Gen 30 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 30:1-8: 30:1-8 Rachel’s naming of sons through Bilhah does not reflect faith as Leah’s namings had. Rachel felt wronged over the marriage and her barrenness. The names of Bilhah’s sons reflect Rachel’s bitter struggle with her sister and her feeling of some victory. Summary for Gen 30:1-2: 30:1-2 In that culture, it was like death for a woman not to have children (cp. 1 Sam 1 ); only God could open Rachel’s womb.

Summary for Gen 30:1-8: 30:1-8 ^a Rachel’s naming of sons through Bilhah does not reflect faith as Leah’s namings had. Rachel felt wronged over the marriage and her barrenness. The names of Bilhah’s sons reflect Rachel’s bitter struggle with her sister and her feeling of some victory.
Summary for Gen 30:1-2: 30:1-2 ^b In that culture, it was like death for a woman not to have children (cp. 1 Sam 1 ^c); only God could open Rachel’s womb.
Summary for Gen 30:3-4: 30:3-4 ^d Rachel’s decision to have children through her servant, and Jacob’s compliance, recall Sarai’s use of Hagar (16:1-4 ^e).
Summary for Gen 30:5-6: 30:5-6 ^f Dan means “he judged” or “he vindicated.” Rachel felt vindicated (Hebrew dananni) by Dan’s birth.
Summary for Gen 30:7-8: 30:7-8 ^g The name Naphtali is related to the clause I have struggled hard (Hebrew naptule ’elohim niptalti, “I have struggled the struggles of God”).
30:9 ^h When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she countered Rachel’s effort by giving her servant ... to Jacob as a wife even though she already had four sons.
Summary for Gen 30:10-13: 30:10-13 ⁱ Gad was the name of a god of fortune. Asher was the name of a god of luck. These names reflect Leah’s pagan background, but there is no indication that she believed in these gods.
Summary for Gen 30:14-17: 30:14-17 ^j Mandrakes were considered an aphrodisiac and aid to procreation (see Song 7:13 ^k). Rachel thought they would help her get pregnant, so she traded Jacob for a night to get them. In the process, Leah got pregnant, not Rachel.
30:18 ^l The name Issachar captures the sense of Jacob’s being hired (30:16 ^m) and of the Lord’s rewarding Leah (Hebrew sekari, “my hire”).
Summary for Gen 30:19-20: 30:19-20 ⁿ Zebulun means “honor” or “gift,” as in a dowry or tribute. Leah thought that God gave her Zebulun so that her husband would honor her. This hope never fully left her.
30:21 ^o Dinah was Jacob’s only daughter. See ch 34 ^p.
Summary for Gen 30:22-24: 30:22-24 ^q Rachel finally gave birth to her own son, Joseph. His birth was brought about by God’s intervention, not by superstitious practices (30:14-16 ^r) or the social custom of giving servants as wives.

• Removed (Hebrew ’asap, “take away”) sounds similar to Joseph (Hebrew yosep, “may he add”). Rachel rejoiced over Joseph’s birth, yet she prayed that the Lord would add yet another son to her family.
Summary for Gen 30:25-34: 30:25-34 ^s After his fourteen years of service, Jacob asked Laban for permission to go home. The two bedouin leaders negotiated politely but remained cautiously on guard. Laban wanted to get more out of Jacob. Jacob wanted to gain his wages by selective breeding.
30:27 ^t I have become wealthy: God had prospered Laban through Jacob’s presence (see 22:18 ^u). Laban may have looked for omens, or simply have perceived what was happening. Since dark-colored sheep (30:32 ^v) were rare, a large number of them was considered an omen of God’s blessing.
Summary for Gen 30:30-33: 30:30-33 ^w Jacob agreed that God had blessed Laban through him, so he made a plan to gain something for himself. He proposed for his wages the rare black and multicolored goats and the speckled and spotted sheep that were born.
30:32 ^x As Abraham had done with Lot (13:9 ^y), Jacob gave Laban what he valued most. White sheep were more common and more valuable than dark or multicolored sheep; as a man of faith, Jacob was willing to take the rejects (cp. 1 Cor 1:26 ^z).
Summary for Gen 30:34-36: 30:34-36 ^aa Laban verbally agreed with Jacob’s plan, but he tried to prevent Jacob from accruing wealth by removing animals from the flock that would fulfill the agreement.

• Laban’s deception with his goats reminds us of Jacob’s deception of Esau (cp. 27:9 ^ab; see study note on 29:14-30).
Summary for Gen 30:37-43: 30:37-43 ^ac God blessed Jacob despite Laban’s duplicity. Not to be outwitted, Jacob used selective breeding to acquire a flock, following the traditional belief that peeled sticks influenced the kind of animal that would be born. The peeled branches seemingly made his animals produce streaked and spotted young; Jacob later acknowledged that God had prospered him (31:7-12 ^ad). Jacob gained stronger animals for himself and weaker ones for Laban (30:41-42 ^ae). 30:37 ^af making white streaks: A clever wordplay captures the meaning of this whole section. When Jacob exposed the white (Hebrew laban) streaks of wood underneath, he played the “white” game (the Laban game) and won. As he outwitted Laban (“Whitey”), Jacob’s flocks flourished and Jacob prospered.
30:42 ^ag Laban now received due recompense for his treatment of Jacob. Laban’s attempt to defraud Jacob resulted in Jacob’s coming out ahead, because God was at work in his life.
30:43 ^ah Jacob became very wealthy, in fulfillment of God’s promises to him (27:28 ^ai; 28:13-15 ^aj).