Barrenness

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A lack of fertility, especially the inability of a woman to conceive.

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Barren land

Barrenness describes waste and unproductive land

Jeremiah 2:6 ESV
They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’
See also Dt 32:10; Joe 2:20

Barren land as a sign of God’s disfavour

Ge 3:18 Thorns and thistles are often used to designate barren or unproductive land.
See also Ho 10:8; Heb 6:8

Fertility, as opposed to barrenness, a sign of God’s blessing

Ex 23:25–26 Consequently, the inability to conceive was regarded as a sign of God’s displeasure.
See also Dt 7:13–14; Dt 11:14–15; Ps 113:9; Is 41:18

God’s end-time blessings:

Is 54:1; Ga 4:27

The barren woman

Her desire for children

Genesis 30:1–2 ESV
When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
See also Pr 30:16

Examples of barren women

Ge 16:1 Sarah; Ge 29:31 Rachel; Jdg 13:3 Manoah’s wife; 1 Sa 2:5 Hannah; Lk 1:7 Elizabeth; Lk 1:36–37 The ability to bear a child in these circumstances, especially in old age, was seen as a sign of God’s blessing and his miraculous power.

Barrenness was sometimes seen as a sign of God’s disfavour

Ge 16:1–4; Ge 20:17–18; Ge 29:31–34; 1 Sa 1:1–20; Is 4:1; Lk 1:5–25

Childlessness was not always the result of barrenness

Deuteronomy 28:41 ESV
You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity.

Barrenness might be an advantage in some circumstances

Lk 23:29 Referring to the disasters about to come upon Jerusalem.

Metaphorically, barrenness may describe an unproductive or desperate condition

Hebrews 6:7–8 ESV
For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
See also Job 3:7; Lk 13:6–9
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