Bible Strands
Genesis 29:24
And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Laban acts as the narrative agent at the conclusion of Jacob’s wedding night, following the presentation of Leah and preceding Jacob’s morning protest.
The words — The verb וַיִּתֵּן (va-yitten) means “and he gave,” marking Laban’s formal transfer of his servant Zilpah to Leah. This action establishes a domestic arrangement rather than a marital one.
The thread — The text records Zilpah’s initial placement with Leah (Genesis 29:24), later notes her transfer to Jacob as a wife (Genesis 30:9), and lists her descendants in the family register (Genesis 46:18).
Why it lands — The verse documents a patriarchal household arrangement where a father distributes a servant to a daughter, requiring the reader to track how domestic transfers shape subsequent family dynamics.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.
Cross-references
- Genesis 16:1 Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
- Genesis 30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.
- Genesis 46:18 These are the sons of Jacob born to Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.
- Genesis 24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.