The Domino Effect and Divine Intervention
Genesis 30:9–24 (NASB95)
9When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. 12Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher. 14Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah. 22Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. 23So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me another son.”
Jacob’s family drama escalates into chaos as Leah and Rachel turn their marriage and children into a competition. Leah, realizing she is no longer bearing children, gives her maid Zilpah to Jacob. Zilpah has two sons, Gad and Asher. Rachel and Leah now use their servants and their own children as bargaining chips. The rivalry becomes more intense. Each new child is not just a blessing but a point in a fierce contest. The family dysfunction worsens. Every decision causes more strife and brokenness.
The story of the mandrakes shows how desperate the sisters have become. It also gives us insight into how Rachel and Leah believed theologically. In the ancient world, mandrakes were thought to be an aphrodisiac and a cure for infertility. Rachel wants the mandrakes Reuben finds, hoping they will help her conceive. Leah trades a night with Jacob for the mandrakes. So, Rachel turns to pagan superstitions instead of God Almighty. But the Torah makes it clear in verse 22 that it was not the mandrakes or any superstition that opened Rachel’s womb. God alone gives life. Superstitions are not just empty; they are a form of idolatry. God’s plan moves forward, not because of human schemes or magical plants, but because He is in control. Genesis repeatedly emphasizes this truth: God’s will prevails, even when people act foolishly.
Dinah’s name appears in the genealogy, which is unusual in a patriarchal society where only sons are typically listed. Moses includes Dinah here as a clue, and her story will become important in the chapters ahead. Readers should pay attention, as we will meet Dinah again soon.
When we turn relationships into competitions, everyone loses. When we trust in superstitions or human solutions, we miss the real source of blessing. God alone is sovereign. He works through our messes, but He calls us to trust Him, not our own schemes. We must build our families and our faith on God’s promises, not on rivalry or worldly customs, which many times discredit our awesome God.