Genesis 30:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son.

NIV: Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

NASB: And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

CSB: Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

NLT: Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.

KJV: And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

NKJV: Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

Jacob found himself married to two sisters in the span of a week, one of whom—Leah—he had been tricked into taking due to deception by their father (Genesis 29:18–30). Partly due to that fraud, Jacob is said to have hated Leah, while preferring his only intended bride, Rachel. God responded to Leah's pain by allowing her to bear children while Rachel remained barren (Genesis 29:31–35). This began a fertility competition, where Rachel eventually used her servant girl to give Jacob sons, and Leah followed suit (Genesis 30:1–13). Rachel, who had apparently convinced Jacob to stop having sex with Leah, trades one night of Jacob's attention for some fertility-enhancing mandrake roots. As a result, Leah conceives her fifth natural son, accordingly named Issachar, a reference to "wages" (Genesis 30:14–18).

Now we learn that Leah has given birth to her sixth naturally-born son. Counting the sons born to her servant Zilpah by Jacob, Leah now claims eight boys as her own. This son is the tenth born to Jacob by three different women. Rachel has yet to give birth to any children of her own.

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.