What does Genesis 30:6 mean?
When Jacob's grandmother Sarah had a child by giving her servant girl as a wife to Abraham (Genesis 16:1–4), she seemed to quickly regret it (Genesis 16:5–6). Rachel, on the other hand, receives the baby born to her servant Bilhah (Genesis 29:29; 30:3) as a gift from God. Indeed, unlike Sarah's Ishmael, this son, and the others to be born to Jacob by his wives' servants, will become children of God's covenant promises to Jacob. In fact, they will become the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel.Rachel names this boy Dan, related to a Hebrew term diyin, used earlier in the verse when Rachel says God has "vindicated" her. The word is also a play on the Hebrew word for "give." Rachel has apparently prayed for children, after all, in spite of her angry words to Jacob in Genesis 30:1. She credits the Lord both for vindicating her and for hearing her voice. As her sister Leah has done, Rachel worships God in the naming of her son.