Then God remembered Rachel
The phrase "Then God remembered Rachel" is deeply significant in the Hebrew context. The Hebrew word for "remembered" is "זָכַר" (zakar), which implies more than just recalling to mind. It suggests an active intervention by God in response to a covenant or promise. In the biblical narrative, when God "remembers," it often precedes divine action. This phrase indicates God's faithfulness and His attentiveness to Rachel's plight. Rachel, who had been barren, was in a state of longing and desperation. Her situation reflects the broader biblical theme of God’s compassion and His timing, which is perfect and purposeful. This remembrance is not merely a mental act but a divine movement towards fulfilling His promises and showing mercy.

He listened to her
The phrase "He listened to her" underscores the personal relationship between God and His people. The Hebrew root for "listened" is "שָׁמַע" (shama), which means to hear intelligently, often with the implication of attention and obedience. This suggests that God was not only aware of Rachel's prayers and cries but was also moved to respond. In the biblical context, God’s listening is an assurance of His presence and His willingness to engage with human concerns. Rachel's persistent prayers and cries for a child were heard by God, highlighting the power and importance of prayer in the believer's life. It is a reminder that God is attentive to the cries of His people and responds in His perfect timing.

and opened her womb
The phrase "and opened her womb" is a powerful testament to God's sovereignty over life and fertility. The Hebrew word for "opened" is "פָּתַח" (pathach), which means to open wide or to set free. In the ancient Near Eastern context, fertility was often seen as a direct blessing from God, and barrenness was a source of great distress and social stigma. By opening Rachel's womb, God not only answered her personal prayers but also fulfilled His larger covenantal promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding their descendants. This act of opening the womb is symbolic of God’s ability to bring life and hope where there was once barrenness and despair. It serves as a reminder of God’s power to transform situations and His faithfulness to His promises. Rachel's account is a testament to the belief that God is the giver of life and that He can bring about miraculous change in the lives of those who trust in Him.

(22-24) God remembered Rachel.--Rachel's long barrenness had probably humbled and disciplined her; and, cured of her former petulance, she trusts no longer to "love-apples," but looks to God for the great blessing of children. He hearkens to her prayer, and remembers her. (Comp. 1Samuel 1:19.) In calling his name Joseph, there is again a play upon two words, for it may be formed from the verb used in Genesis 30:23, and would then mean he takes away; or it may signify he adds, which is the meaning made prominent by Rachel. And God did add to her another son, but the boon cost her her life. As Joseph was born six or seven years before Jacob left Padan-aram, Rachel had been barren for twenty-six years. We must add that in her joy at Joseph's birth there is no trace of the ungenerous triumph over Leah so marked in her rejoicing at the birth of the sons of Bilhah; and in her trust that "Jehovah would add to her another son," she evidently had in mind the covenant promises, which a son of her own womb might now inherit. As a matter of fact, the long struggle for supremacy lay between the houses of Joseph and Judah; and Judah finally prevailed.

Verses 22-24. - And God remembered Rachel (cf. Genesis 8:1; 1 Samuel 1:19), and God hearkened to her, - as to Leah (ver. 17) - and opened her womb - as he had previously done to Leah (Genesis 29:31). Rachel's barrenness had not continued so long as either Sarah's or Rebekah's. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach - i.e. of sterility. The mandrakes of Leah having proved inefficacious, Rachel at length realizes that children are God s gift, and this thought sufficiently explains the use of the term Elohim. And she called his name Joseph; - יוסֵפ, either, "he takes away," with allusion to the removal of her reproach, or, "he shall add," with reference to her hope of another son. Perhaps the first thought is not obscurely hinted at, though the second appears' from the ensuing clause to have occupied the greater prominence in Rachel's mind - and said, The Lord - Jehovah; a trace of the Jehovistic pen (Tuch, Bleek, et alii); rather an outcome of the higher spiritual life of Rachel, who had now got emancipated from all such merely human devices as resorting to mandrakes, and was able to recognize her complete dependence for offspring on the sovereign grace of the covenant God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (Hengstenberg, Keil) - shall add to me another son.

CHAPTER 30:25-43

Parallel Commentaries ...

Then God
אֱלֹהִ֖ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

remembered
וַיִּזְכֹּ֥ר (way·yiz·kōr)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2142: To mark, to remember, to mention, to be male

Rachel.
רָחֵ֑ל (rā·ḥêl)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 7354: Rachel -- a wife of Jacob

He
אֱלֹהִ֔ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

listened
וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע (way·yiš·ma‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

to
אֵלֶ֙יהָ֙ (’ê·le·hā)
Preposition | third person feminine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

her and opened
וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח (way·yip̄·taḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6605: To open wide, to loosen, begin, plough, carve

her womb,
רַחְמָֽהּ׃ (raḥ·māh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 7358: The womb


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OT Law: Genesis 30:22 God remembered Rachel and God listened (Gen. Ge Gn)