Genesis 30:11

New King James Version

Then Leah said, "A troop comes!" [fn] So she called his name Gad. [fn]

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
And Leah said, "Good fortune has come!" so she called his name Gad.

Update Bible Version
And Leah said, Fortunate! and she named him Gad.

New Century Version
Leah said, "I am lucky," so she named him Gad.

New English Translation
Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

World English Bible
Leah said, "How fortunate!" She named him Gad.

Amplified Bible
Then Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad (good fortune).

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and therfor sche clepide his name Gad.

Young's Literal Translation
and Leah saith, `A troop is coming;' and she calleth his name Gad.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.

Contemporary English Version
"I'm really lucky," Leah said, and she named the boy Gad.

Complete Jewish Bible
and Le'ah said, "Good fortune has come," calling him Gad [good fortune].

American Standard Version
And Leah said, Fortunate! and she called his name Gad.

Bible in Basic English
And Leah said, It has gone well for me: and she gave him the name Gad.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayde Lea, Good lucke: and called his name Gad.

Darby Translation
And Leah said, Fortunately! and she called his name Gad.

Easy-to-Read Version
Leah said, "I am lucky." So she named the son Gad.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Leah said: 'Fortune is come!' And she called his name Gad.

King James Version (1611)
And Leah said, A troupe commeth: and she called his name Gad.

King James Version
And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

New Life Bible
Then Leah said, "Good things have happened to me!" So she gave him the name Gad.

New Revised Standard
And Leah said, "Good fortune!" so she named him Gad.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and Leah said, Victory hath come! So she called his name Gad.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then sayd Leah, A companie commeth: and she called his name, Gad.

George Lamsa Translation
And Leah said, My fortune has come; so she called his name Gad.

Good News Translation
Leah said, "I have been lucky"; so she named him Gad.

Douay-Rheims Bible
She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.

Revised Standard Version
And Leah said, "Good fortune!" so she called his name Gad.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Lea said, It is happily: and she called his name, Gad.

English Revised Version
And Leah said, Fortunate! and she called his name Gad.

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” and she named him Gad.

Hebrew Names Version
Le'ah said, "How fortunate!" She named him Gad.

Lexham English Bible
Then Leah said, "Good fortune!" And she called his name Gad.

Literal Translation
And Leah said, With fortune. And she called his name Gad.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then saide Lea: This is good lucke, & she called him Gad.

New American Standard Bible
Then Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.

New Living Translation
Leah named him Gad, for she said, "How fortunate I am!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.

Contextual Overview

¹ Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die!" ² And Jacob's anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" ³ So she said, "Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her." ⁴ Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, "God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan. [fn] ⁷ And Rachel's maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali. [fn] ⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. ¹⁰ And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

she: Genesis 35:26, Genesis 46:16, Genesis 49:19, Deuteronomy 33:20, Deuteronomy 33:21

Gad: that is, A troop, or company, Isaiah 65:11

Reciprocal: Numbers 1:24 - General Numbers 32:1 - the children 1 Chronicles 2:2 - Gad 1 Chronicles 5:11 - Gad Ezekiel 48:27 - Gad

Cross-References

Genesis 30:20
And Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun. [fn]

Genesis 30:21
Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

Genesis 35:26
and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Genesis 46:16
The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Numbers 26:15">[fn] Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Numbers 26:16">[fn] Eri, Arodi, Numbers 26:17">[fn] and Areli.

Genesis 49:19
"Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.

Isaiah 65:11
"But you are those who forsake the Lord,Who forget My holy mountain,Who prepare a table for Gad, [fn] And who furnish a drink offering for Meni. [fn]

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Leah said, a troop cometh,.... A troop of children, having bore four herself, and now her maid another, and more she expected; or the commander of a troop cometh, one that shall head an army and overcome his enemies; which agrees with the prophecy of Jacob,

Genesis 49:19;

and she called his name Gad: which signifies a "troop", glorying in the multitude of her children, that she had or hoped to have.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob’s Family and Wealth

6. דן dān, Dan, “judge, lord.”

8. נפתלי naptālı̂y, Naphtali, “wrestling.”

11. גד gād, Gad, “overcoming, victory.” בגד bāgād, “in victory or” =גד בא bā' gād, “victory cometh.” גוּד gûd, “press down.” גדוּד g^edûd, “troop.”

13. אשׁר 'ǎashēr, Asher, “prosperity, happiness.”

18. ישׂשכר yı̂śāskār, Jissakar, “reward.” The second Hebrew letter (ש s) seems to have been merely a full mode of writing the word, instead of the abbreviated form ישׂכר yı̂śākār.

20. זבלוּן z^ebulûn, Zebulun, “dwelling.” There is here a play upon the two words זבד zābad, “to endow” and זבל zābal, “to dwell,” the latter of which, however, prevails in the name. They occur only here as verbs.

21. דינה dı̂ynâh, Dinah, “judgment.”

24. יסף yôsêph, Joseph, “he shall add.” There is, however, an obvious allusion to the thought. “God hath taken away (אסף 'āsap) my reproach.” Double references, we find, are usual in the giving of names (see Genesis 25:30).

This chapter is the continuation of the former, and completes the history of Jacob in Haran. The event immediately following probably took place after Leah had borne two of her sons, though not admitted into the narrative until she had paused for a short time.

Genesis 30:1-8

Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, bears two sons. Rachel becomes impatient of her barrenness and jealous of her sister, and unjustly reproaches her husband, who indignantly rebukes her. God, not he, has withheld children from her. She does what Sarah had done before her Genesis 16:2-3, gives her handmaid to her husband. No express law yet forbade this course, though nature and Scripture by implication did Genesis 2:23-25. “Dan.” “God hath judged me.” In this passage Jacob and Rachel use the common noun, God, the Everlasting, and therefore Almighty, who rules in the physical relations of things - a name suitable to the occasion. He had judged her, dealt with her according to his sovereign justice in withholding the fruit of the womb, when she was self-complacent and forgetful of her dependence on a higher power; and also in hearing her voice when she approached him in humble supplication. “Naphtali.” “Wrestlings of God,” with God, in prayer, on the part of both sisters, so that they wrestled with one another in the self-same act. Rachel, though looking first to Jacob and then to her maid, had at length learned to look to her God, and then had prevailed.

Genesis 30:9-13

Leah having stayed from bearing, resorts to the same expedient. Her fourth son was seemingly born in the fourth year of Jacob’s marriage. Bearing her first four sons so rapidly, she would the sooner observe the temporary cessation. After the interval of a year she may have given Zilpah to Jacob. “Gad.” “Victory cometh.” She too claims a victory. “Asher.” Daughters will pronounce her happy who is so rich in sons. Leah is seemingly conscious that she is here pursuing a device of her own heart; and hence there is no explicit reference to the divine name or influence in the naming of the two sons of her maid.

Genesis 30:14-21

“Reuben” was at this time four or five years of age, as it is probable that Leah began to bear again before Zilpah had her second son. “Mandrakes” - the fruit of the “mandragora vernaIis,” which is to this day supposed to promote fruitfulness of the womb. Rachel therefore desires to partake of them, and obtains them by a compact with Leah. Leah betakes herself to prayer, and bears a fifth son. She calls him “Issakar,” with a double allusion. She had hired her husband with the mandrakes, and had received this son as her hire for giving her maid to her husband; which she regards as an act of generosity or self-denial. “Zebulun.” Here Leah confesses, “God hath endowed me with a good dowry.” She speaks now like Rachel of the God of nature. The cherished thought that her husband will dwell with her who is the mother of six sons takes form in the name. “Dinah” is the only daughter of Jacob mentioned Genesis 46:7, and that on account of her subsequent connection with the history of Jacob Genesis 34:0. Issakar appears to have been born in the sixth year after Jacob’s marriage, Zebulun in the seventh, and Dinah in the eighth.

Genesis 30:22-24

“God remembered Rachel,” in the best time for her, after he had taught her the lessons of dependence and patience. “Joseph.” There is a remote allusion to her gratitude for the reproach of barrenness taken away. But there is also hope in the name. The selfish feeling also has died away, and the thankful Rachel rises from Elohim, the invisible Eternal, to Yahweh, the manifest Self-existent. The birth of Joseph was after the fourteen years of service were completed. He and Dinah appear to have been born in the same year.

Genesis 30:25-36

Jacob enters into a new contract of service with Laban. “When Rachel had borne Joseph.” Jacob cannot ask his dismissal until the twice seven years of service were completed. Hence, the birth of Joseph, which is the date of his request, took place at the earliest in the fifteenth year of his sojourn with Laban. Jacob now wishes to return home, from which he had been detained so long by serving for Rachel. He no doubt expects of Laban the means at least of accomplishing his journey. Laban is loath to part with him. “I have divined” - I have been an attentive observer. The result of his observation is expressed in the following words. “Appoint.” Laban offers to leave the fixing of the hire to Jacob. “Thy hire upon me,” which I will take upon me as binding. Jacob touches upon the value of his services, perhaps with the tacit feeling that Laban in equity owed him at least the means of returning to his home. “Brake forth” - increased. “At my foot” - under my guidance and tending of thy flocks.

“Do” - provide. “Thou shalt not give me anything.” This shows that Jacob had no stock from Laban to begin with. “I will pass through all thy flock today” with thee. “Remove thou thence every speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats.” These were the rare colors, as in the East the sheep are usually white, and the goats black or dark brown. “And such shall be my hire.” Such as these uncommon party-colored cattle, when they shall appear among the flock already cleared of them; and not those of this description that are now removed. For in this case Laban would have given Jacob something; whereas Jacob was resolved to be entirely dependent on the divine providence for his hire. “And my righteousness will answer for me.” The color will determine at once whose the animal is. Laban willingly consents to so favorable a proposal, removes the party-colored animals from the flock, gives them into the hands of his sons, and puts an interval of three days’ journey between them and the pure stock which remains in Jacob’s hands. Jacob is now to begin with nothing, and have for his hire any party-colored lambs or kids that appear in those flocks, from which every specimen of this rare class has been carefully removed.

Genesis 30:37-43

Jacob devises means to provide himself with a flock in these unfavorable circumstances. His first device is to place party-colored rods before the eyes of the cattle at the rutting season, that they might drop lambs and kids varied with speckles, patches, or streaks of white. He had learned from experience that there is a congruence between the colors of the objects contemplated by the dams at that season and those of their young. At all events they bare many straked, speckled, and spotted lambs and kids. He now separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flock toward the young of the rare colors, doubtless to affect them in the same way as the pilled rods. “Put his own folds by themselves.” These are the party-colored cattle that from time to time appeared in the flock of Laban. In order to secure the stronger cattle, Jacob added the second device of employing the party-colored rods only when the strong cattle conceived. The sheep in the East lamb twice a year, and it is supposed that the lambs dropped in autumn are stronger than those dropped in the spring. On this supposition Jacob used his artifice in the spring, and not in the autumn. It is probable, however, that he made his experiments on the healthy and vigorous cattle, without reference to the season of the year. The result is here stated. “The man brake forth exceedingly” - became rapidly rich in hands and cattle.

It is obvious that the preceding and present chapters form one continuous piece of composition; as otherwise we have no account of the whole family of Jacob from one author. But the names אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym and יהוה y^ehovâh are both employed in the piece, and, hence, their presence and interchange cannot indicate diversity of authorship.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 30:11. She called his name Gad. — This has been variously translated. גד gad, may signify a troop, an army, a soldier, a false god, supposed to be the same as Jupiter or Mars; for as Laban appears to have been, if not an idolater, yet a dealer in a sort of judicial astrology, (see Genesis 31:19), Leah, in saying בגד bagad, which we translate a troop cometh, might mean, By or with the assistance of Gad-a particular planet or star, Jupiter possibly, I have gotten this son; therefore she called him after the name of that planet or star from which she supposed the succour came. Genesis 31:19. The Septuagint translate it εν τυχη, with good fortune; the Vulgate, feliciter, happily; but in all this diversity our own translation may appear as probable as any, if not the genuine one, בא גד ba gad, for the keri, or marginal reading, has it in two words, a troop cometh; whereas the textual reading has it only in one, בגד bagad, with a troop. In the Bible published by Becke, 1549, the word is translated as an exclamation, Good luck!