Genesis 30:13
in Genesis 30Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Leah said, Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: and she called his name Asher.
KJV
And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
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This verse in Genesis 30
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 12 and 13.) And Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, gave birth to a second son for Jacob. And Leah said, 'I am blessed, for women will call me blessed.' And she called his name Asher, which means 'riches'. The riches are added with a play on words, that is, πλοῦτος. The etymology of the name Asher is explained by the authority of Scripture, which says, 'I am blessed, and women will call me blessed.' And because she is called blessed by people, she named her son blessed. Therefore, Asher is not called riches but blessed, only in this particular context.
This site's exposition
Zilpah bore Jacob a second son
on Genesis 30:12-13
Asher comes from Leah's word for happy, and she says the women will call her happy. Jerome notes that Scripture gives the meaning of the name in the same breath as the name. Jacob's blessing at 49:20 and Moses' at Deuteronomy 33:24 both keep the sense of plenty and favour.
This site's exposition
the women call me happy
Jerome notes that some took Asher to mean riches, and he held that here it means blessed, because Leah's own words explain it. She measures her happiness by what the women say. Mary's song at Luke 1:48 speaks the same way, of every generation calling her blessed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Commentary on Chapter 30 1. Rachel envied her sister - Envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more injurious both to God, our neighbour, and ourselves.
And Leah said,.... Upon the birth of the second son by her maid: happy am I; or, "in my happiness"; or, "for my happiness" (c); that is, this child is an addition to my happiness, and will serve to increase it: for the daughters will call me blessed; the women of the place where she lived would speak of her as a happy person, that had so many children of her own, and others by her maid; see Psa 127:5, and she called his name Asher, which signifies "happy" or "blessed".
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And Leah said, Happy am I - באשרי beoshri, in my happiness, therefore she called his name אשר asher, that is, blessedness or happiness.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Be-oshri means, on account of my happiness. 16 The bet of be-oshri is the bet ha-sibbah (Weiser).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
‘DUDA’IM.’ These are ‘sigli’ (violets). In Arabic it is called jasmin. So I found in Rashi’s commentary.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּ֣אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֵאָ֔ה | leah | Leah | H3812 → | 34 times |
| בְּאָשְׁרִ֕י | beasheri | in happiness my | H837 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִשְּׁר֖וּנִי | ʾisheruni | they will call happy me | H833 → | |
| בָּנ֑וֹת | banot | daughters | H1323 → | 588 times |
| וַתִּקְרָ֥א | vatikra' | and she called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמ֖וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אָשֵֽׁר׃ | ʾasher | Asher | H836 → | 43 times |
וַתֹּ֣אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
לֵאָ֔הLeah
leahH3812 →34 times
בְּאָשְׁרִ֕יin happiness my
beasheriH837 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִשְּׁר֖וּנִיthey will call happy me
ʾisheruniH833 →
בָּנ֑וֹתdaughters
banotH1323 →588 times
וַתִּקְרָ֥אand she called
vatikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמ֖וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
אָשֵֽׁר׃Asher
ʾasherH836 →43 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
Luke 1:48For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
it leads to
- Psalms 138:6
Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.
- 1 Corinthians 1:26–28
Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- Malachi 3:12
“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Psalms 136:23
He remembered us in our low estate His loving devotion endures forever.
- 1 Samuel 1:11
And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then…
- Psalms 138:6
Through
Proverbs 31:28Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well:
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:5
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced is in you as well.
- 2 Timothy 3:15–17
From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
- 2 Timothy 1:5
Through
Song of Solomon 6:9but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 2:14
O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is…
- Song of Solomon 2:14
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.