Lesson 26: Genesis 30

The Lord made a wonderful promise when He appeared to Jacob at Bethel: “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28.15). God would be true to His word, but at this point in the story Jacob is not yet relying on the Lord. Genesis 30 records how Jacob prospered both with a growing family and with increased possessions, yet because he was not relying on the Lord, Jacob also experienced tremendous conflict.

Notes From The Text:

Vss. 1-24, Conflict In Jacob’s Growing Family

• Vss. 1-2, compare with Genesis 16.4-5. Conflict would always be the result of families with divided loyalties.
• Vs. 3, “on my behalf” is literally “on my knees”. Bilhah would be a concubine of Jacob, the children legally belonging to Rachel (see Genesis 16.2).
• Vs. 6, Dan sounds like the Hebrew word for “judged” (danan)
• Vs. 8, “with mighty wrestlings” is literally “wrestlings with God”. Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew word for “wrestling” (naptule)
• Vs. 11, Gad is the Hebrew word for “good fortune”.
• Vs. 13, Asher sounds like the Hebrew word for “happy” (osri)
• Vs. 14, “The usual identification of this plant is Mandragora, frequently believed in the ancient and classical world to possess magical properties, primarily as an aphrodisiac (see Song 7:13) with the power to make a barren woman conceive. In Egypt it appears to be the aroma that had the erotic powers.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• Vs. 17, it is significant that as Rachel has come to rely on potions with supposed magical powers, the Lord gave Leah a son and Rachel remained barren.
• Vs. 18, Issachar sounds like the Hebrew word for “wages” (sakar).
• Vs. 20, Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew word for “honor” (yizble).
• Vs. 21, Dinah will figure prominently in Genesis 34.
• Vs. 22, the statement “God remembered Rachel” is significant. Her longed for son was not the product of human effort (concubines or mandrakes), but because the Lord remembered her.
• Vs. 24, Joseph means “may he add”.

Vss. 25-43, Conflict With Laban

• Vs. 25, “A woman’s status in the marriage was not fully attained until she bore a son. In some contracts from the second millennium, a time limit is set after which she can be divorced should an heir not be provided. Prior to Joseph’s birth, it would have been inappropriate for Jacob to leave with Rachel since her status would be more secure with family in the area.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• Vs. 26, note that Jacob’s twelve children would have been born in a 7 year window, during the 7 years of service for Rachel. This means that the pregnancies of Jacob’s four “wives” would have overlapped. Note that Jacob would serve Laban for a total of 20 years (see Genesis 31.41).
• Vs. 27, from Laban’s words it is apparent that he is not a true follower of the Lord, but likely believed in many gods. He had divined that it was the Lord who had blessed him because of Jacob. “Given Laban’s report of the result of the divination, it is most likely that he consulted an expert in extispicy. In this procedure, a binary (yes/no) question is posed and then the specialist slaughters an animal and examines the entrails (usually the liver) for indications that their experience dictates as being positive or negative. To get the information Laban conveys, he must have asked whether Jacob’s God was the one bringing prosperity.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• Vs. 32, “Shepherds’ wages in the ancient Near East were usually the byproducts of the herd (mostly a percentage of the wool and milk). Sometimes the shepherd would also get to keep a percentage of the new births. The percentage is not often stated in the texts, but one text from Ischali indicates that the shepherd was allowed to keep twenty percent. Rather than using a percentage, Jacob requests that his share be those that are marked in their coloring. The Awassi fat-tailed sheep was most common in the region and was usually white. Goats were typically black. Deviations from these norms were relatively uncommon and would certainly have been less than twenty percent in normal circumstances.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary)
• Vss. 35-36, Laban’s underhanded dealings are evident from this passage. He had made a deal with Jacob, but then removed all of the sheep and goats that would have belonged to Jacob. Laban was doing all he could to ensure that Jacob would remain his servant.
• Vss. 37-42, given Laban’s treachery, Jacob took three measures to increase his own flocks and herds:
  • The placing of striped sticks in front of the herd during mating season (vss.37-39) reflects the superstition of the time that what an animals saw while they mated would be reflected in the offspring.
  • Separating his own from Laban’s flock (vs. 40) would ensure that Laban could not steal what was rightfully his (as he had done in vss. 35-36).
  • Jacob devised a strategy by which the strongest of the flock would be his, while the weaker would be Laban’s (vss. 41-42).
• Vs. 43, because of the above measures, Jacob became very wealthy. However, it is significant that the Lord is not mentioned in this passage. This blessing was not from God, but the product of Jacob’s own devices.

What would the nation of Israel have taken away from this part of Jacob’s life? First, the account serves to show God’s faithfulness to the promises He made (Genesis 28.15). Jacob, who had left the promised land with nothing now had a growing family and great possessions. However, no one in this story was truly trusting in God; not Jacob, not his wives and certainly not Laban. While both Laban and Jacob acknowledged that blessings had come from the Lord (Genesis 30.27,30), both resorted to trickery and deceit to increase their own possessions. The result of not trusting in the Lord was division and disharmony in the family. The point for Israel and for us is that while we may obtain some blessings by our own means, the true blessings of God can only come from faithfully following the Lord.