Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 53
47
PG
52
Genesis 30
PG 48
OBSERVATION POINT
Ancient peoples believed that certain plants stimulated fertility. The root of the mandrake plant was
highly valued for this purpose. A member of the
potato and tomato family, the mandrake has short,
fleshy roots about the size of potatoes and lightorange fruit the size of a cherry tomato. The fruit of
the mandrake, also sometimes eaten, has stimulating, mood-altering qualities. The mandrake is still
common around Jerusalem and throughout Israel.
2
Then Jacob became furious with Rachel.
“Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has
kept you from having children!”
3
Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bil
hah, and sleep with her. She will bear children
for me,* and through her I can have a family,
too.” 4 So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to
Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah
became pregnant and presented him with a
son. 6 Rachel named him Dan,* for she said,
“God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second
son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali,* for she
said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and
I’m winning!”
9
Meanwhile, Leah realized that she w
asn’t
getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10
Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. 11 Leah
named him Gad,* for she said, “How fortunate
I am!” 12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.
13
And Leah named him Asher,* for she said,
“What joy is mine! Now the other women will
celebrate with me.”
14
One day during the wheat harvest, Reu
ben found some mandrakes growing in a field
and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel
begged Leah, “Please give me some of your
son’s mandrakes.”
15
But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough
that you stole my husband? Now will you steal
my son’s mandrakes, too?”
Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep
with you tonight if you give me some of the
mandrakes.”
16
So that evening, as Jacob was coming
home from the fields, Leah went out to meet
EXPLORATION POINT
Each of the characters in this story had his or her
own kind of suffering. Jacob was separated from
his family and had two wives who competed for his
attention. He worked hard to rebuild his wealth only
to be cheated by his uncle. Leah constantly vied for
Jacob’s attention; her suffering was eased by the
birth of many sons, but she knew she was not his
favored wife. As for Rachel, although she was loved,
she felt inferior to her sister because she could not
get pregnant. Through it all God was present, listening and responding to their prayers.
him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with
some mandrakes that my son found.” So that
night he slept with Leah. 17 And God answered
Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again
and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 She
named him Issachar,* for she said, “God has
rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” 19 Then Leah became pregnant
again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.
20
She named him Zebulun,* for she said, “God
has given me a good reward. Now my husband
will treat me with respect, for I have given him
six sons.” 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter
and named her Dinah.
22
Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and
answered her prayers by enabling her to have
children. 23 She became pregnant and gave
birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,”
she said. 24 And she named him Joseph,* for
she said, “May the Lord add yet another son
to my family.”
JACOB’S WEALTH INCREASES
Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph,
Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so
I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me
take my wives and children, for I have earned
them by serving you, and let me be on my way.
You certainly know how hard I have worked
for you.”
27
“Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I
have become wealthy, for* the Lord has blessed
25
30:3 Hebrew bear children on my knees. 30:6 Dan means “he
judged” or “he vindicated.” 30:8 Naphtali means “my struggle.”
30:11 Gad means “good fortune.” 30:13 Asher means “happy.”
30:18 Issachar sounds like a Hebrew term that means “reward.”
30:20 Zebulun probably means “honor.” 30:24 Joseph means
“may he add.” 30:27 Or I have learned by divination that.
