The stakes are low. We learn from Rachel that if we arent grateful for our blessings and trust that God is enough, jealousy will always make us want more. Leah was tender-eyed raccoth, soft, delicate, lovely.I believe the word means just the reverse of the signification generally given to it. Rachel died giving birth to her second son, Benjamin and was buried on the side of the road leading to Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16-20). And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Jacob did not see, hear, or attach himself to Leah, but the Lord filled the void Jacob created in Leahs life. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Genesis 3421st Century King James Version. The sisters strike a deal. Oh, Leah in the Bible! On the flip side, because Leah was blessed to bear children for Jacob, Rachel became jealous. Leah is identified as having tender eyes. Other translations describe her as weak, delicate, ordinary, or plain. Leahs tender heart made her the perfect candidate to fulfill Jacobs First Wife duties by bearing him many sons! Through her sons Levi and Judah, she is thus the matriarch of both the priestly (Levite) and royal (Judahite) tribes in Israel. And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. In other words, just as pulling someone elses leg generally involves no pulling and no legs, weak eyes very possibly involved no weakness and no eyes. Bible reading from Genesis 34 (EHV) Dinah and Shechem. Leah chose to praise and be thankful for Gods role in her life. Leah, whose name signifies languor, weariness, had dull bleared eyes. But in the end, after prayer and effort, I think you need to hope for and achieve some kind of interpretive resolution if at all possible. Judah means acknowledgment (hodaah, as in modeh ani). The oldest daughter of Laban, she was plain looking and may have had poor eyesight, but she was dutiful and virtuous. At first glance, Leahs story is full of grief. We are enough because he lets us off the hook of striving and comparing. The Lord chooses and elevates those whose hearts are pure before him. So she named him Issachar. While their marriage began with deception, Leah was honored at her death by Jacob. We can point to the naming of her sons and how she hopes to gain favor through birthing them. Jacob had eyes only for Rachel and he did not care about Leah. 20 Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. God hearkens to Leah's tears and prayers and allows her to marry Jacob even before Rachel does. Each woman desired to grow spiritually in her avodat HaShem (service of God), and therefore sought closeness to the tzadik (Jacob) who is God's personal emissary in this world. Leah said, God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband. So she called his name Issachar. [16] After that, God remembered Rachel and gave her two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Furthermore, the Bible says Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah (Luke 3:33-34)Leah carried the Messianic bloodline and was Jesus ancestor! She conceived a son,. The commentary of Rashi cites a Rabbinic interpretation of how Leah's eyes became weak. 1 Read: Why Just Four Mothers? 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and defiled her. She is also mentioned in Ruth 4:11. Leah was older, had weak or delicate eyes, and apparently was not attractive. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. As the mother of Judah, Leah was part of the ancestry that led to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Leah's "soft" eyes are eventually mirrored in the eyes of the earthly Jesus. But its an arrogant Bible teacher who doesnt care to listen to skillful teachers. It can be frustrating as a Bible interpreter to have to land on ground you know is a bit unstable. In the long run, Leah was recognized by the Jewish people as an important person in their history, as this verse from the book of Ruth shows: At the end of Jacob's life, he requested to be buried beside Leah (Genesis 49:29-31), suggesting that he'd come to recognize the virtue in Leah and had grown to love her as deeply as he loved Rachel. After seven years, the wedding arrives, and the veiled bride finally becomes Jacobs wife. Our circumstances cannot determine the level of our joy, consistency of our prayers, and abundance of our thanks. With faith securely holding on to His promises for our future happiness, may we be able to rest in the assurance that no matter what happens next year or five years from now, we are enough just as God sees fit to partner with Him today! The Bible says in Genesis 29:17: "Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured." What does Scripture mean that Leah was "tender eyed?" It is a difficult verse at first glance. Romans 8:28 CSB says, We know all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. God had a specific calling on Leahs life whether Jacob preferred her or not. These men were among the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel. Scripture tells us Rachel was "lovely in form, and beautiful." You have to earn the right to your opinion, of course. It may have been, then, a delicate way of referring to something else about Leahs physical appearance entirely. King James Bible Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. When Jacob arrives in Haran, he meets the younger sister, Rachel at a well. Being unmarried and unable to bear children held the stigma that you were being punished by God. The Hebrew word in Genesis, rakkoth, could also mean tenderhearted or kindhearted. 2. We dont know. May we be reminded that Gods plan for our lives doesnt always end up with us being Miss Universe, the most popular, or having the nicest house on the block. May you act worthily inEphrathah andbe renowned in Bethlehem, It is interesting to note that the name Leah in Hebrew means weary or cow while Rachel means ewe., Cows are a great symbol of fertility in Mesopotamia, partially because of the similarity between the words littu, cow, and alittu, birth giver.. Zavada, Jack. Leah was tender-eyed - raccoth, soft, delicate, lovely.I believe the word means just the reverse of the signification generally given to it. Later in the story, her words change from a piteous woe is me attitude to what good fortune! and how happy I am!. He had seen Rachel and had been impressed that she was the one. I love this verse as it reminds me that God sees the heart, the spirit inside us, as more valuable than any outward beauty. Leah is identified as having "tender eyes." Other translations describe her as weak, delicate, ordinary, or plain. Although Jacob overlooked Leahs position in the family, God gave her the position of being the first daughter, the first wife, and the first mother to Jacobs first son. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down fromthe Father of lights,with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. The chief recommendation of Leah was her soft and beautiful eyes . Jacob loved and desired Rachel so much that he worked for Laban an additional seven years, a total of fourteen years to marry Rachel. This fault of hers is a symbol for those of us who try to earn God's love rather than simply receive it. Many of the stories about Leah in the Bible center around her turbulent relationship with her sister, Rachel, as they are both Jacobs wives. There are hilarious moments and sorrowful events. Leah was buried with fellow women who were not perfect, but worthy of honor because they birthed sons who fulfilled Gods promise to Abraham. Leah was the first wife of Jacob and was also the elder sister of his second wife, Rachel, who he loved. Leah was content to praise the Lord for the blessings in her life, even if her husband did not love her the way he loved her sister. The NLT opts for There was no sparkle in Leahs eyes. And two translations (NRSV, GNT) actually see the word as positive, translating it as lovely. So whos right? He is also a host for Logos Live and is an active YouTuber. I was surprised to find that several excellent commentators reading the phrase positively, as a reference to the beauty of Leah. Leah's story in the Bible is told in Genesis chapters 29-31, 33-35, 46, and 49. You can discuss this post and others in the Faithlife Today group. Rachel envied Leah's tearful prayers, by which she merited to marry the tzaddik and bear six of his twelve sons. **ATTENTION: Dear readers, as of late 2022, special-edition Q&A article #1000 is still in development. This fits just fine with the traditional KJV rendering of tender, which could be positive or negative. Whatever the case was, Leah was unattractive, so Jacob preferred to marry her (beautiful) sister Rachel. [b] Jacob is eager to marry Rachel and agrees to provide seven years' labor to her father if he can marry her. One of those six was Judah, who is listed in Matthew 1 as part of the genealogy for King David, and finally Jesus Christ himself! How could wise King Solomon let foreign women deceive him? Wouldnt you? Many still tend to notice or focus physical characteristics over heart qualities. One of those sons was Judah who was listed in Matthew 1 in the genealogy of King David, King Solomon, and the King of Kings Jesus Christ. Women in the Bible: Leah the unlovely. Then he commanded them and said to them, I am to begathered to my people;bury me with my fathersin the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan,which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. That Leah's eyes were compared to Rachel's beauty obviously meant there was no beauty in them and that Leah herself was probably plain in face and form compared to her sister. Zavada, Jack. Fearful of his brother's wrath, Jacob flees his homeland for Haran, where he meets his maternal family, including Laban and his daughters. In Leahs story, we can be encouraged that a life redeemed can not occur with the perfect spouse or an abundance of children, but a with a heart that is tender and surrendered to God. Ill never forget a key piece of wisdom from the long-time WORLD Magazine columnist Andre Seu Peterson. Read Genesis (YLT) Read Genesis 29:17 (YLT) in Parallel. You'd be the one contrasted with the beauty. According to Genesis 28:2,[5] the family resided in Paddan Aram, an area believed to correspond with the historical Upper Mesopotamia.[6]. What does Anathema Maranatha mean in 1 Corinthians 16:22? However, Leah's eyes were weak from crying, for she feared that she would have to be married to the wicked Esau. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. Then Leah said, God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons. So she called his nameZebulun.Afterward, she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. God used her marriage for His glory even though it wasnt an ideal situation. [12] Laban offers to give Rachel to Jacob in marriage in return for another seven years of work (Genesis 29:27). In so doing, he too will marry into the family of Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, the grandfather of Rebekah, and the great-grandfather of Rachel and Leah. In medieval Christian symbolism, Rachel was taken as a symbol of the contemplative (monastic) Christian life, and Leah as a symbol of the active (non-monastic) life. Clarke's Notes on the Bible. We do know that she was the lesser loved of the two wives, he loved Rachel more than Leah (Genesis 29:30 CSB). She was not the preferred wife, often forgotten by her husband as his attention remained with Rachel, but at the end of her life, Leah was honored by Jacob as she was laid to rest with her fellow matriarchs and patriarchs of faith. According to the scriptures, God saw that Leah was "unloved" and opened her womb as consolation. Who Is the Beast in Revelation 13, and Have We Met Him Yet? The battle between the two sisters comes to a head when Reuben finds mandrakes. Due to the extreme emotional distress suffered by both Leah (and Rachel) during the marriage, Yahweh later strictly clarified his opposition to uncovering the nakedness of a woman and her sister while both were still living (Genesis 30:1, Leviticus 18:18). This page/post may contain affiliate links. Leahs heart was tender and created specifically to fulfill the task of Jacobs first wife and many sons. The Bible is a treasure trove of stories and events from every spectrum. Verse Genesis 29:17. According to 1 Chronicles 5:1,[7] Jacob took the firstborn's birthright, which entitles a firstborn to a larger inheritance in Jewish law, from Reuben, his oldest son, to Joseph, who was his second-youngest son, and, in Genesis 33:2,[8] when he is confronted by Esau, puts Leah, along with Zilpah and Bilhah and all of their sons, in front of himself, Rachel, and Joseph, to be used as something of a buffer or a shield to protect himself in the event the confrontation turned violent. The Rabbis found this weeping to be praiseworthy and declared that by merit of her prayers this fate was set aside, and she was married to Jacob. That seems logical since a contrast is made with her beautiful sister Rachel. ' but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.' (Gen 29:17, ESV) Imagine if you were the first half of this sentence, the bit that comes before the 'but'. It is through Leah's story that the Torah teaches us: open your eyes to the pain of those quietly suffering. Kidner (TOTC) and Wenham (WBC), both of whom I greatly respect, also came up with a view I admit I did not expect. Unloved and unwanted, Leah was not only blessed by God with six sons and one daughter. I try to walk down the middle of this road. Leah[a] (/le./; /li/) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. We wont be promised a trial-free life but what God gives us is so much more. In Leahs story, we can be encouraged that a life redeemed can not occur with the perfect spouse or an abundance of children but with a heart that is tender and surrendered to God. Jacob continues to show favoritism toward Rachel, but after Leahs third child is born, Leah seems to have a change of heart. The next morning, in the light of day and the absence of a veil, the truth is revealed. Mark Ward (PhD, Bob Jones University) is Senior Editor for Digital Content at Word by Word, the official Logos blog. Whatever is said about you, it's not flattering. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, Jacob, and I said, Here I am!And he said, Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, forI have seen all that Laban is doing to you.I am the God of Bethel,where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Thus God hastaken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. God loves us now, and He will love us forever. And Leah said,Good fortune has come! so she called his nameGad.Leahs servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. When he meets the stunning shepherdess, Jacob is overcome with joy. 17 and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance. Nowarise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Is thereany portion or inheritance left to us in our fathers house? The book of Genesis does what preachers and Sunday school teachers would do well to avoid. " The words more than are not in the original Hebrew text. Many Bible experts say the verse refers to Leah's lack of attractiveness rather than her eyesight. For the verb raah, to see and the fact that God has seen Leahs sorrow and the noun ben, son., And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, Because theLordhas looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. God chose and elevated those whose hearts are pure before him. [19] She is thought to be buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron alongside Jacob. (2021, December 6). After Jacob tricked his father and stole his brother's birthright ( Genesis 27:1-29 ), he was forced to flee to the home of his uncle Laban in Harran. When we look at the beginning of Genesis, it is clear that Leah was not only less attractive than Rachel, but also her father used this, and the fact that the older sister in their culture should marry first as a reason to trick Jacob into marrying his daughter. God designed women to be pursued. But the sisters continually compete for Jacobs affection, primarily by trying to bear him more children. In Genesis 29, we meet Leah. How could anyone be so heartless? Leah writes on her blog at leahlivelyblog.com and just released her second Bible study, 30 Days in Acts A Journey: Igniting the Flame of the Early Church. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Leah is portrayed to be the unloved wife of the biblical patriarch Jacob. Her children led half of the tribes of Israel. Disagree as little as possible with the translations in your peoples laps.). Leah bore more children, a highly honored achievement in ancient Israel. She was talking about the complex issue of headcoverings in 1 Corinthians 11: I appreciate scholarship, but it is rarely conclusive. Indeed, it violates the first rule they teach you at Bible-teaching school: Dont comment on the physical appearance of particular women. "Meet Leah: First Wife of Jacob." 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