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 said, 'Here is my servant Bilhah—sleep with her, and she will give birth with me supporting her, so that I can have children through her.'
Rachel is offering her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a surrogate mother so she can have children through her when she cannot conceive herself.
📚 Historical Context
This was a common ancient Near Eastern practice where barren wives would give their female servants to their husbands to bear children on their behalf. The phrase 'bear upon my knees' refers to a birthing custom where the legal mother would hold the birth mother during delivery, symbolically claiming the child as her own. This practice was legally and socially accepted in that culture as a solution to childlessness.
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