And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.-Genesis 30:1-13***Leah and Rachel were the daughters born to Laban the Syrian (Aramean). Laban and his sister Rebekah were born to Bethuel the Syrian (Aramean). Bethel was born to Nahor and Milcah. Nahor and his siblings Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai) were born to Terah. Abraham and Sarah's only child Isaac was married to Rebekah. Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) were the fraternal twin sons born to Isaac and Rebekah. After Rebekah led Jacob into deceiving Isaac and cheating Esau, Rebekah's words to Isaac led Isaac to send Jacob from their home in Canaan to the home of Bethuel and Laban in Haran, Padan Aram, in northern Mesopotamia. Shortly after arriving, Laban and Jacob made a 7-year deal for Laban's youngest daughter Rachel to become Jacob's wife. However, Laban's deception led to Jacob becoming the husband of Laban's oldest daughter Leah. After Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah were born to Jacob and Leah, Rachel arranged for physical intimacy between Jacob and maidservant Bilhah, and Dan and Naphtali were born. Leah arranged for physical intimacy between Jacob and maidservant Zilpah, and Gad and Asher were born. Moreover, Issachar, Zebulun, and daughter Dinah, were born to Jacob and Leah, and Joseph was born to Jacob and Rachel. After Jacob and his family secretly journeyed away from Laban's, Jacob and Esau were reunited, and Benjamin was born in Canaan, near Bethlehem, and Rachel died. The tribes of Israel are the families of the 12 sons. When Jacob was 130 years old, he moved with his family from Canaan to Egypt, the country wherein Joseph was second-in-command. In Egypt, Jacob proclaimed Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons born to Joseph and his wife Asenath, to be his own son. Thus, the tribe of Joseph became the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim. Sometime after 147-year-old Jacob died in Egypt and Jacob's family buried his body in Canaan, and 110-year-old Joseph and his siblings were dead, their descendants the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were Israelites from the tribe of Levi. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, they led the Israelites away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, according to the commands of the Lord God. Joshua, Moses' successor from the tribe of Ephraim, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob and their descendants. Over 1,300 years after 110-year-old Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
Reference Information:
Asher = ashar = happy, to go straight on
Dan = din/diyn = judge, govern
Gad = guwd or gadad = fortune, invasive cut, expose treasure
Naphtali = pathal/patal = my wrestlings, to twist, crafty