Genesis 29:31-35

Genesis 29:31 to Genesis 30:24. Birth of Jacob's Children

31 35 (J); Genesis 30:1-24 (J, E and P)

In this section is narrated the account of the birth of eleven sons and one daughter. Six of the sons, viz. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, and the daughter Dinah, are the children of Leah; Gad and Asher are the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Dan and Naphtali are the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; and Joseph is the son of Rachel. These are all born to Jacob in Haran. The only son born in Canaan is Benjamin (see Genesis 35:16-19).

It has been conjectured that this account not only furnishes the popular etymology of the names of the tribes of Israel, but may also symbolize, under the terms of family life, the growth of Israelite clans into a united, though composite, people in the land of Mesopotamia, before the migration into Canaan.

The explanation of the meaning of the names is of the usual popular kind, based upon resemblances of sound. The fact that in some cases more than one etymology is given reflects the composite nature of the narrative (cf. Genesis 30:16; Genesis 30:18; Genesis 30:20; Genesis 30:23-24).