Genesis 30:7

Summary

Genesis 30:7 reports that Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob. The verse continues the narrative sequence of children born to Jacob through the maidservants of his wives.

Key words

• Ta.har ("she conceived", H2029) — qal narrative verb, third person feminine singular, marking the next event in the story chain.
• od ("again", H5750) — indicates repetition, that this is not the first time this action (conceiving) occurs for Bilhah.
• Te.led ("she bore", H3205) — qal narrative verb, third person feminine singular, parallel in form to Ta.har, continuing the narrative sequence.
• shif.Chat ("maidservant of", H8198) — construct form, feminine singular, linking Bilhah to Rachel as "maidservant of Rachel."
• she.Ni ("second", H8145) — ordinal number, masculine singular, qualifying ben ("son", H1121A) as the second son born through this line.

What the text says

The verse is built on two narrative verbs in sequence, Ta.har ("she conceived", H2029) and Te.led ("she bore", H3205), both qal forms with third person feminine singular subject markers, following the standard Hebrew narrative pattern of vav-consecutive chains. This structure presents the two actions — conception and birth — as sequential events within the ongoing story.

The subject of both verbs, bil.Hah ("Bilhah", H1090A), is introduced only after the second verb, a common feature of Biblical Hebrew narrative where the subject can follow the verb it governs. Bilhah is identified through the construct phrase shif.Chat Rachel ("maidservant of Rachel", H8198 + H7354), which specifies her relationship and role rather than functioning as a separate clause.

The final phrase, ben sheni le-Ya'akov ("a second son to Jacob", H1121A + H8145 + H3290), uses the ordinal she.Ni ("second", H8145) to number this birth in relation to a previous one, and the preposition le ("to", H9005) attached to Ya'akov ("Jacob", H3290) marks Jacob as the recipient or beneficiary of the birth, a construction typical for expressing "bore to" in Hebrew genealogical notices.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders shif.Chat Rachel ("maidservant of Rachel") with the phrase ἡ παιδίσκη Ῥαχήλ ("the maidservant of Rachel"), matching the Hebrew construct sense. The Vulgate (VULCLEM), however, omits any equivalent to shif.Chat Rachel ("maidservant of Rachel", H8198 + H7354), stating only "Rursumque Bala concipiens" ("And again Bilhah conceiving"), without specifying her relationship to Rachel in this verse.