Genesis 30:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.”

NIV: Then she said, 'Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.'

NASB: Then she said, 'Here is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may give birth on my knees, so that by her I too may obtain a child.'

CSB: Then she said, "Here is my maid Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she'll bear children for me so that through her I too can build a family."

NLT: Then Rachel told him, 'Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.'

KJV: And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

NKJV: So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.”

Rachel and Jacob, two spouses famous for their love story (Genesis 29:16–20), are angry with each other. Though Jacob loves Rachel, his intended bride, and "hates" Leah, a woman he was tricked into marrying (Genesis 29:21–27), Jacob and Rachel have not yet conceived any children together. Rachel seems to hold Jacob responsible for her inability to have children. Jacob rejects that idea. His response reflects an understanding that it is ultimately God, not husbands, who gives children. Jacob also has a legitimate point in that his other wife, Leah, has given birth to multiple children.

Rachel is unwilling to wait for God to grant her children. As Abraham's wife Sarah did (Genesis 16:1–4), Rachel decides to have children by proxy. Using the cultural standard of the time, she will give her servant girl Bilhah to Jacob as a wife. Any children born to Bilhah will become Rachel's children by adoption. This shift in strategy sparks a virtual competition between Rachel and Leah to out-do the other in producing sons for 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.

Accessed 5/7/2024 12:26:23 AM