Genesis 30:21 kjv

And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

Genesis 30:21 nkjv

Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

Genesis 30:21 niv

Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

Genesis 30:21 esv

Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

Genesis 30:21 nlt

Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

Genesis 30 verses

Genesis 30 21 Meaning

Genesis 30:21 records the birth of Dinah, Leah's seventh child and only daughter with Jacob. This verse marks the completion of Leah's sustained period of childbearing after the birth of her sixth son, Zebulun. The name "Dinah" (Hebrew: דִּינָה, Dinah), derived from the root דִּין (din), signifies "judgment" or "vindication." While the naming of Dinah is less elaborately explained than that of her brothers, her name implicitly connects to Leah's ongoing experiences of seeking affirmation and feeling vindicated by God's provision of children in the context of her marital struggles and the rivalry with Rachel. Her birth rounds out Leah's direct lineage recorded in this specific section, before the narrative turns to Rachel conceiving Joseph.

Genesis 30 21 Context

Genesis chapter 30 narrates a period of intense rivalry and spiritual tension within Jacob's household, particularly between his wives, Leah and Rachel, regarding the bearing of children for Jacob. This was a cultural context where large families, especially sons, signified divine favor, prestige, and future security. The competition began in Gen 29:31 when God opened Leah's womb because she was "hated" or less loved than Rachel. Leah bore four sons in quick succession (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah), each named with theological significance reflecting her plea for Jacob's love and her acknowledgment of God's intervention.

When Rachel remained barren, she offered her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob, who bore Dan and Naphtali. Leah, in response, offered her maidservant Zilpah, who bore Gad and Asher. The tension peaked with the mandrakes incident (Gen 30:14-16), where Leah effectively "bought" a night with Jacob from Rachel in exchange for mandrakes, believed to aid fertility. Following this, Leah bore two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, whose names also reflect her understanding of divine recompense and desire for honor. Genesis 30:21 marks the culmination of this immediate period of fertility for Leah, after her six sons, with the birth of her daughter, Dinah. This precedes God finally "remembering" Rachel and opening her womb (Gen 30:22-24). The birth of Dinah completes Leah's direct offspring and sets the stage for the narrative focus to shift to Rachel's impending motherhood.

Genesis 30 21 Word analysis

• Afterward (וְאַחַר֙ - ve'achar): This adverb functions as a chronological connector, indicating sequence. It signals a temporal progression from the immediately preceding event, which was the birth of Zebulun (Gen 30:19-20), implying a continuation of Leah's fertility streak and divine blessing. It links this birth to the continuous flow of events within Jacob's burgeoning family.

• she bore (וַתֵּ֖לֶד - vat'teled): Derived from the root יָלַד (yalad), "to bear" or "give birth." This verb emphasizes the act of childbirth as a divine gift, particularly in a narrative punctuated by the miraculous openings of wombs. It attributes the ability to conceive and deliver children directly to the Lord's intervention, contrasting sharply with human efforts or expectations. This term is used consistently throughout the Genesis narratives to describe a miraculous or significant birth.

• a daughter (בַּ֖ת - bat): This specifies the gender of the child. While sons were typically highly valued for tribal lineage, inheritance, and perpetuation of the family name, daughters were also an important part of a household. Dinah is Jacob's only named daughter among his twelve sons, making her birth unique in this line of a patriarchal family structure. Her later narrative demonstrates the distinct role and vulnerability daughters could face.

• and called (וַתִּקְרָ֥א - vatikra): From the root קָרָא (qara), "to call" or "to name." This verb denotes the act of naming, a significant act in ancient Israelite culture that often conferred identity, reflected circumstances, or declared destiny. In this patriarchal context, while the father typically named the child, the mothers often chose names for their children in Genesis, highlighting their agency and spiritual interpretation of events.

• her name (שְׁמָ֖הּ - sh'mah): Refers to the appellation given to Dinah. In the Bible, names are rarely arbitrary; they frequently convey a prophetic insight, a declaration about God's activity, or an expression of a parent's circumstances, hopes, or spiritual condition. This principle applies especially to the children born in this narrative sequence.

• Dinah (דִּינָֽה - Dinah): This is the proper noun for the daughter. The name directly stems from the Hebrew root דִּין (din), which means "to judge" or "to vindicate" or "to contend." Unlike her brothers whose namings include an explicit statement from Leah about her reasoning (e.g., Reuben: "See, a son!", Issachar: "God has given me my reward"), the precise reason for Dinah's name choice by Leah is not stated in this verse. However, given Leah's previous name choices expressing her spiritual or emotional state in the contention with Rachel, Dinah’s name suggests an implicit vindication, perhaps completing Leah’s sense of justice received from God. Crucially, the name proves profoundly prophetic and ironic in light of Dinah's later tragic encounter described in Genesis 34, which revolves entirely around themes of judgment, vengeance, and perceived dishonor/vindication within the family. The name sets a dramatic tension for her future.

Genesis 30 21 Bonus section

The positioning of Dinah's birth in Genesis 30 is highly strategic. After Dinah, the focus shifts entirely to Rachel (Gen 30:22), indicating that Dinah's birth concludes Leah's role in the competition of childbearing. This structural emphasis prepares the reader for the long-awaited divine remembrance of Rachel and the birth of Joseph. While daughters were not listed in genealogies in the same prominent way as sons, Dinah is distinctly named and identified as Leah's daughter, highlighting her unique, albeit tragic, place in the unfolding story of Jacob's family and the foundations of the twelve tribes. Her singular presence as the only daughter to merit her own narrative segment later reinforces the powerful, even if sometimes distressing, role that women played in biblical history.

Genesis 30 21 Commentary

Genesis 30:21, though brief, is a significant verse, concluding a pivotal phase in the domestic life of Jacob. The birth of Dinah signifies the end of Leah's fertile period as chronicled in this concentrated narrative of successive births, following her six sons. Leah's string of children, despite being the less-loved wife, is repeatedly attributed to God's gracious intervention (Gen 29:31, 30:17). The fact that her final recorded child in this sequence is a daughter named "Dinah" adds layers of theological and dramatic meaning.

The absence of an explicit explanation for Dinah's name, unlike her brothers whose names vividly capture Leah's longing, praise, or sense of divine compensation, leaves room for contemplation. However, the inherent meaning of Dinah as "judgment" or "vindication" is undeniably profound. It resonates with Leah's ongoing personal struggles and rivalry with Rachel, which she had continuously presented before the Lord. God had consistently judged in her favor by granting her more children. Therefore, the name "Dinah" might symbolize the ultimate divine vindication Leah perceived in being fruitful for Jacob, a divine response to her previous emotional "judgment" or state of "contention."

More starkly, Dinah’s name casts a shadow forward to her grim narrative in Genesis 34, where she is violated, leading to her brothers' brutal, excessive "judgment" (or vengeance) against the Hivites. The name then becomes not merely an expression of Leah's past vindication, but a chilling prophecy of the "judgment" and violence that would engulf Dinah and Jacob’s family. Thus, the birth of Dinah, marked by this deceptively simple name, acts as a subtle pivot in the larger narrative, shifting the familial dynamics and foreshadowing future moral and relational complexities for the nascent family of Israel. The divine hand in opening the womb is clear, yet the future trajectory of Dinah’s life underscores that even divinely gifted life can encounter profound human tragedy and require God’s overarching providential oversight.