Genesis 30:5
in Genesis 30and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
KJV
And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
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This verse in Genesis 30
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Here is my maidservant Bilhah
on Genesis 30:3-5
Rachel hands her husband her maidservant Bilhah, the same move Sarai made with Hagar at 16:2. The Hebrew has the child borne on Rachel's knees, the language of adoption, so the son counts as hers from birth. Genesis reports the arrangement and passes no sentence on it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter XXX.—Verses 5 and 6) And Bala conceived and bore a son to Jacob: and Rachel said: The Lord judged me, and heard my voice, and gave me a son: therefore she called his name Dan. She expressed the reason for the name, that because the Lord had judged her, a son of the handmaid, she would give the name of judgment: Dan, indeed, is interpreted as judgment.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. This was so far countenanced by the Lord, that he blessed her with conception, and Jacob with a son by her.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Zilpah--Following the example of Sarah with regard to Hagar, an example which is not seldom imitated still, she adopted the children of her maid. Leah took the same course.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתַּ֣הַר | vatahar | and she conceived | H2029 → | 43 times |
| בִּלְהָ֔ה | bilhah | Bilhah | H1090 → | 11 times |
| וַתֵּ֥לֶד | vateled | and she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| לְיַעֲקֹ֖ב | leyaako | to Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| בֵּֽן׃ | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
וַתַּ֣הַרand she conceived
vataharH2029 →43 times
בִּלְהָ֔הBilhah
bilhahH1090 →11 times
וַתֵּ֥לֶדand she bore
vateledH3205 →496 times
לְיַעֲקֹ֖בto Jacob
leyaakoH3290 →350 times
בֵּֽן׃a son
benH1121 →4930 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.