Genesis 35:26
in Genesis 35And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid: Gad and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Paddan-aram.
KJV
And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan–aram.
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This verse in Genesis 35
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBorn to him in Padan-aram - i.e., all but Benjamin was born in Canaan, Gen 35:16, Gen 35:17. It is well known that Padan-aram is the same as Mesopotamia, and hence the Septuagint translate Μεσοποταμια της Συριας, Mesopotamia of Syria. The word signifies between the two rivers, from μεσος the midst, and ποταμος, a river. It is situated between the Euphrates and Tigris, having Assyria on the east, Arabia Deserta, with Babylonia, on the south, Syria on the west, and Armenia on the north.
This site's exposition
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob
on Genesis 35:23-26
Reuben still carries the title firstborn of Jacob. That stands one verse after verse 22, so the list keeps the rank while the birthright has gone. The closing line says they were born in Paddan-aram, which holds for eleven, since Benjamin was born on the road.
This site's exposition
maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher
Leah named Gad for good fortune and Asher for happiness at Genesis 30:11 to 13. Gad settles east of the Jordan with Reuben at Numbers 32. Anna the prophetess, who gives thanks over the infant Jesus at Luke 2:36 to 38, is of Asher.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: 3 And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And the sons of Zilpah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Sons of Jacob . . . born to him in Padan-aram--It is a common practice of the sacred historian to say of a company or body of men that which, though true of the majority, may not be applicable to every individual. Here is an example, for Benjamin was born in Canaan [Ge 35:16-18].
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְנֵ֥י | uvenei | and [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| זִלְפָּ֛ה | zilpah | Zilpah | H2153 → | 7 times |
| שִׁפְחַ֥ת | shifchat | [the] maidservant of | H8198 → | 63 times |
| לֵאָ֖ה | leah | Leah | H3812 → | 34 times |
| גָּ֣ד | gad | Gad | H1410 → | 72 times |
| וְאָשֵׁ֑ר | veasher | and Asher | H836 → | 43 times |
| אֵ֚לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [were] [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֔ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֻלַּד־ | yulad- | it was born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| בְּפַדַּ֥ן | befadan | in Paddan | H6307 → | 11 times |
| אֲרָֽם׃ | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
וּבְנֵ֥יand [the] sons of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
זִלְפָּ֛הZilpah
zilpahH2153 →7 times
שִׁפְחַ֥ת[the] maidservant of
shifchatH8198 →63 times
לֵאָ֖הLeah
leahH3812 →34 times
גָּ֣דGad
gadH1410 →72 times
וְאָשֵׁ֑רand Asher
veasherH836 →43 times
אֵ֚לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
בְּנֵ֣י[were] [the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יַעֲקֹ֔בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֻלַּד־it was born
yulad-H3205 →496 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
בְּפַדַּ֥ןin Paddan
befadanH6307 →11 times
אֲרָֽם׃Aram
ʾaramH758 →143 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
Genesis 25:20and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
it leads to
- Genesis 24:29
Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring.
- Genesis 24:67
And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.
- Genesis 22:23
And Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor.
- Deuteronomy 26:5
and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty…
- Genesis 31:24
But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
- Genesis 24:29
Through
Genesis 31:18and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land in Canaan.
it leads to
- Genesis 27:1–2
When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
- Genesis 27:41
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will…
- Genesis 28:21
so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.
- Genesis 27:1–2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
