Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
Parallel translations
- WEB Leah said, “How fortunate!” She named him Gad.
- KJV And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
- NKJV Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad.
- NASB Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
- NLT Leah named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I am!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Leah names Zilpah's son Gad, meaning 'fortune' or 'good luck,' rejoicing in another son for Jacob. The name reflects her sense of God's favor amid the rivalry.
Overview
Gad becomes one of the twelve sons who father the tribes of Israel. Leah's exclamation 'How fortunate!' captures her relief and joy at gaining ground in the family contest. Though her motives are mixed, God sovereignly uses even this rivalry to assemble the people through whom the Messiah would eventually come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Gen 49:19Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
- Isa 65:11But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
- Gen 46:16The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
- Gen 35:26And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
- Deut 33:20–21Concerning Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad! He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or a head.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 30:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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