysostom 56, 604). In the birth of her fifth son, after some pause, Leah sees a reward from God for providing her with a maidservant to Jacob - according to the views of that time (and, perhaps, due to her special love for Jacob), she considers this act worthy of praise. In the name Issachar (from Hebrew or: “will bring a reward”, i.e. God, according to Keri: “issa scnakar”, or: “there is a reward”; according to Ketib: “esch sakar”), Leah expresses the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bretribution, payment, indicating, on the one hand, her self-denial in relation to the maid, on the other, the acquisition of Jacob from Rachel with a payment of mandrakes. Gen.30:19–20. And Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And Leah said: God has given me a wonderful gift; Now my husband will live with me, for I have given birth to him six sons. And she called his name Zebulun. With the birth of her sixth (and last) son, Leah once again expresses hope for her husband’s affection (among Arabs, to this day, the importance of a wife grows as the number of her sons increases); in her words there is a usual play on words in the Hebrew language: “zavad” - “zebed” - gave (God) the gift (of a son); “blockage” - will live (Jacob); from the last word - “Zabulun” (according to Blessed Jerome - habitaculum). Gen.30:21. Then she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dina. “Dinah” – judging (feminine for the word “Dan”, v. 6). Nothing more is said about the name of the daughter - due to the lesser importance of women in Hebrew genealogies; Jacob's other daughters are equally not mentioned (Gen. 46:7) - for the same reason. Dinah, perhaps born later, is mentioned here in view of the adventure that happened to her in Shechem (Gen. 34) and for the sake of completeness of the story about the children of Jacob. Gen.30:22–23. And God remembered Rachel, and God heard her, and opened her womb. She conceived and bore [Jacob] a son, and [Rachel] said: God has taken away my shame. “God remembered” - in biblical language means: sent mercy after the test (cf. Gen. 8:1, 19:29; 1 Sam. 1:11, 19). “Shame” is childlessness (cf. Isa. 4:1, 54:1–4; Luke 1:25). Gen.30:24. And she called his name Joseph, saying, The Lord will give me another son also. And the name “Joseph” (like Zebulun, v. 20, and Issachar, v. 18) in the mouth of Rachel has a double production and meaning: “taking away, removing” (the shame of childlessness) and “adding, giving more” (i.e., another son) - “God has taken away the shame and may He add another son,” says Rachel; the last wish, according to the rabbis, was a prophecy (Beresch. r. Par. 72:5, 354); it came true in the birth of Benjamin (Gen. 35.16–18), and Rachel died. Jacob, preparing to return to Canaan, concludes a new agreement with Laban, again works for him for 6 years and, thanks to his art and cunning, becomes rich Gen.30:25–26. After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban: Let me go, and I will go to my place and to my land; Give [me] my wives and my children, for whom I served you, and I will go, for you know my service, which I served you. Immediately after the birth of Joseph, when Jacob’s agreed 14-year term of service with Laban ended, Jacob expressed his determination to return to his homeland, to which he was prompted, perhaps, by some news from home (tradition says that Rebekah sent her nurse Deborah to Jacob (Gen. 35:8) to return him to his homeland, as she promised him (Gen. 27:45 , see Philipps. s. 184), but mainly the bitter consciousness that in 14 years of free labor from the stingy Laban he has not yet acquired anything for his family (cf. v. 30); at the same time, Jacob (in the words “let me go,” “you know my service”) makes a hint that he deserved some allowance from Laban, a hint understood by Laban (see v. 28). Jacob was not yet firmly established as Laban, as can be seen from the fact that he soon agrees to stay with his father-in-law on new terms: the more persistently Jacob now pursues the goal of providing for his large family, with means, as can be seen from what follows, that are not always morally impeccable. Gen.30:27–28. And Laban said to him: Oh, that I may find favor in your sight! I notice that the Lord blessed me for you. And he said: Set your reward from me, and I will give [to you]. Laban, knowing from experience the great price of Jacob’s service, begins an exhortation to stay longer - in a humbly pleading tone. “I notice” - from Hebrew: “I learned by fortune telling” (cf. Gen. 44:15), - perhaps through the teraphim that Laban had 4 (according to the Masoretic text) (Gen. 31:19, etc.); but a broader meaning of Heb. is also possible. nachasch - in the sense of “to guess.” Laban admits (v. 27) that with the arrival of Jacob to him, his household went especially successfully (cf. v. 30) and invites him to set his own payment (as before, Gen. 29:15). Gen.30:29–30. And [Jacob] said to him: You know how I served you, and what your livestock became like under me; for you had little before me, but have become many; The Lord blessed you with my coming; when will I work for my house? A new agreement between son-in-law and father-in-law begins, characterized on the outside by purely oriental politeness and verbosity, but at the same time showing Laban’s extreme prudence. Jacob, in his answer, repeats Laban’s thought about the success of Laban’s economy from the time he came to him, and already directly expresses his intention to quickly begin work for the benefit of his own family. Gen.30:31–32. And Laban said [to him], “What shall I give you?” Jacob said [to him], “Don’t give me anything.” If you just do to me what I say, then I will again feed and guard your sheep. Today I will go through all your flock of sheep; Separate from it every spotted and spotted animal, every black beast from the sheep, and also spotted and spotted from the goats. Such cattle will be my reward [and will be mine]. When asked by Laban about the payment that Jacob would like to receive from him from now on, Jacob, using a technique characteristic of the ancient (Gen. 23:6-18) and new East, at first, as it were, refuses any payment, but then agrees to continue serving with Laban on the following condition, according to which he will receive compensation in kind: motley and black sheep and motley goats. Such a condition should have gained force immediately upon its conclusion (see the addition of LXX at the end of Article 32: the words in the Russian (Synodal) translation are placed in brackets): livestock with the indicated signs, available, now became the property of Jacob, and so it should have been for the future. But the assigned color of an individual is rare in the East: sheep there are usually white (Song. 4:2), and goats are black. Gen.30:34. Laban said to [him], “Very well, let it be done according to your word.” Thus, “Jacob asks Laban for something that, in the natural order of things, seemed difficult or even impossible, and Laban, for this very reason, did not hesitate to agree to his demand” (John Chrysostom, Bes. 57, p. 608). But Jacob’s art prevailed over the natural order of things (v. 37). Gen.30:35–36. And he separated that day the spotted and spotted goats, and all the speckled and spotted goats, all that had some white on them, and all the black sheep, and gave them into the hands of his sons; and he appointed a distance between himself and Jacob for three days' journey. Jacob tended the rest of Laban's flocks. The subject who “separated” livestock of one color from those of different colors, including the latter and black sheep, in connection with the previous (34) verse and with the subsequent speech, is Laban; “sons” - of course, the children of Laban, since the sons of Jacob were too young to be entrusted with caring for the flock; Moreover, Laban’s distrust of Jacob prompted him to entrust the cattle, selected as a reward to Jacob, to the supervision of his own sons, indicating the distance “between himself” and his herds, entrusted to Jacob, and between the latter’s herds, which Laban’s sons now had to guard. If in this way Laban takes (according to the proposal of Jacob himself) measures to protect his livestock from passing into the possession of Jacob, then the latter, in turn, uses the following three methods to increase the number of individuals of the agreed colors in his own herd - and achieves the goal, although the means are not morally impeccable. Gen. 30:37–39. And Jacob took fresh twigs of poplar, almond and sycamore, and [Jacob] cut white stripes on them, stripping off the bark until it was white, which was on the twigs, and he placed the cut rods in front of the cattle in the watering troughs, where the cattle came to drink, and where, when they came to drink, they conceived in front of the rods. And the cattle conceived before the bars, and the cattle were born motley, and with specks, and with spots. The first technique: as an experienced cattle breeder, Jacob utilizes the extreme susceptibility of sheep and goats to external impressions and sensory sensations during mating, known to the ancients - in watering troughs he places colorful twigs of poplar, sycamore and almond trees in front of the eyes of the heated queens at this time, skillfully stripping them of the bark and making them multi-colored. The consequence of this was the mass birth of animals with various kinds and shapes of spots and specks, which, according to the condition (vv. 33-34), became the property of Jacob. One might think that Jacob “did not rely on sharpened rods, but expected divine help” (answer to question 90, Blessed Theodoret), and that what happened was “much marvelous and beyond the natural order of things” (John Chrysostom, 57, 609). Gen.30:40. And Jacob separated the lambs and set the cattle facing Laban's spotted and all the black cattle; and he kept his flocks separately, and did not put them together with Laban's cattle. Second technique: in addition to the impression on the sheep and goats made by the motley rods, Jacob, bearing in mind the same law of nature, impressed them with the sight of motley cattle, forcing the latter to pass before the eyes of the queens, but, remembering the condition, not to mix his cattle with Laban’s cattle. Gen.30:41–42. Every time strong cattle conceived, Jacob placed rods in troughs before the eyes of the cattle, so that they would conceive in front of the rods. And when weak cattle conceived, then they did not lay. And the weak cattle went to Laban, and the strong cattle to Jacob. Finally, the third method: wanting to have livestock not only in large quantities, but also of good quality, and on the other hand, not to make the increase in his livestock too noticeable to Laban, Jacob used the above two methods only at the time when strong cattle were conceived, i.e. in the early spring (Rosenmuller, Scholia, 1:1, p. 478–479), and when weak cattle began to conceive, they left the matter to nature itself, and the cattle were born of one color, which went to Laban. Gen.30:43. And the man became very, very rich, and he had many flocks [and herds], and female servants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys. Jacob sold the cattle he acquired in ever-increasing quantities and exchanged them for the items he needed: this is how he became rich—the blessing of Isaac clearly began to come true over Jacob. But at the same time, his relationship with Laban began to worsen - a state of affairs was again created for Jacob that required divine assistance and guidance, and it was given to him (chap. 32-33). According to I. Flavius ​​(antiqu. i, 18, 19) the meaning of “Naphtali” is ἀμηχάνητος – διὰ τὸ ἀντιτεχνάσασθαι (“invincible, due to the struggle with art”). Mahanaim Hebrew Bible Lectures by Z. Dashevsky on the book “Shmuel”. “Those teraphim that Rachel stole from Laban were clearly, as can be seen from the text of the Torah, objects of idolatry. Laban says directly to Jacob: “Why have you stolen my gods?” There is no reason to even think that David could have any such item in his house. Teraphim is a plural noun, but it is quite obvious that it does not necessarily denote many objects, but is called so because of its large size, for example. According to most opinions, this is some kind of figure with human forms.” You might be interested in: