Genesis 30:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

NIV: Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

NASB: And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

CSB: When Leah's slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,

NLT: Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.

KJV: And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.

NKJV: And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

Leah and her younger sister Rachel are both married to the same man: Jacob. Only Rachel was an intended bride, however. After working seven years for the right to marry Rachel, Jacob awoke the morning after his wedding to find that the girls' father, Laban, had tricked him by switching in Leah (Genesis 29:18–30). Though Jacob was allowed to marry Rachel almost immediately, for another seven years of indebted labor, he understandably never showed love to Leah (Genesis 29:31). Partly in response to this, God allows Leah to bear children for Jacob while Rachel remains barren (Genesis 30:1). Desperate and angry, Rachel produces two sons by using her servant, Bilhah, as a proxy mother (Genesis 30:1–8). Not to be outdone, Leah, who had recently stopped bearing children (Genesis 29:35), uses the same strategy and obtains a child. Leah's servant girl Zilpah could also be described as one of Jacob's two slave wives. Any children born by her will legally belong to Leah and Jacob.

Now Zipah bears to Jacob her second boy, his eighth son. This child will be named Asher, to reflect Leah's happiness.

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.