The Battle for Jacob’s Affection

Genesis 29:31-30:24
I. Observation
A. Who are the major people of this passage? What do we know about them?
1. Leah: Jacob’s 1st wife; first to give him children; not Jacob’s favorite

2. Rachel: Jacob’s 2nd wife and his favorite; barren for most of this passage, beautiful

3. Bilhah: Rachel’s maidservant; became Jacob’s 3rd wife & bore children on Rachel’s behalf

4. Zilpah: Leah’s maidservant; became Jacob’s 4th wife & bore children on Leah’s behalf

B. When does this passage take place?

• Context suggests at least 14 yrs after Jacob left home
C. Where does this passage take place?
• In Haran, a region in NW Mesopotamia
D. What is happening? (Summary of Events)
1. “When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren” (29:31)
2. Leah became pregnant 4 times and bore Jacob 4 sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, & Judah (29:32-35)
3. Leah stopped having children (29:35)
4. Rachel was barren and became jealous, so she gave her maidservant, Bilhah, to have children for her (30:1-3)
5. Bilhah became pregnant twice and bore Jacob 2 sons: Dan & Naphtali (30:4-8)
6. Leah had stopped having children, so she gave her maidservant, Zilpah, to have children for her (30:9)
7. Zilpah became pregnant twice and bore Jacob 2 sons: Gad & Asher (30:10-13)
8. Rachel and Leah have a dispute and Rachel agrees to let Jacob spend the night with Leah (30:14-15)
9. Jacob sleeps with Leah, she becomes pregnant, and bears another son: Issachar (30:16-18)
10. Leah becomes pregnant again and bore Jacob another son: Zebulun (30:19-20)
11. Later, Leah also bears Jacob a daughter: Dinah (30:21)
12. God remembers Rachel and opened her womb; she became pregnant and bore Jacob a son: Joseph (30:22-24)

II. Interpretation / Analysis

• What do we learn about Jacob’s relationship with Leah from this passage? (29:32b, 33b, 34b; 30:15a, 20b)

• Why do you think so much time passed before God opened Rachel’s womb? (30:22)

• What would you say is the main theme or principle being demonstrated in this passage?

• What were some of the negative results of this sibling rivalry? Were there any positive results and, if so, what were they?

• How is God’s role portrayed in this passage? Is this significant and, if so, how?

III. Applications: In what way(s) does this passage and/or the principles within apply to our lives today?