The Meaning of Genesis 30:3 Explained

Genesis 30:3

KJV: And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

YLT: And she saith, 'Lo, my handmaid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she doth bear on my knees, and I am built up, even I, from her;'

Darby: And she said, Behold, there is my maid, Bilhah: go in to her, in order that she may bear on my knees, and I may also be built up by her.

ASV: And she said, Behold, my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may obtain children by her.

Discover Genesis 30:3

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Genesis 30:3?

MEANING: What does Genesis 30:3 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Genesis 30:3 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Genesis 30:3?

What is the context of Genesis 30:3?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

What does Genesis 30:3 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 30:1-24 - Sons Born To Jacob

The details of this paragraph are given with great minuteness, because they concern the twelve sons of Jacob, the forefathers of Israel. After all, history is made in the nursery, and we are very much what our mothers have made us in the formative years. An old Spanish proverb says, "An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy." Leah's influence on her boys, as judged by their subsequent life, was anything but healthy; yet with Jacob being the man he was, there was poor chance for them to realize the highest ideals. Rachel's anguish of heart led her to earnest prayer. Compare Genesis 30:1; Genesis 30:22. Wait on God, oh, anguished ones: ye shall surely have reason to praise him. Was it not worth waiting for, to bear a Joseph, whose branches were to run over the wall in blessing? There are more compensations in life than we think for. If Rachel had her husband's love, Leah had a large family of boys. In the saddest lives there are glints of sunshine. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 30

¹ Rachel, in grief for her barrenness, gives Bilhah her maid unto Jacob
⁵ Bilhah bears Dan and Naphtali
⁹ Leah gives Zilpah her maid, who bears Gad and Asher
¹⁴ Reuben finds mandrakes,
¹⁵ with which Leah buys her husband's company of Rachel
¹⁷ Leah bears Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah
²² Rachel bears Joseph
²⁵ Jacob desires to depart
²⁷ Laban detains him on a new agreement
³⁷ Jacob's policy, whereby he becomes rich

What do the individual words in Genesis 30:3 mean?

so she said Here is my maidservant Bilhah go in to her and she will bear [a child] on my knees that may have children also I by her

וַתֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּ֛ה אֲמָתִ֥י בִלְהָ֖ה בֹּ֣א אֵלֶ֑יהָ וְתֵלֵד֙ עַל־ בִּרְכַּ֔י וְאִבָּנֶ֥ה גַם־ אָנֹכִ֖י מִמֶּֽנָּה

וַתֹּ֕אמֶר	so she said
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular Root: אָמַר Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הִנֵּ֛ה	Here is
Parse: Interjection Root: הִנֵּה Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
אֲמָתִ֥י	my maidservant
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular Root: אָמָה Sense: maid-servant, female slave, maid, handmaid, concubine.
בִלְהָ֖ה	Bilhah
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: בִּלְהָה Sense: Rachel’s handmaid whom she gave to Jacob as a concubine, mother to two of Jacob’s children, Dan and Naphtali.
בֹּ֣א	go in
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular Root: בֹּוא Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֵלֶ֑יהָ	to her
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular Root: אֶל Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
וְתֵלֵד֙	and she will bear [a child]
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person feminine singular Root: יָלַד Sense: to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.
בִּרְכַּ֔י	my knees
Parse: Noun, fdc, first person common singular Root: בֶּרֶךְ Sense: knee.
וְאִבָּנֶ֥ה	that may have children
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular Root: בָּנָה Sense: to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue.
גַם־	also
Parse: Conjunction Root: גַּם Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
מִמֶּֽנָּה	by her
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular Root: מִן Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.

What are the major concepts related to Genesis 30:3?

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Similar Scriptures for Genesis 30:3

		Genesis 50:23 [4]
		Job 3:12 [3]
		Genesis 16:2-3 [2]
		Genesis 30:9 [2]
		Ruth 4:11 [2]