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.

GENESIS 30:6KJV
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Genesis 30:6 (KJV)

What does Genesis 30:6 mean?

Genesis 30:6 records Rachel’s response to the birth of a son through her servant Bilhah. Rachel sees the birth as God answering her plea and deciding in her favor. She gives the child a name that recalls that judgment.

Rachel speaks after Bilhah bears a son to Jacob. Earlier, Rachel had proposed that Bilhah bear a child for her, so that Rachel might have a family through her (Genesis 30:3). Her words show that she regards the child as a son given to her.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 30:6

  • “judged” — דָּן (dan): This form carries the sense of judging or deciding a case. Here Rachel understands the decision as being in her favor.
  • “Dan” — דָּן (dan): The name echoes the word translated “judged.” The sound of the name preserves Rachel’s explanation for choosing it.

Why Genesis 30:6 matters

  • Rachel’s words connect the birth to her plea to God. “Heard my voice” presents the event as an answer to what she had said to him.
  • The family arrangement matters for understanding “given me a son.” Bilhah is the child’s birth mother, while Rachel claims the child as hers under the arrangement she proposed in Genesis 30:3.
  • Rachel’s choice of name gives the child’s birth a place in the tension between the sisters. Earlier, Rachel had seen that Leah was bearing children while she was not (Genesis 30:1).

Where else these words appear

“judged” Hebrew H1777 · used in 24 verses

  • Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
  • Psalms 7:8 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
  • Proverbs 31:9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

“Rachel” Hebrew H7354 · used in 44 verses

  • Genesis 29:6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.
  • Genesis 30:1 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.
  • Genesis 33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

“Dan” Hebrew H1835 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
  • Deuteronomy 33:22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
  • 2 Samuel 17:11 Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.