The Meaning of Genesis 30:16 Explained

Genesis 30:16

KJV: And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

YLT: And Jacob cometh in from the field at evening; and Leah goeth to meet him, and saith, 'Unto me dost thou come in, for hiring I have hired thee with my son's love-apples;' and he lieth with her during that night.

Darby: And when Jacob came from the fields in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in to me, for indeed I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

ASV: And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Jacob  came  out of the field  in the evening,  and Leah  went out  to meet  him, and said,  Thou must come in  unto me; for surely  I have hired  thee with my son's  mandrakes.  And he lay  with her that night. 

What does Genesis 30:16 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 30:1-24 - Sons Born To Jacob
The details of this paragraph are given with great minuteness, because they concern the twelve sons of Jacob, the forefathers of Israel. After all, history is made in the nursery, and we are very much what our mothers have made us in the formative years. An old Spanish proverb says, "An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy." Leah's influence on her boys, as judged by their subsequent life, was anything but healthy; yet with Jacob being the man he was, there was poor chance for them to realize the highest ideals. Rachel's anguish of heart led her to earnest prayer. Compare Genesis 30:1; Genesis 30:22. Wait on God, oh, anguished ones: ye shall surely have reason to praise him. Was it not worth waiting for, to bear a Joseph, whose branches were to run over the wall in blessing? There are more compensations in life than we think for. If Rachel had her husband's love, Leah had a large family of boys. In the saddest lives there are glints of sunshine. [source]

Chapter Summary: Genesis 30

1  Rachel, in grief for her barrenness, gives Bilhah her maid unto Jacob
5  Bilhah bears Dan and Naphtali
9  Leah gives Zilpah her maid, who bears Gad and Asher
14  Reuben finds mandrakes,
15  with which Leah buys her husband's company of Rachel
17  Leah bears Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah
22  Rachel bears Joseph
25  Jacob desires to depart
27  Laban detains him on a new agreement
37  Jacob's policy, whereby he becomes rich

What do the individual words in Genesis 30:16 mean?

And when came Jacob out of the field in the evening then went out Leah to meet him and said to me you must come in for surely I have hired you with mandrakes of my son And he lay with her night that
וַיָּבֹ֨א יַעֲקֹ֣ב מִן־ הַשָּׂדֶה֮ בָּעֶרֶב֒ וַתֵּצֵ֨א לֵאָ֜ה לִקְרָאת֗וֹ וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֵלַ֣י תָּב֔וֹא כִּ֚י שָׂכֹ֣ר שְׂכַרְתִּ֔יךָ בְּדוּדָאֵ֖י בְּנִ֑י וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב עִמָּ֖הּ בַּלַּ֥יְלָה הֽוּא

וַיָּבֹ֨א  And  when  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
יַעֲקֹ֣ב  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.
מִן־  out 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
הַשָּׂדֶה֮  of  the  field 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
בָּעֶרֶב֒  in  the  evening 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֶרֶב  
Sense: evening, night, sunset.
וַתֵּצֵ֨א  then  went  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
לֵאָ֜ה  Leah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: לֵאָה  
Sense: daughter of Laban, first wife of Jacob, and mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah.
לִקְרָאת֗וֹ  to  meet  him 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to encounter, befall, meet.
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלַ֣י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
תָּב֔וֹא  you  must  come  in 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
שָׂכֹ֣ר  surely 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: סָכַר  
Sense: to hire.
שְׂכַרְתִּ֔יךָ  I  have  hired  you 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: סָכַר  
Sense: to hire.
בְּדוּדָאֵ֖י  with  mandrakes 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: דּוּדָאִים 
Sense: mandrake, love-apple.
בְּנִ֑י  of  my  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב  And  he  lay 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
עִמָּ֖הּ  with  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
בַּלַּ֥יְלָה  night 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
הֽוּא  that 
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.

What are the major concepts related to Genesis 30:16?

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