To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth; In pain you will give birth to children; Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband, And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you.”

Adam knew [Eve as] his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for [she said], “God has granted another child for me in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.”

There were Nephilim (men of stature, notorious men) on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they gave birth to their children. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (great reputation, fame).

Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber [including the Hebrews], the older brother of Japheth, children were born.

But Sarai was barren; she did not have a child.

Abram said, “Lord God, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?”

And Abram continued, “Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir.”

Sarai and Hagar

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him any children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

So Sarai said to Abram, “See here, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said.

The Angel of the Lord continued, “Behold, you are with child, And you will bear a son; And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears), Because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your persecution (suffering).

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in years; she was past [the age of] childbearing.

And the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh [to herself], saying, ‘Shall I really give birth [to a child] when I am so old?’

For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and [the sons of] his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is righteous and just, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has promised him.”

The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is aging, and there is not a man on earth [available] to be intimate with us in the customary way [so that we may have children].

So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, and they again gave birth to children,

And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have given birth to a son by him in his old age.”

The child [Isaac] grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Now after these things Abraham was told, “Milcah has borne children to your brother Nahor:

Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight [children] Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.

Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was unable to conceive children; and the Lord granted his prayer and Rebekah his wife conceived [twins].

But the children struggled together within her [kicking and shoving one another]; and she said, “If it is so [that the Lord has heard our prayer], why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord [praying for an answer].

Now when the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He made her able to bear children, but Rachel was barren.

Again she conceived and gave birth to a [fourth] son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah; then [for a time] she stopped bearing [children].

The Sons of Jacob

When Rachel saw that she conceived no children for Jacob, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.”