8
Rachelרָחֵלsaid,וַתֹּאמֶר“With wrestlingsנַפְתּוּלֵיof ElohimאֱלֹהִיםI have wrestledנִפְתַּלְתִּיwith my sister,עִם אֲחֹתִיand I have prevailed.”גַּם יָכֹלְתִּיSo she calledוַתִּקְרָאhis nameשְׁמוֹNaphtali.נַפְתָּלִי
Genesis 30:8
Study it in the app“Rachel said, “With wrestlings of Elohim I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 30:8, word by word
- Rachelרָחֵלrachel
Rachel
Rachel, younger daughter of Laban, Jacob's beloved wife; mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Her name means "ewe".
Where else “rachel” appears- saidתֹּאמֶרtomer
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “tomer” appears- “With wrestlingsנַפְתּוּלֵיnaftule
wrestlings
Struggles, wrestlings. It occurs only in Genesis 30:8.
Where else “naftule” appears- of Elohimאֱלֹהִיםelohim
Elohim
The one true God, the Creator; the word is plural but means one.
Where else “elohim” appears- I have wrestledנִפְתַּלְתִּיniftalti
wrestle
Grapple with someone, body to body.
Where else “niftalti” appears- with my sisterאֲחֹתִachoti
sister
A woman who has the same parents as another person, or belongs to their family.
Where else “achoti” appears- and I have prevailedיָכֹלְתִּיyacholti
prevail
To come out victorious against someone stronger or greater.
Where else “yacholti” appears- So she calledתִּקְרָאtikra
call
To raise the voice to someone so that he comes, or to invite him.
Where else “tikra” appears- his nameשְׁמshem
name
The word by which a person, place or thing is called and recognized.
Where else “shem” appears- Naphtaliנַפְתָּלִיnaftali
Naphtali
Naphtali, a son of Jacob and Bilhah; also the tribe that came from him and its land. The name sounds like "wrestle".
Where else “naftali” appears
Translation note
“Naphtali” sounds like “I have wrestled” (niftalti).
The context
7Bilhah, Rachel’s slave woman, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 · This verse (above)
9Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, and she took Zilpah her slave woman and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
To study Genesis 30 in a group
1. What it says
How did Jacob prosper with Laban’s flocks (vv. 37-43)?
2. What it means
What does the rivalry between Rachel and Leah over having children show (vv. 1, 14-15)?
3. How I live it
How can you rejoice in what others receive instead of comparing yourself with them?