Genesis 30:17 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.

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

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

NLT: And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

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

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

Rachel and Leah are two sisters engaged in what amounts to a fertility completion with their mutual husband, Jacob, squarely in the middle. Even though Rachel is the more-loved wife (Genesis 29:31), and the only one Jacob really intended to marry (Genesis 29:18–30), she has only been able to obtain two children by using a proxy mother, her servant Bilhah (Genesis 30:1–8). Leah, despite being unloved, has managed to have four children of her own (Genesis 29:31–35), plus two through her servant Zilpah (Genesis 30:9–13).

When one of Leah's children found mandrakes—thought to enhance fertility—Rachel attempted to acquire some of them. Leah's anger was only abated when Rachel offered to "let" Jacob sleep with her for a night. Apparently, not only is Rachel greatly in control of Jacob, she is also the reason Leah has stopped bearing children of her own (Genesis 29:35). Leah takes her first opportunity to tell Jacob that he's been sold, in essence, and is hers for the night (Genesis 30:14–16).

In spite of this strange trade between Rachel and Leah, we're told in this verse that God listened to Leah. In other words, Leah had been asking God to give her more children with Jacob. Now God has answered her prayer. Despite the efforts of man, Genesis continues to insist that God is ultimately the one who gives children, not husbands or mandrake plants, or—as seen later in this chapter—striped sticks (Genesis 30:37–43).

This fifth natural-born son of Leah will be named Issachar due to the circumstances of his birth. This is Jacob's ninth son in total.

Genesis 30:1–24 describes the birth of eight more sons to Jacob, as well as one daughter. While Rachel remains barren, her servant woman bears to Jacob two sons. Then Leah's servant woman does so, as well. Next, Leah herself has three more children. Then, finally, God remembers Rachel. She gives birth to Joseph, giving him a name that is essentially a prayer for another son to follow. As the section ends, Jacob now has 11 sons, at least one daughter, and a plan to return home to his own people.

God alone gives children. He causes babies to be born. He even determines what color baby sheep and goats will be. Genesis 30 describes the urgent desire of Rachel and Leah to have sons for Jacob and how God hears and grants their prayers in His own time. In addition, God blesses Jacob's unusual breeding practices with Laban's flocks to finally allow Jacob to overcome his father-in-law's schemes to keep Jacob under his service.

In the previous chapter, Laban tricked Jacob both into marrying Leah along with Rachel and into working for him as a servant for a total of fourteen years. God blessed unloved Leah by allowing her to bear four sons to Jacob. As this chapter opens, Rachel remains barren while Leah and both of their servant women continue to bear sons. Finally God answers Rachel's prayer, allowing her to bear Joseph. His contract completed, Jacob demands Laban send him away to his own people. Laban refuses, asking Jacob to set new terms for his service. Jacob's deal, along with the Lord's blessing and his unusual breeding practices with the flocks, results in Jacob becoming a wealthy man in his own right. This wealth and power will enable him to finally break free and return home.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.