References (32)
And Laban had two daughters, the older named Leah and the younger named Rachel.
Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and was beautiful to look at.
And it came to pass in the evening that he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him, and she went in to him.
And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.
And it came to pass in the morning, that it was Leah; and he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?"
And he [Jacob] went in also to Rachel, and he [Jacob] loved Rachel more than Leah, and served with him [Laban] another seven years.
[Jacob's love for Rachel more than Leah leads to jealousy, see , ; , . Jacob works seven years before marrying Leah and Rachel. He then commits to working seven more years, i.e., a total of 14 years.]
[The following paragraph describes the seven years after Jacob's marriage to Leah and Rachel. The 11 sons (and daughter Dinah) listed here are born within a seven-year period, see ; . The text contains contrasts such as loved/hated and fertile/barren. In Hebrew usage, this does not mean that Jacob actively "hated" Leah (; ); he loved Rachel more, for whom he had worked two seven-year periods to marry. The meaning is rather unloved, neglected, and rejected, see ; . See also ; . In Proverbs, one of four things that cause the earth to tremble is a "hated" woman who gets married, see . This imbalance becomes clear as the conflict in the family continues between the children. Later, Benjamin is born, see .]
And the Lord (Yahweh) saw that Leah was hated (unloved, repulsive, rejected), and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben [Hebr. Reoven – meaning: "Behold, a son!"], for she said: "Since the Lord (Yahweh) has seen my affliction (misery; my misery – Hebr. ), my husband will now love me."
When Leah saw that she had stopped (ceased) becoming pregnant, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a concubine.
And Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore a son to Jacob.
And Leah said, "Good fortune (Hebr. gad) has come!" And she named him Gad. [The name means good fortune or wealth, but can also mean crowd or troop.]
And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore a second son to Jacob.
And Leah said, "I am happy (blessed – Hebr. asher) because my daughters will call me happy." And she gave (called) him the name Asher. [Asher means happy and feeling blessed, but also being honest and straightforward.]
And Reuben [Jacob's firstborn (with Leah), who was now 4-5 years old] went out to the wheat harvest during the day and found mandrake roots (mandragora; "love apples" – Hebr. ) in the field and brought them home to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
[All 11 sons (and daughter Dinah) listed in are born within a seven-year period (by four different mothers). After Leah gave birth to Reuben, she had three more children in quick succession. Then there was a pause when this event occurred. Reuben must have been 4-5 years old at the time, but not older, because she then had three more children in quick succession.
Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) is a species in the potato family. The herb has coarse roots that often take on shapes reminiscent of naked human bodies. They were sometimes used as household gods (Hebr. teraphim). Long dark green leaves grow from the root, forming a rosette. It produces pale purple-blue flowers that turn into small yellow-red fruits in the spring. The fruit has been described as a yellow bird's egg in a transparent nest. At this time of spring, when the wheat harvest is gathered, the fruit is ripe and fragrant, see . The fruit can be peeled and eaten. Most likely, young Reuben simply picks the fruit and takes it home with him. There are ancient stories about how dogs and donkeys were used to pull up the deep roots, so considering his age, it is unlikely that he dug up the root. Its fruits were considered to act as an aphrodisiac with a strengthening effect on the sex drive. The Arabs called the fruit "the devil's apples" and in the Greek world it was nicknamed "the apple of love." The connection to love is also found in the Hebrew name (which also shares its root with the name David), which is similar to the word for love (Hebr. ) and "my beloved" in the Song, see . The Greek naturalist Dioscorides (40-90 AD) writes how mandrake root could be boiled in wine and given as a pain reliever. It also worked against insomnia and was used before surgical procedures. Mandrake still grows today in the fields of Israel.]
When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have truly bought you with my son's mandrakes." [Leah did not wait at home but went out to meet Jacob.] And he lay with her that night. [Here, the word used is not "know" (Hebr. , see ), which is the word usually used for marital relations, but "lie," which more often has to do with extramarital sex, see . The first four sons that Leah bears are simply said to be born (, , , ), but the last two are said to be born "to Jacob" (verses 17 and 19), just like Bilhah (verses 5 and 7) and Zilpah (verses 10 and 12). Joseph and Benjamin are also described differently and do not have the phrase "to Jacob," see and .]
And God (Elohim) listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore a fifth son to Jacob.
And Leah said, "God (Elohim) has given me my reward (Hebr. shachar) because I gave my servant to my husband. And she named (called) him Issachar (Hebr. Jisashchar)." [Meaning there is reward, compensation, or recompense.]
And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
And Leah said, "God (Elohim) has given (Hebr. zavad) me a good dowry (Hebr. zeved), now my husband will be with (Hebr. zaval) me, since I have borne him six sons." And she named (called) him Zebulun (Hebr. Zevolun). [The name means exalted, but also dwelling place, habitat.]
And Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah and asked them to come out to his flock in the field,
Then Rachel and Leah replied, "Do we still have any share or inheritance in our father's property?
Laban then went into Jacob's tent, and then into Leah's tent and the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. When he came out of Leah's tent, he went into Rachel's tent.
[The Hebrew linguistic construction depicts the scene as Esau quickly approaches, and Jacob acts and divides his family.]
And Jacob lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, Esau was coming, and with him 400 men. And he divided the children to Leah and to Rachel and to the two maidservants.
And he put the maidservants and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.
Leah and her children also came near and bowed down, and after them Joseph came near and Rachel, and they bowed down. [Same order as in verses 2-3.]
[Dina is the seventh and youngest of Leah's children (). She was born at the end of Jacob's 14th year in Haran while he was working for Laban. The family remains in Haran for another 6 years (they spend a total of 20 years there, see ). Dina is therefore about 6 years old when the family moves to Sukkot (). They spend a few years there before moving to Shechem. A few years pass, and she must be around 12-13 years old to be allowed to go out on her own. Since she is almost the same age as Joseph (), she cannot be older than 17, the age Joseph is in a few chapters later when he is sold by his brothers, see . Dina is therefore 12-16 years old when the events in this chapter take place.]
And Dina, Leah's daughter, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see (meet) the daughters of the land. [She socializes with Canaanite youths in the village.]
Leah's [six] sons:
Reuben, Jacob's firstborn,
and Simeon
and Levi
and Judah
and Issachar
and Zebulun (Hebr. Zevolun).
Leah's [two] sons by the servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-Aram. [General statement for the majority of the children. Benjamin was born in Canaan, see verses 16-17.]
These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-Aram; [she also bore] his daughter Dinah.
All his sons and his daughters—33 persons in all (lives, souls). [Half of all, see —the highest number in this genealogy.]
These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, and she bore them to Jacob—a total of 16 persons (souls, lives).
There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah.
All the people at the gate and the elders said: ”We are witnesses!
[Since Biblical Hebrew does not have a word for yes, the people respond by repeating Boaz’s last word edim, we are witnesses.]
May the Lord (Yahweh) make the woman who enters your house [home here in Bethlehem] like Rachel and Leah, the two women who built the house of Israel.
[Jacob, whom God later named Israel, bore twelve sons by them and their concubines, see .]
May you become mighty (honorable, strong, victorious, successful) [cf. ; ].
in the area of Ephrathah [the area around Bethlehem]
and your name be widely known (literally ’name a person’)
in Bethlehem. [; , ]
