1 And Rachel seeth that she hath not borne to Jacob, and Rachel is envious of her sister, and saith unto Jacob, `Give me sons, and if there is none -- I die.'
And Jehovah seeth that Leah `is' the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel `is' barren;
and his brethren are zealous against him, and his father hath watched the matter.
Do ye think that emptily the Writing saith, `To envy earnestly desireth the spirit that did dwell in us,'
and if bitter zeal ye have, and rivalry in your heart, glory not, nor lie against the truth;
envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revellings, and such like, of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that those doing such things the reign of God shall not inherit.
for the sorrow toward God reformation to salvation not to be repented of doth work, and the sorrow of the world doth work death,
for his disciples were gone away to the city, that they may buy victuals;
Cursed `is' the day in which I was born, The day that my mother bare me, Let it not be blessed! Cursed `is' the man who bore tidings `to' my father, saying, `Born to thee hath been a child -- a male,' Making him very glad! Then hath that man been as the cities, That Jehovah overthrew, and repented not, And he hath heard a cry at morning, And a shout at time of noon. Because he hath not put me to death from the womb, And my mother is to me -- my grave, And her womb a pregnancy age-during. Why `is' this? from the womb I have come out, To see labour and sorrow, Yea, consumed in shame are my days!
And they journey from Bethel, and there is yet a kibrath of land before entering Ephratha, and Rachel beareth, and is sharply pained in her bearing; and it cometh to pass, in her being sharply pained in her bearing, that the midwife saith to her, `Fear not, for this also `is' a son for thee.' And it cometh to pass in the going out of her soul (for she died), that she calleth his name Ben-Oni; and his father called him Benjamin; and Rachel dieth, and is buried in the way to Ephratha, which `is' Bethlehem,
A healed heart `is' life to the flesh, And rottenness to the bones `is' envy.
Who `is' he that doth strive with me? For now I keep silent and gasp.
For provocation slayeth the perverse, And envy putteth to death the simple,
Why from the womb do I not die? From the belly I have come forth and gasp!
After this hath Job opened his mouth, and revileth his day. And Job answereth and saith: -- Let the day perish in which I am born, And the night that hath said: `A man-child hath been conceived.'
And the day cometh, and Elkanah sacrificeth, and he hath given to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions, and to Hannah he giveth a certain portion -- double, for he hath loved Hannah, and Jehovah hath shut her womb; and her adversity hath also provoked her greatly, so as to make her tremble, for Jehovah hath shut up her womb. And so he doth year by year, from the time of her going up into the house of Jehovah, so it provoketh her, and she weepeth, and doth not eat. And Elkanah her husband saith to her, `Hannah, why weepest thou? and why dost thou not eat? and why is thy heart afflicted? am I not better to thee than ten sons?'
And Moses saith to him, `Art thou zealous for me? O that all Jehovah's people were prophets! that Jehovah would put His Spirit upon them!'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 30
Commentary on Genesis 30 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 30
In this chapter we have an account of the increase,
Gen 30:1-13
We have here the bad consequences of that strange marriage which Jacob made with the two sisters. Here is,
Gen 30:14-24
Here is,
Gen 30:25-36
We have here,
Gen 30:37-43
Here is Jacob's honest policy to make his bargain more advantageous to himself than it was likely to be. If he had not taken some course to help himself, it would have been a bad bargain indeed, which he knew Laban would never consider, or rather would be well pleased to see him a loser by, so little did Laban consult any one's interest but his own. Now Jacob's contrivances were,