She conceived and bore a son: because of the long time Rachel has waited, some languages will say “So at last she became pregnant and had a son.”

God has taken away my reproach: reproach, which means “disgrace” or “shame,” refers to Rachel’s being barren. In some languages it may be more natural to place the reason before the result: “ ‘God has taken away my shame,’ Rachel said; and she gave birth to a son.” In many languages shame is expressed as a feeling: “God has put an end to my burden so that I won’t feel ashamed any longer.”

Note that Good News Translation joins Rachel’s quote in this verse with the one in the following verse.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .