Bilhah’s Sons (1-8)

Rachel and Jacob fell into an immense fight brought on by Rachel’s envy of her sister having children, while she remained most loved by Jacob but barren. Rachel became so unreasonable that she blamed her infertility on Jacob. Rachel resorted to Sarah’s plan to have her servant marry Jacob, conceive his child, and then give birth into her lap, making the child Rachel’s, one she provided for Jacob (1-3). Jacob submitted to the idea and Bilhah conceived twice and gave birth to:

• Fifth, Dan, “God is judge,” assuming God had vindicated her scheme (4-6).

• Sixth, Naphtali, “Wrestling,” assuming she had wrestled with her sister and prevailed (7-8). 

Zilpah's Sons (9-13)

In the spirit of competition, Leah realized she had ceased bearing children, so she gave Zilpah to Jacob in seeking to win the most-children-sweepstakes (9). Zilpah conceived and bore Jacob two more sons:

• Seventh, Gad, “Good fortune,” celebrating she was still winning the birth-rate competition with Rachel (10-11).

• Eighth, Asher, “Happy,” for obvious reasons (12-13). 

Leah Buys Jacob (14-21)

One day, Reuben was in the field during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes. He brought them back to his mother Leah, and she boastfully showed them to her sister Rachel. Mandrakes were considered a sort of aphrodisiac to aid in the fertility process. You can almost see Leah teasing her sister, as she would brag about eating them and maybe ending her own barrenness. Rachel, having had no children, wanted the mandrakes and asked her sister to share her good fortune. Leah refused, citing that she had lost her husband’s love, so why would she give up the only joy she had in life, the potential of having more children? Rachel then bartered the mandrakes in exchange for sleeping privileges with Jacob. It was Jacob’s night to sleep with Rachel, but for the mandrakes, she would yield the rights to Leah (14-15).

As soon as Jacob was coming in from a long day of harvesting wheat, Leah met Jacob and told him the deal she had bartered from her sister—she had hired him for sex that night (16-17). Not wanting any more fighting, exhausted Jacob slept with Leah, and God gave Jacob a ninth and then later a tenth son:

• Ninth, Issachar, “God has given me my wages.”

• Tenth, Zebulun, “Exalted,” assuming that finally Jacob would honor and respect her, recognizing the Lord had so exalted and rewarded her (18-20). 

Later, Leah gave birth to the most prominent of all of Jacob’s daughters, Dinah (21). 

Rachel’s Son (22-24)

Nothing Rachel tried worked in regard to her getting pregnant, including the mandrakes, so she resorted to prayer. Rachel cried out to God; Yahweh remembered her and touched her womb, and she became pregnant and gave birth to her son. At the birth of her son, Rachel gave credit to God for removing the shame of her barrenness. She named her son:

• Eleventh, Joseph, “May He add,” as a prayer to Yahweh that He might add another son to their family (22-24).