the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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New King James Version
Genesis 30:2
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Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?
Jacob became angry with her and said, "Can I do what only God can do? He is the one who has kept you from having children."
Jacob became furious with Rachel and exclaimed, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, [Am] I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in God's place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
Then Jacob became furious with Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has denied you children?"
To whom Jacob was wrooth, and answerde, Wher Y am for God, which haue priued thee fro the fruyt of thi wombe?
And Jacob's anger burneth against Rachel, and he saith, `Am I in stead of God who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?'
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?"
But Jacob became upset with Rachel and answered, "Don't blame me! I'm not God."
This made Ya‘akov angry at Rachel; he answered, "Am I in God's place? He's the one who is denying you children."
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
But Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said, Am I in the place of God, who has kept your body from having fruit?
And Iacobs anger was kyndled agaynst Rachel, and sayde: Am I in Gods steade, whiche kepeth from thee the fruite of thy wombe?
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God's stead, who has withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "I am not God. He is the one who has caused you to not have children."
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said: 'Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?'
And Iacobs anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, Am I in Gods stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the wombe?
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Then Jacob became angry with Rachel. He said, "Am I taking God's place, Who has kept you from giving birth?"
Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
Then kindled the anger of Jacob with Rachel, - and he said, Am I, in the place of God, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Then Iaakobs anger was kindled against Rahel, and he sayde, Am I in Gods steade, which hath withholden from thee the fruite of the wombe?
And Jacobs anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said to her, Am I in the place of God, that I have prevented you from having a child?
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "I can't take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children."
And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?
Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
And Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said to her, Am I in the place of God, who has deprived thee of the fruit of the womb?
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld offspring from you?”
Ya`akov's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in God's place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
And Jacob became angry with Rachel. And he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
And Jacob's anger glowed against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God's place, who has kept back from you the fruit of the womb?
But Iacob was very wroth at Rachel, & sayde: Am I then in Gods steade, which kepeth ye frute of yi wombe from ye?
Jacob got angry with Rachel and said, "Am I God? Am I the one who refused you babies?"
Then Jacob's anger burned against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. "Am I God?" he asked. "He's the one who has kept you from having children!"
Then Jacob's anger burned against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
Then Jacob's anger burned against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
anger: Genesis 31:36, Exodus 32:19, Matthew 5:22, Mark 3:5, Ephesians 4:26
Am I: Genesis 16:2, Genesis 25:21, Genesis 50:19, 1 Samuel 1:5, 1 Samuel 2:5, 1 Samuel 2:6, 2 Kings 5:7
withheld: Deuteronomy 7:13, Deuteronomy 7:14, Psalms 113:9, Psalms 127:3, Luke 1:42
Reciprocal: Genesis 11:30 - barren Genesis 15:2 - childless Genesis 20:18 - General Genesis 29:17 - Rachel Genesis 29:31 - he opened Genesis 30:22 - opened Genesis 33:5 - children Genesis 48:9 - my sons Exodus 17:2 - Give us Ruth 4:13 - the Lord Job 1:21 - the Lord gave Job 33:6 - in James 3:14 - if
Cross-References
So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
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]
Then Leah said, "I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed." So she called his name Asher. [fn]
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?
Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel,.... Whom yet he dearly loved, hearing her talk in such an extravagant manner, as her words seemed to be, and were not: only expressive of great uneasiness and impatience, but implied what was not in the power of man to do:
and he said, [am] I in God's stead: do you take me to be God, or one that has a dispensing power from him to do what otherwise no creature can do; and which also he never gives to any? for, as the Targum of Jerusalem on Genesis 30:22 says, this is one of the four keys which God delivers not to an angel or a seraph; even the key of barrenness. Children are the gift of God, and his only, and therefore he is to be sought unto for them: hence Onkelos land Jonathan paraphrase it;
"wherefore dost thou seek them of me? shouldest thou not seek them of the Lord?''
who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? children,
Psalms 127:3; not Jacob, but the Lord.
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 30:2. Am I in God's stead — Am I greater than God, to give thee what he has refused?
