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Bible Notes - Tabernacle Commentaries
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Genesis 30:9
Comments
The score is now four - two to Leah, but she still feels insecure. The taking of yet another wife, Zilpah, Leah’s maid, does not seem to bother Jacob. One bad example causes another, and what one does and seems to get away with, encourages another to do the same, so Leah gives her maid also. There is no let-up in this contest. The two sisters will live as rivals and die as rivals. Perhaps they had been good friends in childhood before these sad events. This next son is called Gad. The Hebrew has been translated ‘troop’ but that is an unfortunate translation. The word means ‘luck’ or ‘fortune’. The idea is that a gathering of men cuts through the opposing ranks and so brings good fortune. This son bringing Leah good fortune. And again Asher is born to Zilpah, meaning ‘happy’. The family was anything but happy with this poison at the heart of it. Leah’s preoccupation comes through again here. She has slipped even from the brief piety she had for a while.
Application
This is a classic example of how confused human beings can be about what true happiness is and what is the true source of happiness. People can convince themselves that the sum total of happiness lies in some object which they must acquire, or some achievement which they must accomplish. This short sightedness can cause them to lose sight of the true source of happiness. However convinced they are about this, Scripture says that blessedness lies in a completely different direction (Matthew 5:3-12).
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