Genesis 30:14 - Meaning and Application

Leah became fruitful again after a time when she had stopped bearing children. Jacob seems to have spent more time with Rachel than with Leah. The law of Moses assumes that this could happen in a household with two wives, one loved more and the other less (Deuteronomy 21:15). But Rachel’s strong feelings led her into an arrangement with Leah, so that Jacob would return to Leah’s tent.

Reuben, a small boy about five or six years old, was playing in the field when he found mandrakes, or dudaim. No one is sure exactly what these were, and Bible scholars do not agree. We do know they were some kind of rare plant, either fruit or flowers, that smelled very sweet (Song of Songs 7:13). This shows that the God of nature has provided not only for our needs, but also for our enjoyment. The open fields, as well as planted gardens, are full of things that are useful and valuable. Nature’s house is richly supplied, and even little children can gather its precious gifts.

The devout Jews had a good practice when they enjoyed something pleasant, like eating an apple or smelling a flower. They would lift their hearts and say, “Blessed is the one who made this fruit pleasant,” or, “Blessed is the one who made this flower sweet.” Some think these mandrakes were jasmine flowers. Whatever they were, Rachel could not bear to see them in Leah’s hands, because the child had placed them there, and she wanted them badly. She could not resist the sight of these little flowers, and she was willing to pay any price for them.

There is serious sin and folly in wanting even a small thing too much. Leah took advantage of this, just as Jacob had taken advantage of Esau’s desire for red stew, and used the opportunity to secure what was rightly due to her, but what Rachel would not otherwise have agreed to. Strong desires often work against each other, and people who are ruled by them are never truly at peace. Leah was glad to have her husband’s company again, because she hoped her family would still grow. That was the blessing she wanted, and she sincerely prayed for it, as Genesis 30:17 hints when it says God listened to Leah.

Bishop Patrick rightly suggests that the true reason for this struggle between Jacob’s wives for his company, and for giving their maids to him as wives, was their deep desire to help fulfill God’s promise to Abraham, and then again to Jacob, that his offspring would be as many as the stars and that in one of his descendants, the Messiah, all nations would be blessed. He thinks it would not fit the dignity of this sacred history to mention these matters so closely unless some great purpose was behind them. Leah was now blessed with two more sons. She named the first Issachar, which means “hire,” because she thought she had been repaid for the mandrakes, and even rewarded for giving her maid to her husband. We misuse God’s mercy when we treat his gifts as if they excuse our foolish choices.

She named the other son Zebulun, which means “dwelling,” and she acknowledged God’s kindness, saying, “God has given me a good dowry” (Genesis 30:20). Jacob had not given her such wealth when he married her, and he had little property of his own. But she counted a family of children as a rich dowry, not a burden of expenses, like the blessing described in Psalm 113:9. She hoped that now, after bearing him six sons, her husband would spend more time with her, at least out of love for the children. The birth of a daughter, Dinah, is mentioned in Genesis 30:21 because of the later story about her in chapter 34. Jacob may also have had other daughters whose names were not recorded.

Rachel was finally fruitful too (Genesis 30:22). God remembered Rachel, who seemed to have been forgotten, and answered her after a long delay. Then she bore a son. God rightly withholds the mercy we crave too much, but he sometimes gives, after a long wait, what we have desired for years. He corrects our foolishness, yet he remembers our weakness and does not keep pressing us forever.

Rachel named her son Joseph. In Hebrew, this name sounds like two words with opposite meanings. One suggests, “He has taken away,” and the other, “He will add.” She said, “He has taken away my shame,” as if her greatest joy in the child was that her disgrace had been removed. She also said, “The Lord will add another son.” That may show her still-eager desire, since she could hardly be thankful for one child unless she could be sure of another. Or it may show her faith, because she saw this mercy as the start of more mercy. If God has given grace, we may say, “He will add more grace.” If he has given joy, we may say, “He will add more joy.” If he has begun his work, will he not finish it?