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And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

Give me children, or elso I die. — She was sick of the fret; and could not live, unless Jacob could cure her. "Envy is the rottenness of the bones," Proverbs 14:30 and ever devours itself first; as the worm doth the nut out of which it groweth.

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And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, [Am] I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

And Jacob’s anger was kindled. — He that will be angry, and not sin, must not be angry, but for sin. Reprove thy wife, thou mayest; chide her, thou mayest not, unless the offence be against God, as here, and Job 2:10 . And here a man may carry a severe rebuke in his countenance, as God doth, Psalms 80:16 , though he say nothing: he may chide with his looks only.

Am I in God’s stead? — Who carrieth this key under his own girdle; as is aforenoted. "Lo, children are a heritage that cometh of the Lord," as David Psalms 127:3 once sang for Solomon, who had the experience of it: for of so many wives, he had but one son, that we read of; and he was none of the wisest. Ecclesiastes 2:19 This Solomon foresaw, and bewailed, as one unhappy bird, in his nest of vanities.

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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.

Behold my maid Bilhah. — Given her by her father on purpose, it may seem; that in case she proved barren, she might be built up by her. So Stratonice, the wife of King Dejotarus, being barren, gave secretly her maid Electra unto her husband; by whom she had an heir to the crown, as Plutarch relateth.

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And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

And Jacob went in unto her. — Merely to please his wife, he yielded to that which he could not but disallow as evil. Heed must be taken that the hen crow not, that the wife rule not. This γυναικοκρατεια was a part of Jacob’s punishment.

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And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

And bare Jacob a son. — Whom Rachel might adopt, and dandle "on her knees," as Genesis 30:3 .

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And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

God hath judged me, … — A vile profanation of God’s holy name, under an opinion and pretence of piety. So they that, brow-beating their brethren, better than themselves, said, "Let the Lord be glorified"; Isaiah 66:5 and it grew to a proverb, In nomine Domini incipit omne malum . The conspirators in Edward VI’s time endorsed their letters with "Glory be to God on high, on earth peace," … Act. and Mon. A fair glove drawn upon a foul hand.

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And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

With great wrestlings. — Heb., With wrestlings of God; that is, with excellent and most earnest wrestlings and endeavours; by storms of sighs, and showers of tears. Magno desiderio, precibus, suspiriis luctata est adversus sororem . - Pareus, in loc . Stupidity is the low extreme, like the dull earth. Despair is as much too high, as it were in the element of fire, which scorches up the spirit. The middle region of air and water, sighs and tears, is the best.

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When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

Left bearing, — viz., Till she began again, Genesis 30:17 .

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