When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
When Leah realized she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
Leah gave her servant to Jacob as another wife because she wanted to continue having children through her.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Genesis, Jacob was married to two sisters, Leah and Rachel, who were in a rivalry for his affection and the status that came from bearing children. Leah had already given birth to several children but had stopped, leading her to give her maidservant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife, mirroring Rachel's earlier action with her own maid. This practice was rooted in ancient Near Eastern customs where women in patriarchal societies used surrogates to secure their family legacy and fulfill social expectations.
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