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But these words can read very differently to those who are unable to have children. Are they somehow in violation of the divine directive—or are they somehow cursed with infertility?
The tales of Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah have prompted major discussion about infertility amongst scholars. Initially, the reason infertility causes suffering for these women seems obvious: their inability to give birth to a child eliminates their chance of experiencing the love motherhood offers.
Oct 28, 2022 · The methodological approach utilized by scholars deeply affects their understanding of how the Hebrew Bible presents the roles of the male, the deity, and the female in human reproduction and infertility.
Jun 23, 2021 · In Brief. There are six barren women in the Bible: three of the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel) in Genesis; Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1-2); the anonymous wife of Manoah, mother of Samson (Judges 13); and the “great woman of Shunem,” also called the Shunammite, an acolyte of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 4:8-44).
- Rachel’s Infertility: A Defining Difficulty
- Rachel Is Not to Blame
- “Opening” in The Bible
- Opening A Closed Womb
- Does God Prevent pregnancy?
- Why Does Leah Act Like A Barren Woman?
- Every Child Is God’s Gift
- Infertility Is Not A Divine Decree
“Rachel was barren” (Gen 29:31). Aside from her beauty, this is just about the only characterization that Genesis offers of Rachel. Her first words, addressed to Jacob, are: The focus on Rachel’s infertility, to the exclusion of nearly every other aspect of her identity, means that infertility is effectively her identity. Far more than in most mode...
There is no biblical evidence that Rachel was to blame for her infertility. Tellingly, when she confronts her infertility she neither prays, nor repents of any sin, nor confesses any iniquity, nor asks forgiveness of any kind—she doesn’t turn to God at all. The text does not note any display of virtue, piety, penance, or self-examination leading to...
That all women are “by nature” infertile according to the Bible is borne out by the ostensibly common term “open,” a term that appears rather generic but which, when God is the subject, is both rare and meaningful. 1. Rock –In Psalm 105:41, Yahweh “opened a rock so that water gushed forth,” (פָּתַח צוּר וַיָּזוּבוּ מָיִם) an unusual moment for a ro...
In the case of the womb, then, the biblical analogies suggest that in fact it is the closed womb that is usual, and the opened womb that is unusual. Again, God’s active role in conception is highlighted, even marked as miraculous—regardless of how often it may occur. Opening and closing of the womb are beneficial in varying degrees and at different...
This understanding of conception may change how we read some of the biblical language that ostensibly describes God as involved in the preventing of pregnancy: Sarah says that “Yahweh has kept me from bearing” (הִנֵּה נָא עֲצָרַנִי יְ-הוָה מִלֶּדֶת; Gen 16:2); Jacob says to Rachel that God has “denied you the fruit of the womb” (אֲשֶׁר מָנַע מִמֵּך...
This is, in fact, precisely what we know to be the case with Leah. Her womb is opened by God, and she bears four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. At that point, however, we are told that “she stopped bearing” (Gen 29:35). She has done no wrong; nothing about her situation has changed in the slightest. She is simply unable to conceive. Her sol...
Direct divine activity is required to “open the womb,” whether a woman has had children before or not, whether she has even tried to become pregnant before or not. Every pregnancy, be it the first or the fifth, is ascribed to God’s power. Sarah, who bears Isaac at ninety years old, says “God has brought me laughter” (Gen 21:6). When Leah, still in ...
When all of the pieces are put together, it is clear that, from the perspective of these biblical authors, infertility is not a human shortcoming, but a divine one. The Hebrew Bible does present infertility as a religious phenomenon, to be sure. It is, however, not the religious phenomenon commonly assumed. With only the most uncommon exceptions, G...
Jun 22, 2024 · Short answer: no. Baden and Moss clarify that although “some ancient interpreters tried to identify some rationale for these women’s infertility, the Bible itself attributes no faults to them. They are, simply, barren—and blameless.”
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May 21, 2024 · The Bible depicts the problem of temporary infertility in several stories: God promised Abraham and Sarah a child, but she did not bear a son, Isaac, until age 90 (Genesis 11:30). Isaac, Rebekah’s husband, prayed fervently, and God answered, resulting in the births of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:21).
