Bible Study Online Article
We now find that Jacob has eight sons between all four women. Leah had jumped out first in the child bearing competition by giving birth to Jacob's first four sons. Rachel at this time had found herself to be barren and so therefore she became jealous and envious of Leah. Rachel would then provide her husband with Bilhah her maidservant in hopes that she can build a family through her. This way in her mind she would feel like she was keeping up with her sister Leah when it came to the child bearing game. Because of this, Bilhah would give birth to Jacob's next two sons, which would cause Leah to abandon all reason and fall into the trap of competing with Rachel. Leah had not given birth in over a year, and with Rachel now building a family through Bilhah, she would begin to feel the pressure and threaten when it came to her being able to keep the family building advantage over her sister. In response to Rachel, she would offer Zilpah her own maidservant to Jacob. The promise bearer would accept Zilpah as his new wife and soon after she would bear him his next two sons. This would give Jacob eight sons in total and with team Leah now holding an even bigger child bearing edge, how will Rachel respond. One day during a wheat harvest we would find that Leah's oldest son Reuben was out and about in which he would find some mandrake plants. Now we don't exactly know what these mandrake plants were. These plants are believed to have been some type of rare fruit or flowers or perhaps a combination of the two. Now I don't want to make this page to be about mandrake plants so I won't go into great depth when it comes to these very interesting species of plants. Now I say 'these'... because from my own research I was able to find many different mandrake plant species. I will list two just for curiosity sake. This mandrake plant is very narcotic and has a long fleshly forked root that could resemble a human body at times.
This plant is used mainly for medicinal and mystical purposes, and although they are considered poisonous, they are believed to be very efficient for the human body in the medicinal sense. This plant is still used in today's modern times when it comes to revivalism religions like Odinism (Norse Mythology) in which they are known to worship Odin -- The god of wisdom and death. This particular mandrake is also used in neo-pagan religions like Wicca, in which they practice -- spells, herbalism and divination -- a.k.a 'The Old Religion.' Although Wiccans try to separate themselves by trying to make the claim that they are different when it comes to the practice of Witchcraft (Witches & Warlocks), they still incorporate a specific form of witchcraft in some way or fashion. F.Y.I. (This plant has also been featured in popular movies like The Harry Potter Series and Pan's Labyrinth.) Is a Perennial herb that grows to about one to two feet in height and bears a fruit that are small and yellow in color.
This particular mandrake plant grows over here in North America and was used by the Indians for medicinal purposes as well. They would use this herb to help with conditions like worms in the intestines and the removal of warts and moles. Now although the plant is considered poisonous, the fruit it bears is considered to have no medicinal benefits and has a syrupy taste. We are not sure which mandrake plant was used for this biblical account and remember I just listed two for curiosity sake. But what we do know is that they were used when it came to helping women with their fertility issues back during the time of Leah and Rachel. After Reuben had brought his mother the mandrakes, Rachel had seen them, and being that she was barren, she asked her sister if she could have some. "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes," Rachel pleaded with her sister. "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you now take away my son's mandrakes too?" Leah fired back. "Very well, he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes," Rachel responded. Leah would accept this arrangement with her sister and when Jacob arrived home she went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me tonight, I have hired you with my son's mandrakes," Leah told her husband. So Jacob would sleep with his wife Leah that night and she would indeed get pregnant and bore Jacob his fifth son which would make it nine in total for the promise bearer. "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband," Leah would happily say. She would name this child Issachar in which his name means (a hire or my reward). For she did hire her husband (in her own way) for that night and was felt like she was rewarded by God for doing so. Sometime later, Leah would conceive again in which she bored Jacob his sixth son which made ten in total for the promise bearer. She would name this child Zebulun in which his name means (dwelling or honor). "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor because I have borne him six sons," Leah would say pridefully. God would also bless Leah with the honor of bearing Jacob a daughter, that they named Dinah. It's important to remember her name, for she will be involved in a tragic account a little later on. Team Leah also holds a one to nothing advantage when it comes to daughters as well. Will God continue to keep Rachel barrenness or will He finally answer her prayer? Start at: The Introduction of Abraham Start at: The Birth of Isaac Start at: The Birth of Esau & Jacob 43) Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty 44) Jacob - The Stone Pillow Dream 46) Jacob - The Love Season of Reaping 50) <-CURRENT PAGE->  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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