A lack of fertility, especially the inability of a woman to conceive.
Barren land
Barrenness describes waste and unproductive land
Jeremiah 2:6 See also Deuteronomy 32:10; Joel 2:20
They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
Barren land as a sign of God's disfavour
Genesis 3:18 Thorns and thistles are often used to designate barren or unproductive land. See also Hosea 10:8; Hebrews 6:8
Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
Fertility, as opposed to barrenness, a sign of God's blessing
Exodus 23:25–26 Consequently, the inability to conceive was regarded as a sign of God's displeasure. See also Deuteronomy 7:13–14, Deuteronomy 11:14–15; Psalm 113:9; Isaiah 41:18ISA Isaiah 54:1; Galatians 4:27
So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you. No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days.
The barren woman
Her desire for children
Genesis 30:1–2 See also Proverbs 30:16
When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob. Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
Examples of barren women
Genesis 16:1 Sarah; Genesis 29:31 Rachel; Judges 13:3 Manoah's wife; 1 Samuel 2:5 Hannah; Luke 1:7 Elizabeth; Luke 1:36–37 The ability to bear a child in these circumstances, especially in old age, was seen as a sign of God's blessing and his miraculous power.
Barrenness was sometimes seen as a sign of God's disfavour
Genesis 16:1–4, Genesis 20:17–18, Genesis 29:31–34; 1 Samuel 1:1–20; Isaiah 4:1; Luke 1:5–25
Childlessness was not always the result of barrenness
You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity.
Barrenness might be an advantage in some circumstances
Luke 23:29 Referring to the disasters about to come upon Jerusalem.
Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’
Metaphorically, barrenness may describe an unproductive or desperate condition
Hebrews 6:7–8 See also Job 3:7; Luke 13:6–9
For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.