The Bible Study Podcast, episode 675.

Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of the book of Genesis with Chapter 30.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen.

We continue on our story with Chapter 30, as you may remember from last week. Jacob married Leia and Rachel, much to his surprise. He was intending to marry Rachel, but his father, Laban, basically tricked him into marrying the older daughter first, which is going to cause some rivalry, which spills

over into this week's story. When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children,

she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, give me children or I'll die. Jacob

became angry with her and said, am I in the place of God? Who has kept you from having children?

Then she said, here is Bilha, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me,

and I too can build a family through her. So she gave her servant Bilha as a wife.

Jacob slept with her, and she became pregnant

and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, God has vindicated me. He has listened to my plea and given me a son.

Because of this, she named him Dan. Rachel's servant Bilha conceived again and bore Jacob's second son.

Then Jacob said, I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.

So she named him Naftali.

When Leia saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpa and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

Leia's servant Zilpa bore Jacob's son, then Leah said,

What good fortune, so she named him Gad. Leah's servant Zilpa bore Jacob's second son,

then Leah said, how happy am I? The women will call me happy, so she named him Asher.

During wheat harvest, Rubin went out into the field

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. But she said to her, wasn't it enough that you took

away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes to?

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