30 When Rachel saw that (A)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, (B)who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my servant (C)Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth (D)on my behalf,[a] that even I may have children[b] through her.” So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has (E)judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.[c] Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings[d] I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name (F)Naphtali.[e]

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 30:3 Hebrew on my knees
  2. Genesis 30:3 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children
  3. Genesis 30:6 Dan sounds like the Hebrew for judged
  4. Genesis 30:8 Hebrew With wrestlings of God
  5. Genesis 30:8 Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew for wrestling

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children,(A) she became jealous of her sister.(B) So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God,(C) who has kept you from having children?”(D)

Then she said, “Here is Bilhah,(E) my servant.(F) Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”(G)

So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife.(H) Jacob slept with her,(I) and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me;(J) he has listened to my plea and given me a son.”(K) Because of this she named him Dan.[a](L)

Rachel’s servant Bilhah(M) conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”(N) So she named him Naphtali.[b](O)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated.
  2. Genesis 30:8 Naphtali means my struggle.