1. The eldest son Reuben - had a son
When the Lord saw that Leah had fallen out of favor (the original text was "hated". The same below), he made her have children, but Rachel was barren. . When Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, she named him Reuben (which means "having a son"), so she said: "The Lord has seen my distress, and now my husband will love me."
Leah It was Jacob who was the first to marry a wife, but Jacob did not love her. God looked after those who fell out of favor. He made people fertile and barren. God made Leah fertile, but Rachel was barren. Leah She was able to conceive and give birth to a son. When Leah got this son, she was overjoyed and named him Reuben. She thanked God for taking care of her and thought that her husband must love her. Leah was announcing to others: I have a son. In an era when mother was more important than her son, the birth of Reuben doubled Leah's worth.
However, this was not the case. Jacob did not love her because she had a son.
2. The second son Simeon - when he heard that
she was pregnant again and had a son, he said, "The Lord has heard that I have fallen out of favor, so he has given me this son again." So he gave it to him. He was named Simeon (which means “hear”).
God also made Leah pregnant and gave birth to a son. She felt that God had heard that she had fallen out of favor, so he gave her a son and named him Simeon (hear). Leah knew that God saw and heard her suffering.
3. The third son Levi
She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son, named Levi (which means "union"), and said: "I gave birth to three sons to my husband; He will be united to me."
God made Leah pregnant again and gave birth to a son. When she got her third son, she thought that her husband would be united with her.
4. The Fourth Son Judah - Praise
Genesis 29:35 She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son, saying, "This time I will praise the Lord." So she named him Judah (that is, meaning "to praise"). Only then did she stop having children.
When God made Leah pregnant four times and gave birth to children, Leah wanted to praise God and give glory to God. So she named her son Judah (praise), and she knew to give glory to God. Leah temporarily stopped having children after giving birth to four sons.
5. Dan, the Fifth Son—Vengeance
Genesis 30:1-6 When Rachel saw that she had not given birth to a son for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “You will give birth to a son.” my child, or I will die." Jacob was angry with Rachel and said, "It is God who has made you barren, how can I make the decision on his behalf?"
Rachel said, "It is God who has made you barren. My maid Bilhah is here; you can have sex with her, and she will bear children in my lap, and I will have children through her.” Rachel gave her. The slave girl Bilhah was given to her husband as his concubine, and Jacob had sex with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, "God avenged me and heard my voice and gave me a son." So she named him Dan (which means "vengeance").
After her sister Leah gave birth to four sons, Rachel did not have a child, so she became jealous of her sister and became angry with Jacob. Jacob was also angry with Rachel. Rachel thought of calling her husband Jacob Each of them gave his maid Bilhah a wife, so that he could have a child from her. God indeed caused Jacob to give birth to a son from Bilhah. The birth of this child made Rachel very happy. She thought that God had avenged her injustice, so Name the child Dan (justice).
Sixth and Sixth Son Naphtali - Struggle
Rachel’s maid Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to Jacob’s second son. Rachel said, "My sister and I had a great conflict, and I prevailed." So she named him Naphtali (which means "struggle").
God made Bilhah pregnant and gave birth to a son. Rachel felt that she could compete with her sister, so she named him Naphtali. "Strife." Leah and Rachel served the same husband. There is disharmony in the family, and sisters cannot live in harmony with each other, but instead fight with each other. Later, the law stipulated that a man could not marry his sisters at the same time.
7. The seventh son, Gad—fortunately
Genesis 30:9-11 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob as his concubine. Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob a son.
11 Leah said, "What a blessing!" So she named him Gad (which means "a blessing").
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she followed the example of her sister Rachel and gave her maid Zilpah to her husband as a concubine. God made her pregnant, and she gave birth to Gad, the seventh son of Jacob. Ya seemed to be really lucky, so he named him Gad (lucky).
Sisterly rivalry has spread to the maids.
Eight, Eighth Son Asher - Blessed
Leah’s maid Zilpah gave birth to Jacob’s second son. Leah said, "Blessed am I, and all the daughters will call me blessed." So she named him Asher (which means "blessed").
God made Zilpah pregnant again, and she gave birth to another son. Leah felt that she was so blessed, so she named the child Asher (blessed).
9. The Ninth Son of Issachar - Value
When the wheat was being harvested, Reuben went to the fields to find mandrakes and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
Leah said, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? And you are going to take away my son's mandrakes." Mandrakes?" Rachel said, "For your son's mandrakes, let him sleep with you tonight." When Jacob came back from the field in the evening, Leah came out to meet him and said, "You shall lie with me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." That night Jacob slept with her.
God answered Leah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Jacob’s fifth son. Leah said, "God has given me value because I gave my maid to my husband." So she named him Issachar (which means "value").
Leah prayed to God, and God promised her to give birth to a fifth son. Leah felt that God had given her value, so she named him Issachar (value). Having many children is valuable.
Ten. Zebulun, the tenth son - living together
Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Leah said, "God has given me a great reward: my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun (which means "to live together"). 21 Then a daughter was born, and they named her Dinah.
Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to Jacob’s sixth son. Leah felt that God had given her a great reward and her husband would live with her, so she named him Zebulun ( live together). After Leah bore Jacob six sons, she also bore him a daughter, Dinah.
Eleventh, eleventh son Joseph
God cared about Rachel and answered her, making her fertile. Rachel became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and said, "God has taken away my shame." She named him Joseph (which means "add"), which means: "May the Lord add to me another son."
At this point, Jacob already had ten sons and one daughter. God also cared about Rachel and listened to her prayers, allowing her to have children. She gave birth to her first son, Joseph (added), and she wanted God to give her another son.
Jacob’s eleven sons were all born in Padan-aram, his uncle’s house.
Twelve, twelfth son Benjamin
They set out from Bethel and were still some distance away from Ephrath. It was very difficult for Rachel to give birth. When she was in trouble, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, you are going to have another son." When she was about to die and her soul was about to leave, she named her son Benoni, but his father gave him the name Benoni. He named him Benjamin. Rachel died and was buried by the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. Jacob set up a monument on her tomb, which is Rachel's tombstone, which is still there to this day.
Jacob took everything he had gained from his uncle’s house and left there. Shortly after returning to Canaan, when Rachel gave birth to her second son Benjamin, she died of dystocia. Jacob got the son, but The loss of his beloved wife, Rachel, and the birth of Benjamin made Jacob feel both sorrow and joy. Among his twelve sons, only Benjamin was born in the land of Canaan, the promised land of God.