The competition in childbearing between Jacob's wives can seem strange to a modern reader. And, to be sure, to a modern reader, at least a Western reader, the very situation of polygamy...
The competition in childbearing between Jacob's wives can seem strange to a modern reader. And, to be sure, to a modern reader, at least a Western reader, the very situation of polygamy can seem strange and unfamiliar. A harem is still exotic for most of us who live in countries traditionally called Christian.
Meanwhile, for a harem the situation described is quite ordinary, especially for a harem in ancient times, when a woman's main work was bearing children, above all boys. God's blessing was often measured precisely this way, by the number of children. Jacob's wives are no exception: both Leah and Rachel tried with all their might. This is where the conflict arose: the beloved wife was naturally Rachel, for whose sake Jacob had worked as a shepherd for fourteen years, but Leah bore more children. A kind of balance emerged: Rachel was loved as a woman, as a wife. There was more personal feeling and personal relation here, not determined by any tribal customs. Leah, however, was the mother of many of Jacob's children, a mother first of all, and she was considered blessed by God in the eyes of any person of that age, if that person looked at the situation through the familiar tribal cliches.
Jacob had to learn to see above such cliches or through them, and his love for Rachel taught him this. For a full spiritual life, such vision is absolutely important; otherwise real communion with God is impossible. For communion with God to become full, there must be no cliches and no automatic patterns at all in a person's life. Today it may well seem to us that in the life of those whom we habitually call "savages" or "primitive people," or, in scholarly language, representatives of traditional societies, there are few or almost no cliches. In fact there are no fewer there than in our own life. They are simply different, and we do not always notice them. Meanwhile, any cliche is dangerous for spiritual life, even one that can sometimes seem like traditional wisdom. So God frees Jacob from the cliches and stereotypes characteristic of his consciousness as a person of his own age, for Jacob was to become not simply the leader of his tribe, but the leader of the people of God.
30 In this chapter we have an account of the increase,
Gad and Asher by Zilpah, Leah's maid, Gen 30:9-13.
Issachar, Zebulon, and Dinah, by Leah, Gen 30:14-21.
And last of all Joseph by Rachel, Gen 30:22-24.
And in the six years further service he did to Laban, God wonderfully blessed him, so that his flock of all cattle became very considerable, Gen 30:35-43.
And herein was fulfilled the blessing which Isaac dismissed him with, Gen 28:3.
God make thee fruitful and multiply thee.
30:1 Rachel envied her sister - Envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more injurious both to God, our neighbour, and ourselves. But this was not all, she said to Jacob, give me children or else I die - A child would not content her; but because Leah has more than one, she must have more too; Give me children: her heart is set upon it. Give them me, else I die, That is, I shall fret myself to death. The want of this satisfaction will shorten my days. Observe a difference between Rachel's asking for this mercy, and Hannah's, Gen 1:10, etc Rachel envied, Hannah wept: Rachel must have children, and she died of the second; Hannah prayed for this child, and she had four more: Rachel is importunate and peremptory, Hannah is submissive and devout, If thou wilt give me a child, I will give him to the Lord. Let Hannah be imitated, and not Rachel; and let our desires be always under the conduct and check of reason and religion.
30:2 And Jacob's anger was kindled - He was angry, not at the person, but at the sin: he expressed himself so as to shew his displeasure.It was a grave and pious reply which Jacob gave to Rachel, Am I in God's stead? - Can I give thee that which God denies thee? He acknowledges the hand of God in the affliction: He hath withheld the fruit of the womb. Whatever we want, it is God that with - holds it, as sovereign Lord, most wise, holy, and just, that may do what he will with his own, and is debtor to no man: that never did, nor ever can do, any wrong to any of his creatures. The key of the clouds, of the heart, of the grave, and of the womb, are four keys which God has in his hand, and which (the Rabbins say) he intrusts neither with angel nor seraphin. He also acknowledges his own inability to alter what God appointed, Am I in God's stead? What, dost thou make a God of me? There is no creature that is, or can be, to us in God's stead. God may be to us, instead of any creature, as the sun instead of the moon and stars; but the moon and all the stars will not be to us instead of the sun. No creature's wisdom, power, and love will be to us instead of God's. It is therefore our sin and folly to place that confidence in any creature, which is to be placed in God only.
30:3 Behold my maid, Bilhah - At the persuasion of Rachel he took Bilhah her handmaid to wife, that, according to the usage of those times, his children by her might be adopted and owned as her mistresses children. She would rather have children by reputation than none at all; children that she might call her own, though they were not so. And as an early instance of her dominion over the children born in her apartment, she takes a pleasure in giving them names, that carry in them nothing but marks of emulation with her sister. As if she had overcome her,
30:9 Rachel had done that absurd and preposterous thing of putting her maid into her husband's bed, and now Leah (because she missed one year in bearing children) doth the same, to be even with her. See the power of rivalship, and admire the wisdom of the divine appointment, which joins together one man and one woman only. Two sons Zilpah bare to Jacob, whom Leah looked upon herself as intitled to, in token of which she called one Gad, promising herself a little troop of children. The other she called Asher, Happy, thinking herself happy in him, and promising herself that her neighbours would think so too.
30:14 Reuben, a little lad of five or six years old, playing in the field, found mandrakes. It is uncertain what they were; the critics are not agreed about them: we are sure they were some rarities, either fruits or flowers that were very pleasant to the smell, Sol 7:13. Some think these mandrakes were Jessamin flowers. Whatever they were, Rachel, could not see them in Leah's hands, but she must covet them.
30:17 And God hearkened unto Leah - Perhaps the reason of this contest between Jacob's wives for his company, and their giving him their maids to be his wives, was the earnest desire they had to fulfil the promise made to Abraham (and now lately renewed to Jacob) that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and that, in one seed of his, the Messiah, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Two sons Leah was now blessed with; the flrst she called Issachar, a hire, reckoning herself well repaid for her mandrakes; nay, (which is a strange construction of the providence) rewarded for giving her maid to her husband. The other she called Zebulun, dwelling, owning God's bounty to her, God has endowed me with a good dowry. Jacob had not endowed her when he married her; but she reckons a family of children, a good dowry.
30:21 Mention is made, of Dinah, because of the following story concerning her, Gen 34:1-16, etc Perhaps Jacob had other daughters, though not registered.
30:22 God remembered Rachel, whom he seemed to have forgotten, and hearkened to her, whose prayers had been long denied, and then she bare a son. Rachael called her son Joseph, which, in Hebrew, is a - kin to two words of a contrary signification: Asaph, abstulit, he has taken away my reproach, as if the greatest mercy she had in this son were, that she had saved her credit: and Joseph, addidit, the Lord shall add to me another son: which may be looked upon as the language of her faith; she takes this mercy as an earnest of further mercy: hath God given me this grace? I may call it Joseph, and say, he shall add more grace.