Whatever she lacked in her marriage the world received a gift of a Savior through the abundant blessing of God. Learn Religions. 3 And his soul cleaved unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved . Leah in the Bible is the older daughter of Laban and Jacob's first wife. Do not close your ears to the needs and hopes of those who may not be beautiful and have physical and emotional bruises. 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. The world is always trying to get us hooked on material things, but the best way for a persons wealth and success in life can be found within their spiritual relationship with God. Sons and daughters could make her worthy. And Wenham sees this as the majority view among commentators: Leahs eyes had no sparkle. We wont be promised a trial-free life but what God gives us is so much more. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/leah-first-wife-of-jacob-701187. The older daughter (Leah) will marry the older son (Esau), and the younger daughter (Rachel) will marry the younger son (Jacob). "[11] Hearing this, Leah spent most of her time weeping and praying to God to change her destined mate. Were made to yearn for belonging and completion. Do not let your adorning be externalthe braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wearbut let your adorning bethe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in Gods sight is very precious.. Many Bible experts say the verse refers to Leah's lack of attractiveness rather than her eyesight. Jacob had eyes only for Rachel and he did not care about Leah. Jacob did not see, hear, or attach himself to Leah, but the Lord filled the void Jacob created Leahs life. In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and foundmandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Jacob worked for Rachel's father Laban seven years for the right to marry Rachel. The women in the Bible are just as diverse as the men. Rachel's eyes were beautiful yet she could not see God's way. Naming her sons tells the spiritual journey of contentment in the Lords provision. 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. This is evident as she named her fourth son, Judah, meaning praise. The only thing weak eyes can mean, in context, is that Leah was less physically attractive than Rachel. It seems that Leahs father was not a man of his word. If not marital love, surely children would complete her. Leah Lively is a wife and mother of four living in central Virginia. 17 and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance. Learn how your comment data is processed. Leah is living at home with her father Laban and younger sister Rachel. He will work another seven years for Laban so that he can marry Rachel. God also has a calling on your life and will make all circumstances work together for your good. 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. As we saw in the case of Rachel, the security one would expect a person to have that is seen as beautiful in form and appearance was temporary as her jealousy grew. Can you imagine how adored and treasured that made Rachel feel? Leah was a loving and faithful wife. The whole reason I look at commentaries is that I need help, so I tend to turn to them when Im uncertain of the meaning of a given passage. (Genesis 29:17, NIV), In the same verse is a description of Leah that scholars have been arguing about for centuries:"Leah had weak eyes." And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. Her marriage was not ideal, but God used it for His glory as she held an honored first position. Although Leah was in a loveless marriage, her son Reuben was evidence to her that the Lord sees, Simeon means the Lord hears, and Levi that the Lord might create a bond between her and Jacob. Manners & customs of the Bible (p. 55). If we never accomplish another impressive thing, his love for us anyway will suffice as a blessed assurance. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. Feeling overlooked or not good enough can be a deep hurt and can snowball into feelings of being less than, forgotten, or the fear of not being wanted. Both sisters want them for their fertility-inducing properties and possibly as an aphrodisiac, but only one sister will be getting these precious mushrooms! Love in the Bible: From God's Love to the Most Romantic Scriptures, A Profile of Abraham of the Jewish Nation, Meet Eve: The First Woman, Wife, and Mother of All the Living, 20 Bible Verses for Your Christian Wedding Ceremony, 13 Thank You Bible Verses to Express Your Appreciation, Meet Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist, M.A., English Composition, Illinois State University, B.S., English Literature, Illinois State University. At that time, women had little control over their lives, and it seems her father was not a man to honor the love between Jacob and Rachel. Leah was born in the town of Paddan-Aram, the oldest daughter of Laban, sister of Rachel, and niece of Rebekah. But in this age, before that day when we will know even as also we are known (1 Cor 13:12), before we are given authoritative interpretations straight from the Author of Scripture, there is some necessary here-I-stand Martin Luthering that must remain in the blood of every Christian. God loves us unconditionally, with a pure, passionate tenderness. Her marriage began with scandal, but her role in her family gave her honor and respect in the community. At some level, we can all relate to the depressing comparison that Leah felt. Leah, however, is described as having "weak eyes." As Rabbi Sarah Mack writes in T'Ruah, the Hebrew word in that passage could be translated in several ways, and the contextual clues here don't really help. Leah is the subject of this first half . If Zilpah and Bilhah were indeed half-sisters of Leah, this would make Leah's adoptive sons, Gad and Asher, and Rachel's adoptive sons, Dan and Naphtali, her nephews. We are enough because he lets us off the hook of striving and comparing. She serves him and cares for him dutifully, but it never makes her good enough. Leah then turns to her children, which were seen as symbols of blessing. This fits just fine with the traditional KJV rendering of tender, which could be positive or negative. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. How long did it take for Israel to cross the Red Sea? This is the same well his mother Rebekah drew water from before she married Isaac. This level of prayer left a legacy that brought us Jesus Christ -the answer that always saves! He doesn't need us to lose the baby weight, tone up, or look "put together" before he can use us. God saw that she was unloved and allowed her to conceive. She has three more sons, namely Simeon, Levi and Judah, but does not bear another son until Rachel offers her a night with Jacob in exchange for some mandrake root (, dd'm). Mathews (NAC), however, lands where I did: The tenor of the passage, however, contrasts Leah and Rachel, first their order of birth and perhaps here their charm. Genesis 29:17 [MT] "and The eyes of Leah were weak" ( ) "Eyinei" () = Eyes ; "Leah" () = Weary ; "Rakhot" () = Weak / Soft. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field. We can see her dashed hopes because each time she conceives a son with Jacob, she pins her future happiness on them. Mark Ward (PhD, Bob Jones University) is Senior Editor for Digital Content at Word by Word, the official Logos blog. Leah[a] (/le./; /li/) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. "[22], University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, "Leah's Tender Eyes," at jerusalemperspective.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leah&oldid=1148344206, This page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 16:17. Its here-I-grandstand if you dont first listen to a representative sampling of careful Bible teachers and scholars (this is what I use Logos to do all the time). Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. They would rather change the offensive precious words of God than insult Leah! I was surprised to find that several excellent commentators reading the phrase positively, as a reference to the beauty of Leah. On the wedding night, however, Laban switches Leah for Rachel. Bridge-Logos Publishers. - World English Bible and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance. Leah Unveiled: Your Best Life Later, Discovering Identity Stronger than the StrugglebyMichelle Kelso Kafe, Rachel & Leah Bible Study Book: What Two Sisters Teach Us about Combating ComparisonbyNicki Koziarz, ESVScripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Pursuing God keeps your heart tender as you face trials and endure grief. God loves us now, and He will love us forever. Genesis 29:23But when evening came, he (Laban) took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. There was a definite weakness when it came to the look of Leah's eyes. Why does the Bible say Jesus was hanged on a tree?. It turns out his name is Jacob and he is looking for a worthy wife. God placed her first and blessed her abundantly. The name Judah in Hebrew is Yehudah. 1 Dinah, Jacob's daughter by Leah, went out to see the young women of the land. He promised to honor the love between Jacob and Rachel, but he instead led them into disaster with a treacherous plan. 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. This is how far I got on my own. His father, Isaac, had married a first cousin, once removed; Jacob will marry his matrilineal first cousins and his paternal second cousins, once removed. Then Rachel said to Leah, Please give me some of your sons mandrakes.But she said to her, Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Feeding the 4,000 and feeding the 5,000same or different? Sadly, can you imagine how that made Leah feel? 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. When Jacob found out he had been tricked, he labored another seven years for Rachel. So lonely was she that even the Lord took notice of it and blessed her with many children as consolation. In the Bible, Leah is the daughter of Laban and the sister of Rachel. Leah (the woman nobody wants) is "disregarded" by her cousin, Jacob. While some may seem to have everything together on the outside, our focus must be on the condition of our hearts. By the way, let me point out that, through elaborate scheming of Laban, these sisters father, Jacob ended up marrying both women (Leah and Rachel were also Jacobs first-cousins). As the majority view among commentators: Leahs eyes had no sparkle wife Rachel ( and )... How long did it take for Israel to cross the Red Sea & # x27 ; s.. 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