Genesis 30:8 kjv

And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

Genesis 30:8 nkjv

Then Rachel said, "With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.

Genesis 30:8 niv

Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali.

Genesis 30:8 esv

Then Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.

Genesis 30:8 nlt

Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, "I have struggled hard with my sister, and I'm winning!"

Genesis 30 verses

Genesis 30 8 Meaning

Genesis 30:8 recounts Rachel's naming of Naphtali, Bilhah's second son. Rachel declares, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed." This name reflects her perception of an intense, God-empowered struggle against her sister Leah for children and status within the household. The phrase "mighty wrestlings" signifies an extraordinary or divine struggle, emphasizing the depth of her emotional and spiritual anguish, culminating in a perceived victory with the birth of this son.

Genesis 30 8 Context

Genesis chapter 30 occurs during a period of intense rivalry between Jacob's wives, Leah and Rachel, primarily driven by the societal and cultural imperative to bear children, especially sons. Barrenness was considered a great reproach and often a sign of divine displeasure. Leah, initially unloved by Jacob, was blessed with multiple sons, while Rachel, whom Jacob deeply loved, remained barren. This led to desperation on Rachel's part, culminating in her giving her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a surrogate (Gen 30:1-3). After Bilhah bears Dan (meaning "he has judged/vindicated"), she bears another son. The birth of this second son to her surrogate provides Rachel with another moment of perceived victory in her ongoing "fertility contest" with Leah. Her naming of this son Naphtali is a declaration rooted in her deep emotional turmoil, relief, and perception that her desperate struggles were finally being answered by God.

Genesis 30 8 Word analysis

• Then Rachel said: Establishes the speaker and marks a significant pronouncement tied to the preceding event of Bilhah's childbirth. Rachel's voice and naming act are central to the verse's meaning.
• 'With mighty wrestlings': Transliterated from the Hebrew naftulei elohim (נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים).
  • Naftulei (נַפְתּוּלֵי): From the root patal (פָּתַל), meaning "to twist, wrestle, struggle, be entangled, to contend with." It signifies a severe, intense, or even tortuous struggle. The feminine plural ending emphasizes the numerous or pervasive nature of these struggles.
  • Elohim (אֱלֹהִים): While typically meaning "God," in this construct, it functions as an "intensive plural" or "superlative," meaning "great," "mighty," or "divine." Thus, naftulei elohim means "great/mighty/divine wrestlings." This is not a wrestling with God, but a wrestling whose intensity or source is of a divine scale, indicating God's hand in her affliction or her desperate cry to God amidst it.
• 'I have wrestled': Transliterated from niphtalti (נִפְתַּלְתִּי). This is the Piel verb form of patal (the same root as naftulei), meaning "I have truly wrestled" or "I have vigorously contended." The use of the same root twice (cognate accusative) intensifies the action, emphasizing the reality and severity of her struggle.
• 'with my sister': Transliterated from achoti (אֲחֹתִי). This explicitly identifies the direct object and competitor in Rachel's struggle – Leah. The conflict is deeply personal and domestic, a reflection of the larger narrative of sibling rivalry in Genesis.
• 'and I have prevailed': Transliterated from vegam yakholti (וְגַם יָכֹלְתִּי).
  • Yakholti (יָכֹלְתִּי): From the root yakol (יָכֹל), meaning "to be able," "to be strong enough," "to succeed," "to overcome." This expresses Rachel's perceived victory or success in her struggle for children, particularly in this immediate contest for number of sons, with Bilhah contributing a second one for Rachel.
  • Vegam (וְגַם): The conjunction "and also" or "even so," emphasizing that despite the arduous struggle, she did indeed prevail.
• 'So she called his name Naphtali': Transliterated from naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי). This name is derived directly from the root patal (פָּתַל), making it an etymological link to "wrestling" or "my struggle." The name itself acts as a permanent memorial to Rachel's perception of her hard-fought victory.

Words-group by words-group analysis

• "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled" (נַפְתּוּלֵי אֱלֹהִים נִפְתַּלְתִּי): This phrase is a powerful declaration of intense personal strife. The naftulei elohim elevates Rachel's struggle from a mere human rivalry to a significant, divinely-influenced battle. It evokes a sense of epic contest, whether she is wrestling against circumstances ordained by God, for God's favor, or simply feeling the immensity of a struggle permitted by God. This foreshadows Jacob's later wrestling encounter with God (Gen 32:24-30), where El is also present, suggesting a pattern of the patriarchs engaging in profound, often physical or spiritual, encounters linked to their identity and destiny.
• "with my sister, and I have prevailed": This part highlights the immediate context of her perceived victory. The "wrestling" is clearly directed against Leah in this fertility competition, demonstrating the deep emotional pain and jealousy fueling her actions. The "prevailing" reflects her subjective sense of success at this point, marking another step forward in acquiring sons and affirming her standing within the household. It shows Rachel's human, sometimes flawed, perspective in attributing victory in her desperate quest for children.

Genesis 30 8 Bonus section

The intensely personal and emotive nature of Rachel's declaration regarding "mighty wrestlings" is a unique insight into the patriarchal narrative. Unlike other name-givings which are often attributed directly to divine action or straightforward events, Rachel frames Naphtali's birth around her deeply personal spiritual and emotional agony and effort. This distinguishes it, highlighting that not all "successes" were purely passive reception of blessings; some involved intense internal struggle. This also reminds us that biblical characters, even matriarchs, were complex individuals grappling with human frailties and societal pressures, and God works through these real human conditions. The etymological connection between Naphtali (Rachel's name for Bilhah's son) and the root "patal" further reinforces that this name was chosen precisely to commemorate Rachel's fierce and overwhelming personal struggle for honor and motherhood within her polygamous family dynamic.

Genesis 30 8 Commentary

Genesis 30:8 reveals Rachel's raw emotion and intense spiritual battle. Her declaration, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed," encapsulates the desperation of a woman in the ancient Near East facing barrenness and the rivalry among co-wives. The "mighty wrestlings" (naftulei elohim) are not necessarily a physical struggle, but an profound emotional, spiritual, and existential contest—a fervent and relentless grappling for the blessing of children that she believed her sister Leah was receiving in abundance. The use of "Elohim" signifies the magnitude of this struggle, implying either a struggle of divine proportion, one that is God-permitted, or a direct striving against what she perceived as God's withholding.

Her statement, "I have prevailed," while premature in the larger scheme (as she later struggles intensely before bearing Joseph), reflects a momentary sense of triumph after Bilhah's second son. This child's birth provides her with an additional son by proxy, leveling the playing field temporarily in the eyes of society and herself.

The theological significance lies in recognizing God's sovereignty even amidst human messiness, sin, and rivalry. Despite the competitive actions and the unconventional use of surrogates, God is weaving a narrative for the formation of the twelve tribes of Israel. Rachel's struggle, rooted in her longing for divine blessing, is met not directly with children from her own womb at this point, but through a roundabout path that eventually contributes to God's greater plan. The name Naphtali, meaning "my wrestling," serves as a constant reminder of this deeply personal and spiritual battle waged by Rachel, mirroring the future struggles and perseverance that would characterize the nascent nation of Israel, as seen in Jacob's wrestling with God, a literal fulfillment of this very motif.