Genesis 30:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

NIV: Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

NASB: Afterward she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.

CSB: Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

NLT: Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

KJV: And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

NKJV: Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

Scripture is often short on details, especially when those details are not especially relevant to the point at hand. This even includes genealogies and family trees, where the Bible frequently only mentions key figures. In other words, unless the Bible explicitly says someone did not have other children, it's possible that there may have been births which went unreported in the text. So far, the Bible has recorded the birth of ten sons of Jacob, and this is the first daughter of whom we're told. The sons will become patriarchs of the tribes of Israel, making their mention necessary.

A likely reason Dinah is mentioned, even if other daughters were not, is that she will become a key character in the story of Jacob's family later on (Genesis 34). Though we're not told why Leah gave her the name, the Hebrew Diynah means "judgment" or "vindication." Her birth was one more piece of evidence that God had vindicated Leah, in spite of the fact that her own husband seemed to value her so little (Genesis 29:31). This also reflects on the nature of the competition still boiling between Leah and her sister, Rachel, over their mutual husband, Jacob (Genesis 30:8).

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.