N. Genesis 30:14 – And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
§ Mandrakes – דודי duwday, mandrake, love-apple
o Common names: Alraun, American Mandrake, Anthropomorphon, Baaras, Brain Thief, Circeium, Cirocoea, Devil's Apple, Duck's Foot, Gallows, Herb of Circe, Hog Apple, Indian Apple, Ladykins, Madragen, Mannikin, Mayapple, Raccoonberry, Semihomo, Umbrella Plant, Wild Lemon, Womandrake
o A common admixture in witches' brews. Mandrake contains extremely large amounts of tropane alkaloids and should be regarded as poisonous.
o The fruit and the root can cause hallucinations that alter ones perceptions through a variety of senses
o Wonder if this plant was similar to the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” found in the Garden of Eden
o It was often carried for protection and luck.
o Said to have had aphrodisiac and fertility properties
o Often associated with false religion and witchcraft even today
o The root of the mandrake is said to resemble the lower half of a man or a woman.
o The fruit of the mandrake is a pleasant smelling melon about the size of an tangerine with a yellowish appearance. The taste is supposedly bland.
o Assuming that Reuben would have been around 5 years old it is unlikely that he would have been able to uproot the plant, so it seems logical that it was the mandrake fruit is what he brought to his mother.
§ Why did Rachel want these mandrakes? Rachel being desperate to have a child is likely ready to try anything in order to have children, even turn to superstitions.
o Rachel probably believed that the mandrakes possessed properties that would help her to conceive.
o When Rachel becomes pregnant later, well after this incident, its because the Lord “remembered” her
o Rachel’s desperation influenced her into making more irrational and foolish choices when trying to take matters into her own hands rather than seeking the Lord.
O. Genesis 30:15 – And she said unto her, [Is it] a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
§ Leah, who was the one who took away Rachel’s husband through her deception, makes a very hypocritical statement here
§ Rachel trades Jacob for some poison fruit thinking that it had magical properties to make her fertile
P. Genesis 30:16 – And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
§ Picture Jacob coming home from the field after a hard days work and his wife comes out and says “I’ve got you tonight, I traded my mandrakes for you.” He has got to be thinking what is going on with these women?
§ Doesn’t Jacob have any say in the matter?
§ Leah gives Rachel the mandrakes with supposed fertility properties who in turn gives Leah Jacob for the night, it seems as the two should go together in order to get a higher chance of working.
Q. Genesis 30:17 – And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
§ Hearkened - שמע shama`, to hear, listen to, obey
§ Leah gave Rachel the mandrakes, yet Leah is the one who conceives and not Rachel. God wants us to rely on Him and not mystic potions to provide our needs.
§ There is a natural process by which a female becomes pregnant, this verse indicates a super-natural component as well in that before conception God hearkens.
o Does God hearken for every conception?
o If so, this should give us a completely different perspective on life.
R. Genesis 30:18 – And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
§ God – אלהים 'elohiym
§ Issachar - יששכר Yissaskar, "there is recompense"
§ Note that Leah does not consider the mandrakes to be the price she exchanged for her son, but that she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob which seems completely unrelated to this event.
o This may be an indication that Leah regretted what she had done in giving Zilpah to Jacob because it added more separation between her and Jacob and she now considers that the price she had paid for her latest son.
S. Genesis 30:19 – And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
§ A separate conception, a separate pregnancy
§ Shows that Jacob was not completely ignoring Leah, no record that she had to pay any “price” this time
T. Genesis 30:20 – And Leah said, God hath endued me [with] a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
§ Psalm 113:9 - He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
§ Dowry – זבד zebed, endowment, gift from the root verb meaning to endow, bestow, endow with, bestow upon
§ This is Leah’s final son
§ Zebulun - זבולון Zĕbuwluwn, "exalted"
§ Here she is back to the motivating factor of winning her husband’s favor “now will my husband dwell with me…”
U. Genesis 30:21 – And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
§ Dinah - דינה Diynah, "judgment"
§ No profound statement about her daughter?
§ There may have been many more daughters born to Jacob, Dinah is mentioned by name because she is involved in a key event that occurs in chapter 34.
V. Genesis 30:22 – And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
§ Not because of the mandrakes, but because God “hearkened” to her
§ We see hear that God “hearkened” unto Rachel which implies that Rachel did eventually seek God’s provision. When she turned her attention to Him, her prayers were answered.
W. Genesis 30:23 – And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
X. Genesis 30:24 – And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
§ Joseph - יוסף Yowceph, a double etymology meaning both “to take away” and “to add, increase, do again”
o Think about this meaning and apply it to Joseph’s life, he was “taken away” when his brother’s sold him into slavery and he later “added to” Jacob’s family by saving them from the famine in the land.
§ All other sons were mentioned as a pair, Rachel does end up having another son (Benjamin), but several years later. Benjamin will be the only son born to Jacob outside of his servitude to Laban.
This chapter traces the stream back to its source and shows us the beginnings of the twelve Patriarchs from which the twelve-tribed Nation sprang. Then, would not this cause us to suspect that the meaning of the names of these twelve Patriarchs and that which occasioned the selection of each name, here so carefully preserved, must be closely connected with the early history of the Hebrew Nation?...
…It has been pointed out how that the Gospel and the history of a sinner saved by grace is here found in veiled form. For example: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, means, See, a Son! This is just what God says to us through the Gospel: to the Son of His love we are invited to look — “Behold the lamb of God.” Then comes Simeon whose name signifies Hearing and this points to the reception of the Gospel by faith, for faith cometh by hearing, and the promise is, “Hear, and your soul shall live.” Next in order is Levi, and his name means Joined, telling of the blessed Union by which the Holy Spirit makes us one with the Son through the hearing of the Word. In Judah SEE APPENDIX A
Y. Genesis 30:25 – And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
§ Hebrews 13:13-14 - Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
§ Shows that Jacob has grown in his faith in the Lord compared to and remembers the promise that God made him back in Genesis 28:15 to not leave him.
§ This also shows that all of Jacob’s children so far were born in the 2nd 7 year span and all born into bondage (figuratively) as Jacob was a servant to Laban.
§ Joseph is the last son born under bondage, his brother Benjamin, the final son, will be born later to Rachel out of bondage when Jacob is no longer serving under Laban.
§ Joseph is a “type” of the Messiah that we will see in future chapters.
§ We can also see some similarities between Jacob serving in Haran Egypt
o Jacob had his seven lean years first when he worked to receive his reward at the end of the seven year term, then he had seven years of plenty in which he had 11 sons and at least 1 daughter born to him.
o Joseph prepared Egypt
o There is a clear pattern of sevens being established
II. Jacob Agrees to Terms with Laban (Genesis 30:26-43)
A. Genesis 30:26 – Give [me] my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
§ Jacob has 2 wives, 2 concubines, 11 sons and at least 1 daughter
B. Genesis 30:27 – And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, [tarry: for] I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
§ Laban has no interest in Jacob for anything other than self-interest
§ He is honest enough to acknowledge that the reason he has been blessed is because God has blessed Jacob.
§ Laban says he has “learned by experience” or learned through observation that he was being blessed of the Lord because of Jacob.
o It must have been very obvious to Laban that God’s hand was with Jacob in order for him to make this comment
o Laban acknowledges that all of his increase has come at the hand of Jacob because he is blessed of God.
C. Genesis 30:28 – And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give [it].
§ If Laban would have been a generous father-in-law this statement would not have been necessary, it seems that the only time that Laban parts with his possessions are when it serves his own self-interest.
§ Laban is not ignorant of the fact that God has truly blessed Jacob and prospered everything he has done, Laban directly benefited from God’s favor with Jacob.
§ Laban also remembers from the last time Jacob stated his wages that he undersold his ability. Rather than making a marketable offer to Jacob, Laban is again trying to get by at the lowest price by having Jacob name his price.
D. Genesis 30:29 – And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
E. Genesis 30:30 – For [it was] little which thou hadst before I [came], and it is [now] increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
§ Here we see what experience Laban was referring to, and Laban does not dispute what Jacob states.
§ Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.
o Jacob acknowledges the Lord as the one who is behind Laban’s prosperity.
o It’s time for Jacob to start taking care of his own family instead of enriching Laban.
§ 1 Timothy 5:8 - But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
o Infidel - ἄπιστος apistos, adjective, unfaithful, faithless, (not to be trusted, perfidious)
F. Genesis 30:31 – And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed [and] keep thy flock:
§ Jacob doesn’t want Laban to give him anything, Jacob demonstrates that he is true to his word for he worked the previous 14 years for his daughters as was the deal.
§ He doesn’t want Laban to give him anymore for the work he has already done because he was already compensated for that.
§ But here he is making a new deal for work yet to be performed
G. Genesis 30:32 – I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and [of such] shall be my hire.
§ Some think he chose this colour because in Canaan it was generally most desired and delighted in; their shepherds in Canaan are called Nekohim, the word here used for speckled ~Matthew Henry’s Commentary
H. Genesis 30:33 – So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that [is] not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
§ Righteousness - צדקה tsĕdaqah, feminine noun, justice, righteousness
§ My righteous acts will speak for themselvesAPPENDIX A
NAME | MEANING | STATEMENT AT BIRTH | HISTORICAL TIE TO THE NATION OF | GROUPING |
Reuben | "behold a son" | “…Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction…” Genesis 29:32 | “And God looked upon the children of “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which [are] in | A – 1st 4 sons of Leah grouped together for the Exodus event |
Simeon | "heard" | “…Because the LORD hath heard that I [was] hated…” Genesis 29:33 | “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” Exodus 2:24 “… and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;” Exodus 3:7 | A – 1st 4 sons of Leah grouped together for the Exodus event |
Levi | "joined to" | “…Now this time will my husband be joined unto me…” Genesis 29:34 | “They shall ask the way to “… I took them by the hand to bring them out of the | A – 1st 4 sons of Leah grouped together for the Exodus event |
"praised" | “…Now will I praise the LORD…” Genesis 29:35 | “Who [is] like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is] like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11 “And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.” Psalm 106:11-12 | A – 1st 4 sons of Leah grouped together for the Exodus event | |
Dan | "a judge" | “…God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice…” Genesis 30:6 | “And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.” Numbers | B – Sons of Bilhah point to |
Naphatali | "wrestling" | “…with great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed…” Genesis 30:8 | “Then came Amalek, and fought with | B – Sons of Bilhah point to |
Gad | "troop" | “…A troop cometh…” Genesis 30:11 | “And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God [is] among you, and [that] he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.” Joshua | C – Sons of Zilpah point to |
Asher | "happy" | “…Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed…” Genesis 30:13 | “So the people shouted when [the priests] blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” Joshua 6:20 “And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 3:12 | C – Sons of Zilpah point to |
Issachar | "there is recompense" | “…God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband…” Genesis 30:18 | “So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.” Joshua 24:28 | D – Sons of Leah, point to |
Zebulon | "exalted" | “…God hath endued me [with] a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me…” Genesis 30:20 | “And | D – Sons of Leah, point to |
Joseph | “to take away” and “to add, increase, do again” | “…The LORD shall add to me another son.” Genesis 30:24 | Saul was anointed king and was then removed from office for his disobedience. David was then anointed King. So God took away King Saul and then added, increased a unified | E – Sons of Rachel, point to the establishment of the Monarchy in |
Benoni/Benjamin | “son of my sorrow”/“son of the right hand” | Genesis 35:18 (the only son named by his father Jacob) | Seems to mirror the kingdom under King Solomon. Solomon was the son of David’s right hand and had favor with the Lord, he then fell into apostasy and under his son the kingdom was again split and began a decline that ended with the This can also be seen through The Messiah in that he was a “son of sorrow” while on the cross bearing our sins and then He ascended to the “right hand of the Father” “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” Acts | E – Sons of Rachel, point to the establishment of the Monarchy in |
Source: Gleanings from Genesis; Arthur Pink
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