Genesis 30:23 - Printer Friendly

ESV: She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

NIV: She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, 'God has taken away my disgrace.'

NASB: So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, 'God has taken away my disgrace.'

CSB: She conceived and bore a son, and she said, "God has taken away my disgrace."

NLT: She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. 'God has removed my disgrace,' she said.

KJV: And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

NKJV: And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

This chapter opened with Rachel crying out in despair against Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!" (Genesis 30:1). This was unfair, first of all, since Jacob had already fathered four children with his other wife, Rachel's sister Leah (Genesis 29:31–35). Jacob corrected her: God is the one who gives children. But Rachel, just like the culture of her era, would have viewed infertility as something shameful—a barren womb would have made Rachel feel like a lesser woman. This, in no small part, explains her zeal in pursuing a "birth war" against her own sister (Genesis 30:8), resulting in a total of ten sons born to Jacob by this point in history.

The previous verse told us that God "remembered" Rachel. This does not mean, of course, that she had slipped His mind for a few years. It means that He thought of her with favor. He showed her mercy. He responded to her prayers by making her able to become pregnant with Jacob. So, she conceives and has a son, giving credit to God for taking that cultural shame and reproach away. She acknowledges that God is the giver of this good gift.

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.