Genesis 30:2
in Genesis 30Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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?
KJV
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?
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This verse in Genesis 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe tenderness of Jacob's affection rendered him unwilling to offend his wife; yet her unworthy conduct compelled him to do so, when he saw her petulantly exalt herself, not only against her sister, who piously, homily, and thankfully was enjoying the gifts of God; but even against God himself, of whom it is said that the fruit of the womb is his reward.
This site's exposition
Give me children, or I will die
on Genesis 30:1-2
Rachel sees that she has no children and envies her sister. Her demand goes to her husband, Give me children, or I will die. Jacob answers that God has withheld them, and asks whether he stands in God's place. Joseph asks the same question of his brothers at 50:19.
This site's exposition
Am I in the place of God
Jacob became angry with Rachel, and Matthew Henry defended the anger as a warm rebuke aimed at her sin. Rachel asked Jacob for children. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set her beside Rebekah and Hannah, who both took the same want to the LORD.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Why, Jacob says, do you ignore the Lord of nature and fix the blame on me? He it is who has deprived you of the fruit of the womb. Why not make your request to him, who can open nature's workplace and quicken the womb to childbirth? So understand that God is the one who has deprived you of the fruit of the womb and granted your sister such fertility. So don't look to me for what I am powerless to provide and over which I have no lordship. I mean, if it lay in my power, I would certainly give you pride of place ahead of your sister by securing greater respect for you. But since, no matter to what degree I am kindly disposed to you, I can do nothing to solve your problem, address your request to him who inflicted the sterility and has the power to remedy it. See the good man's common sense in that, though provoked to anger by her words, he replied to her with great wisdom, instructing her precisely in everything and making the responsibility clear to her, lest by ignoring the Lord she might seek from another what God alone was able to provide.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He was angry, not at the person, but at the sin; he expressed himself so as to show his displeasure. Note, sometimes it is requisite that a reproof should be given warm, like a medical potion; not too hot, lest it scald the patient; yet not cold, lest it prove ineffectual. It was a very grave and pious reply which Jacob gave to Rachel's peevish demand: Am I in God's stead?
), occasioned, not so much by her own barrenness as by her sister's fruitfulness. Rebekah, the only wife of Isaac, was long childless, and yet we find no uneasiness between her and Isaac; but here, because Leah bears children, Rachel cannot live peaceably with Jacob.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Amos I in God’s stead - Amos I greater than God, to give thee what he has refused?
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The commentators. Rashi and Ibn Ezra. said that this means that Rachel asked Jacob to pray on her behalf. Or else I die — Rashi comments: “For one who is childless may be considered as dead.” This is a Midrash of our Rabbis. 99 Bereshith Rabbah:19. But I wonder.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽחַר־ | vaiyichar- | and it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| אַ֥ף | ʾaf | [the] anger of | H639 → | 276 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֖ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| בְּרָחֵ֑ל | berachel | on Rachel | H7354 → | 47 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲתַ֤חַת | hatachat | ¿ in place of | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אָנֹ֔כִי | ʾanokhi | [am] I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מָנַ֥ע | mana' | he has withheld | H4513 → | |
| מִמֵּ֖ךְ | mimekh | from you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| פְּרִי־ | peri- | fruit of | H6529 → | 119 times |
| בָֽטֶן׃ | vaten | [the] womb | H990 → | 72 times |
וַיִּֽחַר־and it burned
vaiyichar-H2734 →91 times
אַ֥ף[the] anger of
ʾafH639 →276 times
יַעֲקֹ֖בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
בְּרָחֵ֑לon Rachel
berachelH7354 →47 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֲתַ֤חַת¿ in place of
hatachatH8478 →505 times
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
אָנֹ֔כִי[am] I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
מָנַ֥עhe has withheld
mana'H4513 →
מִמֵּ֖ךְfrom you
mimekhH4480 →1188 times
פְּרִי־fruit of
peri-H6529 →119 times
בָֽטֶן׃[the] womb
vatenH990 →72 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 127:3Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
it leads to
- Psalms 128:3–4
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- Deuteronomy 28:4
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
- 1 Samuel 1:27
I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him,
- Genesis 48:4
and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’
- Isaiah 8:18
Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Psalms 128:3–4
Through
2 Kings 5:7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 2:6
The LORD brings death and gives life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
- 1 Kings 20:7
Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children,…
- 1 Samuel 2:6
Through
Genesis 50:19But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
it leads to
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Romans 12:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 56.19; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.