A. Two sons born to Bilhah.
1. (1-4) Rachel, out of frustration, gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob in a "surrogate mother" arrangement.
Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!" And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" 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." Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.
a. Give me children, or else I die! Despite Rachel's great beauty, she also was near despair. No doubt, Leah often said, "If I only had my sister's beauty and the love of my husband as she does." And, no doubt, Rachel often said, "If I only had sons like my sister." Beautiful or plain, we all have our problems. Stop looking to how God deals with others and set your eyes on Him!
b. Rachel envied her sister . . . Give me children, or else I die . . . Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel: The tension in this family is apparent. At least Jacob saw the hand of God in the matter, even though he stated it to Rachel cruelly.
i. Can you imagine how vain Rachel was, knowing Jacob worked 14 years with no pay out of love for her, and knowing Jacob would not have worked one day for Leah?
c. 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: Much like Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham in a surrogate-mother type arrangement (Genesis 16), Rachel gives her maid Bilhah to Jacob.
i. On my knees refers to the custom where the husband impregnated the surrogate while the surrogate reclined on the lap of the wife, and how she might even recline on the wife as she gave birth. The symbolism clearly showed the child was legally the child of the mother, not the surrogate, who merely "stood in" for the wife both in conception and birth.
d. She gave him Bilhah her maid as wife:This does not mean that Jacob actually married Bilhah. It means Jacob did with Bilhah what a man should only do with his wife.
2. (5-6) The birth of Dan.
And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, "God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.
a. She called his name Dan: Jacob's fifth son, born to him through Bilhah, the maid of Rachel, is named by Rachel Dan meaning, "judgment." Because of her own envy, she viewed this child born of the flesh as a victory and a vindication for her.
b. God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son: "Can a woman get so low that she will hit her sister over the head with a baby? Rachel did." (Barnhouse)
3. (7-8) The birth of Naphtali.
And Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.
a. She called his name Naphtali: Jacob's sixth son, born to him through Bilhah, the maid of Rachel, is named Naphtali by Rachel, meaning "wrestle." Relationships in this home have broken down to the point where Rachel will openly acknowledge this "baby competition" between her and her sister by naming the new baby wrestle.
b. With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed: This seems strange. How do two sons prevail over four? Perhaps she meant it in the sense that now Leah seemed to have stopped having children.
B. Two sons born to Zilpah.
1. (9-11) The birth of Gad.
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, "A troop comes!" So she called his name Gad.
a. She took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife: Leah, who has stopped bearing children, figured she could use the same "surrogate mother" method to increase "her" number of children, so she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob as Rachel gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob.
b. She called his name Gad: Jacob's seventh son, born to him through Zilpah, the maid of Leah, is named Gad, meaning "troop" or "good fortune"; the wives of Jacob are still using their children as pawns in a power struggle within the home.
i. Leah has apparently lost the peace she had when her fourth son was born; she no longer has the peace "praise" brings.
2. (12-13) The birth of Asher.
And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, "I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed." So she called his name Asher.
a. So she called his name Asher: Jacob's eighth son, born to him through Zilpah, the maid of Leah, is named Asher, meaning "happy"; Leah is more concerned about the status the child will bring her (all the daughters will call me blessed) than about the child himself.
C. Leah herself bears two more sons and a daughter.
1. (14-18) The birth of Issachar.
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes." When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.
a. Found mandrakes in the field: The mandrake is a root, called "love-apples" in Hebrew. They were thought (and still are among some peoples) to increase fertility in women. Because Leah had the mandrakes, she knew Jacob would have relations with her, believing there was a greater likelihood she would become pregnant.
i. We don't know if the effect of the mandrakes was something biological, or if it functioned more as a placebo. But under the guiding hand of God, the mandrakes seemed to "work" in the case of Leah and Jacob. Whatever strange agencies God may allow to be used (such as mandrakes), the real factor is His sovereign will (God listened to Leah).
b. You have taken away my husband: The hostility between Leah and Rachel is as obvious as it is painful. It must have been terrible living in a home where one wife believed the other had stolen her husband from her.
i. This confirms the wisdom of God's original plan, as expressed in Genesis 2:24: one man to be joined to one woman in a one-flesh relationship.
ii. "Is it any wonder that this family had a history of strife and bloodshed? Children reflect the atmosphere of the home." (Barnhouse)
iii. Later, Leviticus 18:18 forbids the marrying of sisters, and this shows why!
c. So she called his name Issachar: Jacob's ninth son, born to Leah, is named Issachar, meaning "reward"; Leah saw this son as a reward from God because she was "generous" enough to offer her maid to Jacob.
2. (19-20) The birth of Zebulun.
Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun.
a. So she called his name Zebulun: Jacob's tenth son, born to Leah, is named Zebulun, meaning "dwelling." In the pain of her heart, she still waits for her husband to truly love her and live with her, and she hopes the sheer quantity of sons will win his heart to her.
3. (21) The birth of Dinah.
Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.