Genesis 30:17

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 30:17 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son.
Genesis 30:17 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 30

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And God hearkened unto Leah, etc.] To the prayer of Leah, as the Targum of Jonathan, for more children: the desire of these good women for the company of their husband was not from lust, or an amorous desire in them, but for the sake of having many children, as appears by giving their maids to him; and the reason of this was, as Bishop Patrick well observes, that the promise made to Abraham of the multiplication of his seed, and of the Messiah springing from thence, might be fulfilled; and is the true reason of Moses’s taking such particular notice of those things, which might seem below the dignity of such a sacred history: and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son; the fifth he had…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification