The Song of Solomon reminds us that the Jewish people never minimized the personal joys of marriage, but they also emphasized the responsibility of having children and building a God-fearing family. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. … Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is His reward” (Ps. 127:1, 3 nkjv).
The Jews looked upon parenthood as a stewardship before God, and this was especially true in the case of Jacob, whose descendants would multiply “as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore” (Gen. 22:17). God would honor him by making him the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, but the fact that four different women were involved in building his family would create for Jacob one problem after another. The man who had grown up in a divided and competitive home (25:28) would himself create a divided and competitive family.
Leah’s children (29:31–35; 30:17–21). The word “hated” in verse 31 doesn’t imply active abuse on Jacob’s part; it simply means he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah and gave Rachel more attention and affection. (See Deut. 21:15–17 and our Lord’s words in Matt. 6: and Luke 14:26.) The fact that Leah bore Jacob six sons and a daughter indicates that he fulfilled his marital duties toward her, but she knew his heart belonged to her sister.
The Lord also knew this, so He blessed Leah with conception. It’s paradoxical that while Jacob was working fourteen years to pay for two wives, only one of those wives was bearing children. Jacob knew that children were a blessing from the Lord (Gen. 30:1–2), for it was God who gave Isaac to Abraham and Sarah and who also gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac and Rebekah (see Ps. 139:13–16).
Leah named her firstborn Reuben, which means “see—a son!” In the Hebrew language, the name sounds like “he [God] has seen my affliction.” Since every Jewish father wanted sons (127:4–5), Leah was certain that this baby would cause her husband to love her. However, she was wrong. Simeon means “one who hears” and suggests that Leah had been talking to God about her misery. Years later, Jacob would replace Reuben and Simeon with Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. 48:1–6). They were replaced because Reuben was guilty of sexual sin (35:22; 49:3–4; 1 Chron. 5:1–2) and Simeon had participated in the massacre of the Shechemites (Gen. 34:24–31; 49:5–7).
Levi was the name she gave her third son, and it means “attached,” for Leah was still hoping that Jacob would love her for the sons she had borne him. It must have been painful for her to have to give herself to a husband who was only doing his duty and not sharing his affection. But the birth of her fourth son seemed to bring a new joy to her life, for she called him Judah, which comes from the Hebrew word meaning “praise.” Instead of complaining to the Lord about her unresponsive husband, she was now praising the Lord for His blessings. “This time I will praise the Lord” (29:35).
After a period of barrenness, Leah was enabled by God to bear two more sons: Issachar, which means “reward, wages” and Zebulon, which probably means “honor” (30:14–21). In those days, the fruit of the mandrake plant was called a “love apple” and was considered to be a powerful love potion. When Rachel saw Reuben’s mandrakes, she wanted them for her own use and was willing to give Leah a night with Jacob as “payment” for the plants. Perhaps Rachel thought that by eating the mandrake fruit she would become fertile.
We see in this episode another evidence of Jacob’s spiritual growth, for not only did Laban tell him what to do, but also Jacob’s own wives made agreements that he knew nothing about until he came home weary from caring for the flocks. Rachel and Leah treated Jacob like a servant and used him as a pawn in their family bargaining, and he patiently bore with it.
Bilhah’s children (vv. 1–8). That Jacob could become angry with his favorite wife shouldn’t surprise us. Even the most loving couples have their occasional disagreements, and, after all, she was blaming him for something over which he had no control. But what Rachel needed wasn’t a lecture on theology or gynecology. She needed the kind understanding of her husband and the encouragement that only his love could provide.
In offering her maid Bilhah to become a surrogate mother (see chap. 16), Rachel was exercising her rights under the law of the land and agreeing that Bilhah should became Jacob’s wife. The phrase “bear upon my knees” (30: 3) refers to the legal adoption of any children begotten by Jacob and borne by Bilhah (see 50:23).
The Lord answered Rachel’s prayers (30:6), for Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son, whom Rachel claimed as her own and named Dan, which comes from a Hebrew word meaning “vindication, judgment.” She called Bilhah’s second son Naphtali (“my struggle”) because of the wrestlings she had experienced over the blessings enjoyed by her more fruitful sister. With the birth of Naphtali, Bilhah ceased conceiving.
Zilpah (vv. 9–13). Leah’s temporary barrenness (compare v. 9 with vv. 14–21) motivated her to give Jacob a fourth wife, her maid Zilpah, and, like Rachel, to claim Zilpah’s children as her own. She named the first boy Gad (“luck has come”) and the second one Asher (“blessed, happy”).
Rachel (vv. 22–24). At long last, Rachel conceived and gave birth to a son whom she named Joseph. The mandrakes had nothing to do with this pregnancy; it was God who blessed her in answer to her prayers. The Hebrew word qsaf means “take away,” and yosef means “to add.” God had taken away her reproach of being childless and had added to her blessings. Her prayer “May the Lord add to me another son” (v. 24) was answered in the birth of Benjamin (“son of my right hand”), but the delivery led to her death (35:16–20). It was Joseph whom God would use to save the entire family during the time of terrible famine.