Genesis 30:6

Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Rachel speaks to Jacob and the household immediately after Bilhah bears her first son, announcing the birth of her own child. She declares this publicly as she names the boy Dan.

The words — The Hebrew דָּנַנִּי (dānannî) literally means "He has vindicated me," paired with אֱלֹהִים (ʾĕlōhîm) for "God." Rachel uses these terms to state that God has heard her plea (שָׁמַע בְּקֹלִי) and given (וַיִּתֵּן) her a son.

The thread — The verb for vindication echoes petitions in Lamentations 3:59, Psalm 35:24, and Psalm 43:1, where the speaker calls God to plead their case against injustice. Rachel applies this legal language to her personal struggle for motherhood.

Why it lands — The text records Rachel’s factual declaration of God’s intervention without embellishment. It requires the reader to recognize that naming functions as a public testimony of divine action in human circumstances.

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

וַתֹּ֤אמֶרva./To.merand/ she said רָחֵל֙ra.ChelRachel דָּנַ֣נִּיda.Na./nihe has vindicated/ me אֱלֹהִ֔ים'E.lo.HimGod וְגַם֙ve./Gamand/ also שָׁמַ֣עsha.Ma'he has listened בְּקֹלִ֔יbe./ko.L/ito/ voice/ my וַיִּתֶּן־va/i.yi.ten-and/ he has givenלִ֖יl/ito <the>/ meבֵּ֑ןBena son עַל־'al-there-כֵּ֛ןken-fore קָרְאָ֥הka.re.'Ahshe called שְׁמ֖וֹshe.M/oname/ his דָּֽן׃DanDan

King James Version

And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

Cross-references

Lamentations 3:59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me; vindicate my cause!
Psalms 35:24 Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me.
Psalms 43:1 Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
Genesis 49:16 Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Genesis 29:32 And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
Genesis 35:25 The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.
Genesis 46:23 The son of Dan: Hushim.
Deuteronomy 33:22 Concerning Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, leaping out of Bashan.”
Jeremiah 13:2 So I bought a loincloth in accordance with the word of the LORD, and I put it around my waist.
Jeremiah 13:24 “I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind.

People named

RachelDan