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Genesis 30:9-18

When Leah saw that she had finished bearing, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a son. Leah said, “How fortunate!” She named him Gad. Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a second son. Leah said, “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me happy.” She named him Asher.

Reuben 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.”

Leah 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.”

Jacob 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.

God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my hire, because I gave my servant to my husband.” She named him Issachar.

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Genesis 30:9-18 sits inside this longer paragraph.

When Leah saw that she had finished bearing, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a son. Leah said, “How fortunate!” She named him Gad. Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a second son. Leah said, “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me happy.” She named him Asher.

Reuben 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.”

Leah 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.”

Jacob 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.

God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my hire, because I gave my servant to my husband.” She named him Issachar. Leah conceived again, and bore a sixth son to Jacob. Leah 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. Afterwards, she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

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

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

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

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

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

    Reuben 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.”

    Leah 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.”

    Jacob 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.

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

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

  • KJV King James Version

    When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

    And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

    And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

    And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

    And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

    And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes 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.

    And she said unto her, 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.

    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.

    And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

    And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    When Leah saw that she had left off bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife.

    And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bore Jacob a son.

    And Leah said: 'Fortune is come!' And she called his name Gad.

    And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bore Jacob a second son.

    And Leah said: 'Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy.' And she called his name Asher.

    And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes 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.'

    And she said unto her: 'Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away 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.'

    And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said: 'Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son's mandrakes.' And he lay with her that night.

    And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son.

    And Leah said: 'God hath given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.

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Cross-references (34)

  • Genesis 49:19 (v11) “A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel.
  • Luke 1:48 (v13) for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
  • Genesis 30:4 (v9) She gave him Bilhah her servant as wife, and Jacob went in to her.
  • Song of Solomon 7:13 (v14) The mandrakes produce fragrance. At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old, which I have stored up for you, my beloved.
  • Genesis 35:26 (vv11, 13) The sons of Zilpah (Leah’s servant): Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
Show all 33 cross-references
  • Genesis 25:30 (v14) Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with some of that red stew, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom.
  • Genesis 49:20 (v13) “Asher’s food will be rich. He will produce royal dainties.
  • Numbers 16:13 (v15) Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but you must also…
  • Proverbs 31:28 (v13) Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her:
  • Song of Solomon 6:9 (v13) My dove, my perfect one, is unique. She is her mother’s only daughter. She is the favorite one of her who bore her. The daughters saw her,…
  • Genesis 16:3 (v9) Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her…
  • Genesis 29:35 (v9) She conceived again, and bore a son. She said, “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
  • Genesis 30:6 (v17) Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
  • Genesis 30:17 (v9) God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son.
  • Genesis 30:22 (v17) God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb.
  • Genesis 35:23 (v18) The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
  • Genesis 46:13 (v18) The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
  • Genesis 46:16 (v11) The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
  • Genesis 46:17 (v13) The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.
  • Genesis 49:14-15 (v18) “Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags. He saw a resting place, that it was good, the land, that it was pleasant.…
  • Exodus 3:7 (v17) Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I…
  • Numbers 16:9-10 (v15) Is it a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do…
  • Deuteronomy 33:18 (v18) About Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out; and Issachar, in your tents.
  • Deuteronomy 33:20-21 (v11) About Gad he said, “He who enlarges Gad is blessed. He dwells as a lioness, and tears the arm and the crown of the head. He provided the…
  • Deuteronomy 33:24-25 (v13) About Asher he said, “Asher is blessed with children. Let him be acceptable to his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil. Your bars will be…
  • 1 Samuel 1:20 (v17) When the time had come, Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”
  • 1 Samuel 1:26-27 (v17) She said, “Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh. I prayed for this child, and…
  • 1 Chronicles 12:32 (v18) Of the children of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their heads were two hundred; and all…
  • Isaiah 7:13 (v15) He said, “Listen now, house of David. Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also?
  • Isaiah 65:11 (v11) “But you who forsake Yahweh, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;
  • Ezekiel 16:47 (v15) Yet you have not walked in their ways, nor done their abominations; but soon you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.
  • Luke 1:13 (v17) But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and…
  • 1 Corinthians 4:3 (v15) But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man’s judgment. Yes, I don’t judge my own self.

33 distinct cross-references across this passage (34 total citations).

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (18 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv9, 14, 15, 17 9. When Leah saw that she had left bearing.…

9. When Leah saw that she had left bearing. Moses returns to Leah, who, not content with four sons, devised a method whereby she might always retain her superior rank: and therefore she also, in turn, substitutes her maid in her place. And truly Rachel deserved such a reward of her perverse design; since she, desiring to snatch the palm from her sister, does not consider that the same contrivance to which she had resorted, might speedily be employed against herself. Yet Leah sins still more grievously, by using wicked and unjust arts in the contest. Within a short period, she had experienced the wonderful blessing of God; and now, because she ceased from bearing, for a little while, she despairs concerning the future, as if she had never participated in the Divine favor. What, if her desire was strong; why did she not resort to the fountain of blessing? In obtruding, therefore, her maid, she gave proof not only of impatience, but also of distrust; because with the remembrance of Divine mercy, faith also is extinguished in her heart. And we know that all who rely upon the Lord are so tranquil and sedate in their mind, that they patiently wait for what he is about to give. And it is the just punishment of unbelief when any one stumbles through excessive haste. So much the more ought we to beware of the assaults of the flesh, if we desire to maintain a right course.

As to the name Gad, this passage is variously expounded by commentators. In this point they agree, that בגד (bagad) means the same as if Leah had said “the time of bearing is come.” But some suppose גד (Gad,) to be the prosperous star of Jupiter; others, Mercury; others, good fortune. They adduce Isaiah 65:11, where it is written, “they offer a libation to Gad.” But the context of the Prophet shows that this ought rather to be understood of the host of heaven, or of the number of false gods; because it immediately follows that they offer sacrifices to the stars, and furnish tables for a multitude of gods: the punishment is then added, that as they had fabricated an immense number of deities, so God will “number” them “to the sword.” As it respects the present passage, nothing is less probable than that Leah should extol the planet Jupiter instead of God, seeing that she, at least, maintained the principle that the propagation of the human race flows from God alone. I wonder also that interpreters understand this of prosperous fortune, when Moses afterwards, Genesis 49:19, leads us to an opposite meaning. For the allusion he there makes would be inappropriate, “Gad, a troop shall overcome him,” etc., unless it had been the design of Leah to congratulate herself on the troop of her children. For since she had so far surpassed her sister, she declares that she has children in great abundance. When she proclaims herself happy in her sixth son, it again appears in what great esteem fecundity was then held. And certainly it is a great honor, when God confers on mortals the sacred title of parents, and through them propagates the human race formed after his own image.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11, 14, 16, 18 That is, God doth increase me with a multitude…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Gen 30:9 When Leah saw that she had left…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 A troop cometh, or, good luck cometh; my design…
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v14 Here is, I. Leah fruitful again, after she had,…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–18 And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob a son. For…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9, 14, 17 Rachel had done that absurd and preposterous thing of…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18 Verse 11. She called his name Gad.] This has…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 14, 17 Gen 30:9. Rachel had absurdly and preposterously put her…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14, 15, 18 Happily, fortunately. --- Gad, or Bonaventure. (Haydock) ---"Good-fortune," was…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 13, 14, 18 9. Leah… took Zilpah — The passion and rivalry…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 14, 18 11. Fortunate] Heb. with fortune! Another reading is, Fortune…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9, 14, 18 (9-13) Leah . . . took Zilpah . .…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 When Leah saw that she had left bearing (literally,…
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v14 Gen_30:14. Mandrakes.] “The mandrake is universally distributed in all…
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v14 The Last Children of Leah
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 12, 14, 16 When Leah saw that
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 10, 14, 18 30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing…
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