9. When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11. Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad.
12. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
13. Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher.
14. During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
15. But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
16. So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night.
17. God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.
18. Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband." So she named him Issachar.
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2 comments:
What in the world is going on?
Having son = greater love from Jacob and God?
How come only sons were born in all this? Were daughters omitted?
Another very funny thing is that food/labor doesn't seem to be much of problem trying to support all these children.
Jews considered Mandrakes help barren women to conceive a child. In Hebrew, Mandrake means "love plant."
Reuben seemed to been a good son to Rachel considering this fact. I can assume that he got the mandrake roots to help her mother conceive a child although this will be like throwing oil to already flaming battle between Rachel and Leah.
reuben is actually leah's (not rachel's) son. so it seems as though having as many sons as possible is everyone's goal. but my reaction is the same as m's: what is the point of what is going on here? maybe there's some metaphorical lesson being taught but i just don't see it.
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