Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, now this time
will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi [joined].
35 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she said, Now will I
praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah [praise]; and left bearing.
Genesis -30
1 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.
An unhappy disagreement between him and Rachel (Ge 30:1, 2), occasioned, not so much by her own barrenness as by her sister's fruitfulness. Rebekah, the only wife of Isaac, was long childless, and yet we find no uneasiness between her and Isaac; but here, because Leah bears children, Rachel cannot live peaceably with Jacob.
Rachel frets. She envied her sister, Ge 30:1. Envy is grieving at the good of another, than which no sin is more offensive to God, nor more injurious to our neighbour and ourselves. She considered not that it was God that made the difference, and that though, in this single instance her sister was preferred before her, yet in other things she had the advantage. Let us carefully watch against all the risings and workings of this passion in our minds. Let not our eye be evil towards any of our fellow-servants because our master's is good. But this was not all; she said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. Note, We are very apt to err in our desires of temporal mercies, as Rachel here.
(1.) One child would not content her; but, because Leah has more than one, she must have more too: Give me children.