Study Desk

In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.

This is the account of the families of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah. Many children were born to them after the great flood.

But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.

But Abram replied, "O Sovereign Lord , what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since you've given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.

So Sarai said to Abram, "The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her." And Abram agreed with Sarai's proposal.

Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children.

One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can't get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children.

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children.

"Swear to me in God's name that you will never deceive me, my children, or any of my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country where you are living as a foreigner."

Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac's prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.

But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked.

May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations!

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.

Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, "Now I will praise the Lord !" And then she stopped having children.

When Rachel saw that she wasn't having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!"

Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. "Am I God?" he asked. "He's the one who has kept you from having children!"

Then Rachel told him, "Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too."

Then God remembered Rachel's plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children.