Genesis 29:31

31 When the LORD saw Leah was unloved, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel had none.

Genesis 29:31 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 29:31

And when the Lord saw that Leah [was] hated
Not properly and simply hated by Jacob, as appears by his doing the duty of an husband to her, but comparatively; she was less loved than Rachel: and there are many things to be said for it; she was not beautiful as Rachel was; she was not Jacob's choice, as she was but imposed upon him through deceit, and he was forced to marry her, or he could not have Rachel his beloved wife: but the Lord had pity on her, and that she might have a share in her husband's affections, he opened her womb;
or gave her conception; as Onkelos paraphrases it: but Rachel [was] barren;
bare no children as yet, and for many years after, ( Genesis 30:22-24 ) .

Genesis 29:31 In-Context

29 (Laban had given his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave.)
30 Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
31 When the LORD saw Leah was unloved, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel had none.
32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben [Here's My Son], because she said, "Certainly, the LORD has seen my misery; now my husband will love me!"
33 She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, "Certainly, the LORD has heard that I'm unloved, and he also has given me this son." So she named him Simeon [Hearing].
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