Genesis 30
30:3–13. maidservant as surrogate wife. Just as Sarah gave Abraham her maid Hagar as a surrogate wife (16:1–4), so too the wives of Jacob give him their maids. The object is for a barren (or unloved) wife to have children by means of this legal surrogacy. Provision for this custom is also found in the Lipit-Ishtar Code and in the Code of Hammurabi from Mesopotamia.
In naming the baby Dan, or “Judge,” it was as if Rachel said, “God has seen my situation and has ruled in my favor.”
In naming her second son Naphtali, or “My Wrestling,” it was as if Rachel said, “I’m catching up with my sister in the child-bearing contest.”
In naming the son conceived by her handmaid, Gad, or “Troop,” it was as if Leah said, “Reinforcements are here!”
In naming Zilpah’s second son Asher, or “Happy,” Leah expressed her joy in having so many children—a cultural sign of sure blessing.
If you give me the mandrakes your son found,” said Rachel to Leah, “I’ll let Jacob lie with you tonight.”
Rachel manipulates to get the mandrakes—and Leah gets pregnant. Isn’t that the way it often is? We scheme and plan and connive—only to see the opposite of what we intended.
Perhaps Leah named her newest son Issachar, or “Hire” because she saw him as payback, or reward, for her having given her handmaid to her husband.
Zebulun means “Habitation”—perhaps reflecting Leah’s desire to experience security in Jacob’s elusive love for her.
This is the boy who will go down into the land of Egypt. We will follow him later in the book, as he is quite a remarkable person.
Later on Benjamin will be born to Rachel. We will conclude this chapter by listing the twelve sons of Jacob because they are important. The twelve tribes of Israel will come from them and finally the nation of Israel
This is quite interesting. You may recall that Abimelech, king of Gerar, found that he was blessed when Isaac was in his midst. Now Uncle Laban has discovered that God is with Jacob and has blessed him for Jacob’s sake. So Uncle Laban says, “My boy, don’t rush off; don’t leave me. I’ve been blessed, and I want to raise your wages.”
Jacob knows by now that, any time Uncle Laban makes a deal, he is the one who will come off the winner. Jacob has learned this lesson, and he wants to leave.
Listen to Jacob complaining. He is singing the blues! He is saying, “All I’ve got out of all this service for you are two wives with their two maids and a house full of boys.” In fact, he has eleven boys at this point. What in the world is he going to do? How is he going to feed them? He says, “God has blessed you and He has prospered you, and I don’t have anything.”
In other words, the pure breeds will be Laban’s, but the offbreeds, those that are not blue–ribbon cattle, will be Jacob’s. Jacob said, “You just let me have these, and that will be my wages.” That sounds like a pretty good proposition for Laban.
They would not be able to breed with the others. Jacob would take the off–breeds so that only the full breeds would mate and bear offspring, and those would belong to Uncle Laban. The others would be his. Jacob is making a very interesting deal.
There have been various explanations of this. There are those who say this is nothing in the world but pure superstition. Others say it is an old wives’ tale and is certainly something which ought not to be in the Bible record. It is my judgment that it is important that this record appears in the Word of God. Of course, there were genetic factors involved, but I don’t feel that we should rule out this as being a superstition. The point is that both Laban and Jacob believed that the white streaks in the rods caused the offspring to be ringstraked. That is the important part of the story. Maybe you are too smart to believe it, but these two boys believed it. Regardless of whether or not there was value in it, Jacob is using trickery. He had been quite a trickster, but he has met an uncle who is a better trickster than he is, and now Jacob is trying to make a comeback.
This is all I will say about it at this point, and we will see that the next chapter will throw new light on this entire incident.
Now here is the list of Jacob’s twelve sons who will eventually comprise the twelve tribes of the nation Israel.
Born to Leah:
1. Reuben
2. Simeon
3. Levi
4. Judah
5. Issachar
6. Zebulun
7. Dinah, daughter
Born to Bilhah, Rachel’s maid:
1. Dan
2. Naphtali
Born to Zilpah, Leah’s maid:
1. Gad
2. Asher
Born to Rachel:
1. Joseph
2. Benjamin
Believe me, Jacob had his hands full with these twelve boys! Also, we find that there was a girl, and her name was Dinah.
We will see in the next chapter that God has called Jacob to leave Haran and return to the land which He has promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I am sure that God is thinking of Jacob’s children—He doesn’t want them to grow up in the environment of Laban’s household.
