Zilpah, servant of Leah

Genesis 30:9-13. Zilpah, the handmaiden or servant of Leah, bore two sons to Jacob, named Asher and Gad.

It was the custom of those times, if the wife was barren, then another woman, a servant, would bear children for her.

Zilpah was not from the family of Laban, but was a servant in the extended household.

Zilpah in Hebrew means: Drooping.

Background Reading: – Zilpah

9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her woman servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore a son to Jacob, 11 and Leah exclaimed, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

12 Later, Leah’s servant Zilpah bore a second son for Jacob. 13 She said, “How happy I am, because women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.
Genesis 30:9-13


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