Barren Women/0

Barren Women

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Introduction

Tanakh records six cases of women who had difficulty conceiving but then miraculously gave birth to a son:

• Sarah (and Avraham) and the birth of Yitzchak (Bereshit 16-21Bereshit 16Bereshit 17:15-22Bereshit 18:10-15Bereshit 21:1-7)
• Rivkah (and Yitzchak) and the birth of Esav and Yaakov (Bereshit 25)
• Rachel (and Yaakov) and the birth of Yosef (Bereshit 29-30Bereshit 29:16-31Bereshit 30:1-8Bereshit 30:22-24)
• Manoach's wife (and Manoach) and the birth of Shimshon (Shofetim 13)
• Channah (and Elkanah) and the birth of Shemuel (Shemuel I 1)
• The woman from Shunam and the birth of her son (Melakhim II 4)

The significant parallels between the stories suggest that the barrenness of the women was not random, and that both the initial inability to bear children and the subsequent conceptions were Divinely planned. What, though, was the goal of this barrenness?

Content Parallels

• Elderly husbands – Avraham (Bereshit 18:12), Yaakov (Bereshit 37:3), and the Shunamite's husband (Melakhim II 4:14) are all described as old.¹ In the cases of Avraham and the Shunamite's husband the adjective is used to explain why they are childless. Yaakov, on the other hand, is simply described as having a "son of his old age".
• Doting husbands – Yitzchak (Bereshit 24:67), Yaakov (Bereshit 29:18,20,30), and Elkanah (Shemuel I 1:5) are all said explicitly to have loved their barren wife.  By Yaakov and Elkanah, this serves to highlight their love for one wife over another.²
• Replacement maid – Both Sarah (Bereshit 16) and Rachel (Bereshit 30:1-8), despairing of giving birth, offer their maid to their husband as a wife ("וַתִּתֵּן... לְאִשָּׁה"), hoping to use them as a surrogate mother ("אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה"). The husband takes the maid as an additional wife, and the maid immediately proceeds to become pregnant and give birth. Interestingly, while the relationship between Sarah and her maid Hagar immediately sours, leaving the son to be named by Hagar, their is no conflict between Rachel and her maid Bilhah, and both of Bilhah's sons are named by Rachel.
• Second wife – Both Rachel and Channah compete with a second, more fertile, wife.³ See Rachel and Channah for more details.
• Prayer – Yitzchak (Bereshit 25:21) prays for Rivkah to give birth, while Channah prays for herself (Shemuel I 1:10-11). Rachel may have prayed as well, as it is mentioned twice that God listened to her (Bereshit 30:6,22), but no actual prayer is recorded.
• Prophetic promise or blessing of son – Avraham receives two promises that Sarah will have a son, once by God (Bereshit 17:15-22) and once by angels (Bereshit 18:10-15). Manoach's wife is also told by an angel that she will give birth to a son (Shofetim 13:3-5), and the Shunamite receives a similar blessing from the prophet Elisha (Melakhim II 4:16). Channah does not receive an explicit promise of a son, but Eli, the priest, blesses her that God will fulfill her request (which was for a son) (Shemuel I 1:17). Rivka does not receive a promise prior to becoming pregnant, but she does receive Divine guidance relating to her pregnancy (Bereshit 25:22-23).
• Promise of son's later prominence – In three cases a Divine pronouncement is made regarding the child's future. Avraham is promised that Yitzchak will inherit his covenant (Bereshit 17:19). Rivkah is promised that her twin sons will each become a nation (Bereshit 25:23), and Manoach's wife is promised that Shimshon will begin to save Israel from the Philistines (Shofetim 13:5).
• Divine intervention – By four of the women, we are told explicitly that Hashem intervened and "remembered" the woman's plight.  The verses state: "וַי"י פָּקַד" by Sarah (Bereshit 21:1), "וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ י"י" by Rivkah (Bereshit 25:21), "וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱ-לֹהִים" by Rachel (Bereshit 30:22), and "וַיִּזְכְּרֶהָ י"י" by Channah (Shemuel I 1:19).
• Child naming – In all of the cases besides the Shunamite,⁴ the text records the naming of the son. In Sarah's case, Avraham names the son Yitzchak (Bereshit 21:3), although this name was preordained by God (Bereshit 17:19).  Sarah relates the name to her laughter (Bereshit 21:6, and cf. Bereshit 17:17, 18:12-13,15). Rivka and Yitzchak jointly name their first son Esav, while Yitzchak names the second son Yaakov (Bereshit 25:25-26).  The text also provides the explanation for the names. Rachel names her son Yosef, explicitly connecting the name to her desire for children (Bereshit 30:23-24). Channah does the same when she names her son Shemuel (Shemuel I 1:20). Finally, Manoach's wife names her son Shimshon, but no explanation is given (Shofetim 13:24).
• Favorite son – In four of the cases, there are clear signs that the parents favor the son more than his other siblings:⁵ Yitzchak is the chosen son of Avraham and he alone inherits (Bereshit 25:5-6), Yaakov is explicitly preferred by Rivkah (Bereshit 25:28),⁶ Yosef receives a coat as a sign of his father's favor (Bereshit 37:3-4), and Shemuel receives several coats from his mother (Shemuel I 2:19).

Literary Allusions

• "לַמּוֹעֵד... כָּעֵת חַיָּה" and "לַמּוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר" – Both Avraham (Bereshit 18:14)⁷ and the Shunamite (Melakhim II 4:16) are promised that they will have a son "לַמּוֹעֵד... כָּעֵת חַיָּה".‎ The texts then each record that Sarah gave birth at the date God had promised Avraham (Bereshit 21:2), and the Shunamite gave birth on the date promised by Elisha (Melakhim II 4:17).  In both cases the verse uses the wording "לַמּוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר".‎⁸
• Replacement maid – The language used by Sarah and Rachel when offering their maid to their husband is extremely similar. Sarah says "הִנֵּה נָא עֲצָרַנִי י"י מִלֶּדֶת בֹּא נָא אֶל שִׁפְחָתִי אוּלַי אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה" (Bereshit 16:2), while Rachel says "הִנֵּה אֲמָתִי בִלְהָה בֹּא אֵלֶיהָ וְתֵלֵד עַל בִּרְכַּי וְאִבָּנֶה גַם אָנֹכִי מִמֶּנָּה" (Bereshit 30:3). The description of their actions also uses similar terms: "וַתִּתֵּן אֹתָהּ לְאַבְרָם אִישָׁהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה. וַיָּבֹא אֶל הָגָר וַתַּהַר... וַתֵּלֶד הָגָר לְאַבְרָם בֵּן" (Bereshit 16:3-4,15) and "וַתִּתֶּן לוֹ אֶת בִּלְהָה שִׁפְחָתָהּ לְאִשָּׁה וַיָּבֹא אֵלֶיהָ יַעֲקֹב. וַתַּהַר בִּלְהָה וַתֵּלֶד לְיַעֲקֹב בֵּן." (Bereshit 30:4-5).

Analysis

• Degree of similarity –
• Distinctive phrases –
• כָּעֵת חַיָּה – The phrase "כָּעֵת חַיָּה" is found only by Sarah and the Shunamite.
• אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה – The phrases "אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה" or "וְאִבָּנֶה גַם אָנֹכִי מִמֶּנָּה" are unique to the stories of Sarah and Rachel.

Points of Contrast

• Description of barrenness – The barrenness of the women is described using differing terminology. Sarah (Bereshit 11:30), Rivkah (Bereshit 25:21), Rachel (Bereshit 29:21), and Manoach's wife (Shofetim 13:2) are described as barren ("עֲקָרָה"). Sarah (Bereshit 11:30), Channah (Shemuel I 1:2), and the Shunamite (Melakhim II 4:14) are described as not having children. Sarah (Bereshit 16:1), Rachel (Bereshit 30:1), and Manoach's wife (Shofetim 13:2) are also described as not having given birth ("לֹא יָלְדָה"), while Channah (Shemuel I 1:5,6) is described as having a closed womb ("סָגַר רַחְמָהּ").

Conclusion

As seen above, one of the points shared by almost all of the stories is the later importance of the son. In five of the cases,⁹ the son later becomes a forefather or a leader of the Israelite nation, and in three of these, an explicit promise is made to the parent about this eventuality. In fact, it almost seems that maternal barrenness is a prerequisite for producing a leader of the Children of Israel.¹⁰  In light of this, it is important to understand why Hashem caused¹¹ so many of the mothers of the nation to be barren.

The barrenness has been explained in various ways by commentators:

• Spiritual growth of the parents – The barrenness leads to the parents' spiritual growth, either by motivating them to pray¹² (Bavli YevamotYevamot 64aAbout the Bavli and Bereshit Rabbah45:4About Bereshit Rabbah¹³) or as part of the general concept of ניסיון (R. Saadia GaonCommentary Bereshit 25:21About R. Saadia Gaon).
• Engenders greater love for the son – R. Saadia GaonCommentary Bereshit 25:21About R. Saadia Gaon also explains that the earlier barrenness causes the parents to treasure their sons even more.¹⁴
• Proof of Hashem's involvement for the world – PhiloQuestions and Answers on Genesis III 18About Philo and RadakBereshit 25:20About R. David Kimchi explain that the obvious miraculous nature of the births showed the world that Hashem was the cause of these births, and that Hashem loved the parents whom He blessed with sons.

¹ Avraham was one hundred years old at the birth of Yitzchak, and Yaakov was apparently 91 years old when Yosef was born. No explicit age is given for the Shunamite's husband, beyond his being "זָקֵן". Yitzchak was only sixty when Rivka gave birth, and no ages are given for Manoach or Elkanah.

² It is explicit in the text that Yaakov prefers Rachel to Leah, "וַיֶּאֱהַב גַּם אֶת רָחֵל מִלֵּאָה".  By Elkanah, the preference for Channah over Peninah is only alluded to, as he gives Channah an extra portion, "וּלְחַנָּה יִתֵּן מָנָה אַחַת אַפָּיִם כִּי אֶת חַנָּה אָהֵב".

³ As mentioned, once Hagar is given to Avraham, she and Sarah become rivals as well.

⁴ This exception may be related to the fact that the Shunamite's son is also the only child who does not become an important historical figure. However, the Zohar (Beshalach 1 and elsewhere) identifies the Shunamite's son with the prophet Chavakuk, thus giving the son both a name and a later purpose.

⁵ Shimshon's siblings are not mentioned until his death, when his brothers carry him home and bury him (Shofetim 16:31). No mention at all is made of any siblings of the Shunamite's son.

⁶ Here, though, Esav, too, was born with the same Divine intervention.

⁷ This promise is given three times to Avraham, the first time (17:21) saying only "לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה", and the second time (18:10) saying only "כָּעֵת חַיָּה". Only in the third repetition of the promise (18:14) are both phrases found together.

⁸ In the Shunamite's case, it actually says "לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה כָּעֵת חַיָּה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלֶיהָ אֱלִישָׁע", duplicating the exact language used in the promise.

⁹ See above that the Zohar identifies the son of the Shunamite (the sixth case) as a prophet as well.

¹⁰ Out of all four אמהות, only Leah was not explicitly barren (though she, too, pauses in the middle of her child-bearing, as testified by Bereshit 30:9), and of the mothers of leaders whose birth is told of in detail, only Yocheved is not barren. However, according to Pesikta DeRav Kahana20:1About Pesikta DeRav Kahana, even Leah was barren, and see Pesikta Rabbati43About Pesikta Rabbati regarding Yocheved as well.

¹¹ Hashem's involvement in these stories is clear: five of the women receive some sort of Divine promise or blessing relating to the birth or pregnancy, in four cases there is explicit mention of Divine intervention in the cure, and in one case (Shemuel I 1:5) Hashem is the explicit cause of the barrenness as well.

¹² See above that in two cases there is explicit mention of the parents praying.

¹³ Bereshit Rabbah 45:4 also suggests that barrenness can strengthen the relationship between the parents, as can be seen by the special love mentioned in three of the cases. In addition, the suffering of the mothers allowed Hashem to reduce the number of years that the Israelites spent in Egypt.

¹⁴ In four of the cases this love is explicitly indicated, although R. Saadia Gaon notes that the other children were also deeply loved by their mothers.