Rachel said, “I have wrestled with my sister with mighty wrestlings, and have prevailed.” She named him Naphtali.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
- BSB Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
- NKJV Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
- NASB So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestling I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.
- NLT Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”
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
Rachel names him Naphtali, declaring she has wrestled mightily with her sister and prevailed.
Overview
Naphtali's name ("my wrestling") openly voices the intense rivalry between Rachel and Leah. Rachel frames her struggle in competitive, even spiritual, terms of striving and victory. The verse candidly shows how the sisters' contest, though sinful in its bitterness, was woven into the formation of the tribes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 32:24–25Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.
- Gen 23:6“Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead.”
- Matt 4:13Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
- Gen 49:21“Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.
- Deut 33:23About Naphtali he said, “Naphtali, satisfied with favor, full of Yahweh’s blessing, Possess the west and the south.”
- Exod 9:28Pray to Yahweh; for there has been enough of mighty thunderings and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”
- Gen 46:24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
- Gen 35:25The sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s servant): Dan and Naphtali.
- 1 Sam 14:15There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the raiders, also trembled; and the earth quaked, so there was an exceedingly great trembling.
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 30:8 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.