301 And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God's stead, who has withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? 3 And she said, Behold, there is my maid, Bilhah: go in to her, in order that she may bear on my knees, and I may also be built up by her. 4 And she gave him Bilhah her maidservant as wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son. 6 And Rachel said, God has done me justice, and has also heard my voice, and given me a son; therefore she called his name Dan. 7 And Bilhah Rachel's maidservant again conceived, and bore Jacob a second son. 8 And Rachel said, Wrestlings of God have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali. 9 And when Leah saw that she had ceased to bear, she took Zilpah her maidservant and gave her to Jacob as wife. 10 And Zilpah Leah's maidservant bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, Fortunately! and she called his name Gad. 12 And Zilpah Leah's maidservant bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, Happy am I; for the daughters will call me blessed! and she called his name Asher.
14 And Reuben went out in the days of wheat-harvest, and found mandrakes in the fields; and he brought them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. 15 And she said to her, Is it [too] little that thou hast taken my husband, that thou wilt take my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes. 16 And when Jacob came from the fields in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in to me, for indeed I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. 17 And God hearkened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 And Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maidservant to my husband; and she called his name Issachar.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 30:1-18
Commentary on Genesis 30:1-13
(Read Genesis 30:1-13)
Rachel envied her sister: envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more hateful to God, or more hurtful to our neighbours and ourselves. She considered not that God made the difference, and that in other things she had the advantage. Let us carefully watch against all the risings and workings of this passion in our minds. Let not our eye be evil towards any of our fellow-servants, because our Master's is good. Jacob loved Rachel, and therefore reproved her for what she said amiss. Faithful reproofs show true affection. God may be to us instead of any creature; but it is sin and folly to place any creature in God's stead, and to place that confidence in any creature, which should be placed in God only. At the persuasion of Rachel, Jacob took Bilhah her handmaid to wife, that, according to the usage of those times, her children might be owned as her mistress's children. Had not Rachel's heart been influenced by evil passions, she would have thought her sister's children nearer to her, and more entitled to her care than Bilhah's. But children whom she had a right to rule, were more desirable to her than children she had more reason to love. As an early instance of her power over these children, she takes pleasure in giving them names that carry in them marks of rivalry with her sister. See what roots of bitterness envy and strife are, and what mischief they make among relations. At the persuasion of Leah, Jacob took Zilpah her handmaid to wife also. See the power of jealousy and rivalship, and admire the wisdom of the Divine appointment, which joins together one man and one woman only; for God hath called us to peace and purity.
Commentary on Genesis 30:14-24
(Read Genesis 30:14-24)
The desire, good in itself, but often too great and irregular, of being the mother of the promised Seed, with the honour of having many children, and the reproach of being barren, were causes of this unbecoming contest between the sisters. The truth appears to be, that they were influenced by the promises of God to Abraham; whose posterity were promised the richest blessings, and from whom the Messiah was to descend.