Wonder Womb-an

Genesis 29:31-30:24

God looks down and sees that Leah is unhappy- unloved, He opens up her womb. And when He opens, He opens. This section is comprised of an attempt by both wives to gain Jacob's favor by supplying him with offspring.

Once again, I'm struck by the importance of the names they give their children. In fact the names themselves sort of comprise the plot for this section.

Leah first bears Reuben, or (perhaps) "he has seen my misery. " So God sees Leah's blues and Reuben is a token to cheer her up. This is the most affirming lesson for me in this section. God sees our pain, He sees our longing to be loved- and he more than makes up for the love we don't get. He does it for Leah here, and for Rachel a little later- and He does it for us.

Leah sees the gift of son #2 to be for the same reason so she names him Simeon, or "one who hears." I assume that Jacob had no part in choosing the names of his children. Is this consistent with the customs of this time, or is Jacob a slacker dad?

Apparently the birth of his first two offspring did little to endear Jacob to Leah- but she figures the third time is the charm. On his birth she says"Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons." So she names him Levi, or "attached."

Maybe Leah started to give up on winning Jacob's heart when son #4 came around. She's thankful for him- but maybe she realizes that she could produce an entire baseball team for him and it wouldn't help. She names this one Judah, or "praise."

For someone not loved by her husband, Leah was getting plenty of physical attention from Jacob. I wonder if these children were born in the period of time before Rachel married him, in the seven year of service span. It would explain the number of nights spent with Leah instead of Rachel. That would mean that the story was told out of chronology, but I don't think that would be out of the question.

It's also at this point that Rachel realizes- hey, I'm not bearing any children. So she gets jealous of Leah and angry at Jacob. It should seem obvious that Jacob's not the problem, but Rachel lashes out. In desperation, she visits an old trick that Sarai tried. Marry and sleep with my maidservant. We know how well that worked for Sarai.

Bilhah, Rachel's servant has a child and Rachel reacts with triumph. Somehow in her mind, this birth will even things out. She names him Dan or "vindicated." Bilhah's next son does more than even things out- Rachel says "I have had a great struggle with my sister and I have won." So she names him Naphtali, or "my struggle." What a happy message to have associated with your name.

Leah tries to up the ante by giving Jacob her maidservant. Jacob has plenty of stress with his two wives, I can only imagine how complicated his life must have gotten after adding the emotions of the two maidservants. So Jacob's fourth wife Zilpah bears Jacob two sons- first Gad, or good fortune (or a troop which would have been a good name for the offspring collectively) and Asher, or happy, named because Leah was so happy that another child had been born to her camp.

At this point Reuben gets some mandrake plants for his mother. Leah asks for some and Leah responds pretty boldly to the favorite wife. "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take away my son's mandrakes too?" Rachel says give me the mandrakes and you can sleep with Jacob tonight.

This strikes me as odd- two wives are planning the husband's amorous schedule. It seems like Jacob would have reacted strongly to such a loss of power. Maybe he didn't have much to begin wiith. This family seems to be comprised of very strong-willed women.

Leah ges pregnant three more times- once with Issachar, or reward. She saw his birth as a reward for giving Jacob the gift of her maidservant. Secondly, Zebulon, or honor. She's back to clinging to desperation. She believes the sixth son will cause Jacob to honor her. Five didn't do it, but six is the magic number.

Some time later she gave birth to Dinah. No significance on the name and not much detail given. Another biblical example of potential misogyny. Maybe this comes more from Moses being sexist than any intentional slight from God. It's still a little worrisome.

Finally God remembers Rachel and she has her first child, Joseph. She's waited all this time and her response with his name is not joy, praise, or relief, although she certainly feels these things. She names him Joseph, or "may he add" hoping God will grant her another son.

In this long list of names I find another lesson here too. Since God provides, be satisfied. He blesses amazingly- but be gracious about His gifts. I guess, though, her "impertinence" actually pays off- she gets her wish in the future.

In case you were wondering:
Blaine: a servant of Blann, a Scottish saint - thanks mom and dad

Note:  name meanings except for Blaine:  NIV