Commentaire sur La Genèse 30:3
וַתֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּ֛ה אֲמָתִ֥י בִלְהָ֖ה בֹּ֣א אֵלֶ֑יהָ וְתֵלֵד֙ עַל־בִּרְכַּ֔י וְאִבָּנֶ֥ה גַם־אָנֹכִ֖י מִמֶּֽנָּה׃
Elle dit alors: "Voici ma servante Bilha, approche toi d’elle; elle enfantera dans mes bras, et, par elle, moi aussi je serai mère."
Rashi on Genesis
על ברכי UPON MY KNEES — as the Targum takes it: she will bear children and I will rear them.
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Sforno on Genesis
בוא אליה, this was Rachel’s answer to her husband’s accusation. She had not meant that it was within Yaakov’s power to make her pregnant, but she wanted to nurse a child by the next best method, that of becoming foster mother to her handmaid’s child.
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Or HaChaim on Genesis
ותאמר הנה אמתי, She said: "here is my bondwoman, etc." She was careful to say: "my bondwoman Bilhah," before mentioning that Jacob should sleep with her, instead of saying: "sleep with my bondwoman Bilhah," as Sarai had done at the time (Genesis 16,2). I have explained there that Rachel did not mean for Bilhah to be still called a bondwoman after she had slept with Jacob. She gave Bilhah to Jacob to become a wife to him; any sons of her should be free men. Leah acted similarly when giving her bondwoman Zilpah to sleep with Jacob.
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