But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

So Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her." Abram did what Sarai told him.

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to become pregnant while Rachel remained childless.

When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children or I'll die!" Jacob became furious with Rachel and exclaimed, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" read more. She replied, "Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with her so that she can bear children for me and I can have a family through her." So Rachel gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with her. Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer and given me a son." That is why she named him Dan. Bilhah, Rachel's servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. Then Rachel said, "I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won." So she named him Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. Soon Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad. Then Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. Leah said, "How happy I am, for women will call me happy!" So she named him Asher. At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Give me some of your son's mandrakes." But Leah replied, "Wasn't it enough that you've taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes too?" "All right," Rachel said, "he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes." When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must sleep with me because I have paid for your services with my son's mandrakes." So he had marital relations with her that night. God paid attention to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. Then Leah said, "God has granted me a reward because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife." So she named him Issachar. Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. Then Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. Then God took note of Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, "God has taken away my shame."

There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. The Lord's angelic messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, "You are infertile and childless, but you will conceive and have a son.

Both of these will come upon you suddenly, in one day! You will lose your children and be widowed. You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, despite your many incantations and your numerous amulets.

Then you will think to yourself, 'Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?'"

But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old.

"This is what the Lord has done for me at the time when he has been gracious to me, to take away my disgrace among people."

"And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age -- although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month!