the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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New King James Version
Genesis 30:15
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But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."
And she said to her, Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? and would you take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes.
Leah answered, "You have already taken away my husband, and now you are trying to take away my son's mandrakes." But Rachel answered, "If you will give me your son's mandrakes, you may sleep with Jacob tonight."
But Leah replied, "Wasn't it enough that you've taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes too?" "All right," Rachel said, "he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."
And she said to 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.
She said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes, also?" Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."
But Leah answered, "Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" So Rachel said, "Jacob shall sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."
Lya answeride, Whether it semeth litil to thee, that thou hast rauyschid the hosebonde fro me, no but thou take also the mandragis of my sone? Rachel seide, The hosebonde sleepe with thee in this nyyt for the mandragis of thi sone.
And she saith to her, `Is thy taking my husband a little thing, that thou hast taken also the love-apples of my son?' and Rachel saith, `Therefore doth he lie with thee to-night, for thy son's love-apples.'
But Leah replied, "Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son's mandrakes as well?" "Very well," said Rachel, "he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."
but Leah said, "It's bad enough that you stole my husband! Now you want my son's love flowers too." "All right," Rachel answered. "Let me have the flowers, and you can sleep with Jacob tonight."
She answered, "Isn't it enough that you have taken away my husband? Do you have to take my son's mandrakes too?" Rachel said, "Very well; in exchange for your son's mandrakes, sleep with him tonight."
And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away 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.
But Leah said to her, Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband from me? and now would you take my son's love-fruits? Then Rachel said, You may have him tonight in exchange for your son's love-fruits.
To whom Lea aunswered: Is it not enough that thou hast taken away my husband, but wouldest take away my sonnes Mandragoras also? Then saide Rachel: well, let hym sleepe with thee this night for thy sonnes Mandragoras.
And she said to her, Is it [too] little that thou hast taken my husband, that thou wilt take my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes.
Leah answered, "You have already taken away my husband. Now you are trying to take away my son's flowers." But Rachel answered, "If you will give me your son's flowers, you can sleep with Jacob tonight."
And she said unto her: 'Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away 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.'
And shee said vnto her, Is it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldst thou take away my sonnes Mandrakes also? and Rachel said, Therefore hee shall lye with thee to night, for thy sonnes Mandrakes.
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.
But Leah said, "Is it not enough to take my husband? Would you take my son's fruit also?" So Rachel said, "Jacob may lie with you tonight if you give me your son's fruit."
But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."
And she said to her, Is it, a small thing, that thou hast taken away my husband? And wouldst thou take away, even the mandrakes of my son? Then said Rachel, Therefore, shall he lie with thee to-night, for the mandrakes of thy son.
But shee answered her, Is it a small matter for thee to take mine husband, except thou take my sonnes mandrakes also? Then sayde Rahel, Therefore he shall sleepe with thee this night for thy sonnes mandrakes.
But Leah said to her, Is it not enough for you that you have taken away my husband? And would you take away my sows mandrakes also? And Rachel said, He may lie with you tonight for your sons mandrakes.
Leah answered, "Isn't it enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you are even trying to take away my son's mandrakes." Rachel said, "If you will give me your son's mandrakes, you can sleep with Jacob tonight."
She answered: Dost thou think it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: He shall sleep with thee this night, for thy son’s mandrakes.
But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."
And Lea said, Is it not enough for thee that thou hast taken my husband, wilt thou also take my son’s mandrakes? And Rachel said, Not so: let him lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes.
And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away 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.
But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”
She said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's dudaim, also?" Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's dudaim."
And she said to her, "Is your taking my husband such a small thing that you will also take the mandrakes of my son?" Then Rachel said, "Then he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."
And she said to her, is your taking my husband a little thing ? Will you also take my son's love-apples? And Rachel said, So he shall be with you tonight, for your son's love apples.
She answered: Hast thou not ynough that thou hast taken awaye my huÃbande, but wilt take awaye my sonnes Mandragoras also? Rachel saide: Wel, let him lye with the this night for thy sonnes Mandragoras.
Leah said, "Wasn't it enough that you got my husband away from me? And now you also want my son's mandrakes?" Rachel said, "All right. I'll let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's love-apples."
But she said to her, "Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son's mandrakes also?" So Rachel said, "Therefore he may sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son's mandrakes, too?" Rachel answered, "I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes."
But she said to her, "Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son's mandrakes also?" So Rachel said, "Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
But she said to her, "Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son's mandrakes also?" So Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Numbers 16:9, Numbers 16:10, Numbers 16:13, Isaiah 7:13, Ezekiel 16:47, 1 Corinthians 4:3
Reciprocal: Genesis 30:20 - now will Leviticus 18:18 - to vex her 1 Kings 16:31 - as if it had been a light thing Ezekiel 34:18 - a small
Cross-References
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.
And Leah's maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us?
Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also?
You did not walk in their ways nor act according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you became more corrupt than they in all your ways.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. [fn] In fact, I do not even judge myself.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And she said unto her,.... Leah to Rachel, taking this opportunity to bring out a thing which had some time lain with uneasiness upon her mind:
[is it] a small thing that thou hast taken away my husband? got the greatest share of his affections, and had most of his company; which last was very probably the case, and more so, since Leah had left off bearing; and this she could not well stomach, and therefore upon this trifling occasion outs with it:
and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? which were poor things to be mentioned along with an husband; and besides, Rachel did not offer to take them away from the child without her leave, which she in very humble manner asked of her:
and Rachel said, therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes; which showed no great affection to her husband, and a slight of his company, to be willing to part with it for such a trifle; and it seems by this as if they took their turns to lie with Jacob, and this night being Rachel's turn, she agrees to give it to Leah for the sake of the mandrakes: or however, if she had engrossed him to herself very much of late, as seems by the words of Leah above, she was willing to give him up to her this night, on that consideration; which Leah agreed she should have, as appears by what follows.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacobâs Family and Wealth
6. ×× daÌn, Dan, âjudge, lord.â
8. × ×¤×ª×× naptaÌlıÌy, Naphtali, âwrestling.â
11. ×× gaÌd, Gad, âovercoming, victory.â ××× baÌgaÌd, âin victory orâ =×× ×× baÌ' gaÌd, âvictory cometh.â ××Ö¼× guÌd, âpress down.â ×××Ö¼× geduÌd, âtroop.â
13. ×ש×ר 'aÌasheÌr, Asher, âprosperity, happiness.â
18. ×ש×ש×ר yıÌsÌaÌskaÌr, Jissakar, âreward.â The second Hebrew letter (ש s) seems to have been merely a full mode of writing the word, instead of the abbreviated form ×ש××ר yıÌsÌaÌkaÌr.
20. ××××Ö¼× zebuluÌn, Zebulun, âdwelling.â There is here a play upon the two words ××× zaÌbad, âto endowâ and ××× zaÌbal, âto dwell,â the latter of which, however, prevails in the name. They occur only here as verbs.
21. ××× × dıÌynaÌh, Dinah, âjudgment.â
24. ×סף yoÌseÌph, Joseph, âhe shall add.â There is, however, an obvious allusion to the thought. âGod hath taken away (×סף 'aÌsap) my reproach.â 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, Rachelâs 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. âDan.â âGod hath judged me.â 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. âNaphtali.â âWrestlings of God,â 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 Jacobâs 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. âGad.â âVictory cometh.â She too claims a victory. âAsher.â 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
âReubenâ 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. âMandrakesâ - the fruit of the âmandragora vernaIis,â 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 âIssakar,â 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. âZebulun.â Here Leah confesses, âGod hath endowed me with a good dowry.â 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. âDinahâ 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 Jacobâs marriage, Zebulun in the seventh, and Dinah in the eighth.
Genesis 30:22-24
âGod remembered Rachel,â in the best time for her, after he had taught her the lessons of dependence and patience. âJoseph.â 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. âWhen Rachel had borne Joseph.â 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. âI have divinedâ - I have been an attentive observer. The result of his observation is expressed in the following words. âAppoint.â Laban offers to leave the fixing of the hire to Jacob. âThy hire upon me,â 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. âBrake forthâ - increased. âAt my footâ - under my guidance and tending of thy flocks.
âDoâ - provide. âThou shalt not give me anything.â This shows that Jacob had no stock from Laban to begin with. âI will pass through all thy flock todayâ with thee. âRemove thou thence every speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats.â These were the rare colors, as in the East the sheep are usually white, and the goats black or dark brown. âAnd such shall be my hire.â 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. âAnd my righteousness will answer for me.â 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 daysâ journey between them and the pure stock which remains in Jacobâs 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. âPut his own folds by themselves.â 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. âThe man brake forth exceedinglyâ - 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 ××××× 'eÌlohıÌym and ×××× yehovaÌh 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 30:15. Thou hast taken my husband — It appears probable that Rachel had found means to engross the whole of Jacob's affection and company, and that she now agreed to let him visit the tent of Leah, on account of receiving some of the fruits or plants which Reuben had found.
