Genesis 29:31

And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
LORD	יְהוָה֙ Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
saw	וַיַּ֤רְא vai.Yar'	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Leah	לֵאָ֔ה le.'Ah	H3812	Leah · proper noun, a woman's name
hated	שְׂנוּאָ֣ה se.nu.'Ah	H8130	to hate (personally) · verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular absolute
opened	וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח vai.yif.Tach	H6605	to open wide (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
womb	רַחְמָ֑הּ rach.Mah	H7358	the womb · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
Rachel	וְרָחֵ֖ל ve.ra.Chel	H7354	Rachel · conjunction + proper noun, a woman's name
barren	עֲקָרָֽה 'a.ka.Rah	H6135	sterile (as if extirpated in the generative organs) · adjective, feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 2:21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
Psalms 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Genesis 20:18-21:2 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
Genesis 30:1-2 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
Deuteronomy 21:15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstbo…
1 Samuel 1:5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Genesis 29:30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 29:31–end

We have here the birth of four of Jacob's sons, all by Leah. Observe, 1. That Leah, who was less beloved, was blessed with children, when Rachel was denied that blessing, Gen 29:31. See how Providence, in dispensing its gifts, observes a proportion, to keep the balance even, setting crosses and comforts one over-against another, that none may be either too much elevated or too much depressed. Rachel wants children, but she is blessed with her husband's love; Leah wants that, but she is fruitful. Thus it was between Elkana's two wives (Sa1 1:5); for the Lord is wise and righteous. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, that is, loved less than Rachel, in which sense it is required that we hat…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 29:31

Leah . . . hated--that is, not loved so much as she ought to have been. Her becoming a mother ensured her rising in the estimation both of her husband and of society.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 29:31

The Lord saw that Leah was hated - From this and the preceding verse we get the genuine meaning of the word שנא sane, to hate, in certain disputed places in the Scriptures. The word simply signifies a less degree of love; so it is said, Gen 29:30 : "Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah," i.e., he loved Leah less than Rachel; and this is called hating in Gen 29:31 : When the Lord saw that Leah was hated - that she had less affection shown to her than was her due, as one of the legitimate wives of Jacob, he opened her womb - he blessed her with children. Now the frequent intercourse of Jacob with Leah (see the following verses) sufficiently proves that he did not hate her in the sense in which th…

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John Gill on 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.

The Church Fathers

See God's creative wisdom. Whereas one woman by her beauty attracted her husband's favor, the other seemed to be rejected because she lacked it. But it was the latter God awoke to childbirth while leaving the other's womb inactive. He thus dealt with each in his characteristic love so that one might have some comfort from what was born of her and the other might not triumph over her sister on the score of charm and beauty.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 56.14

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Barren — For a woman to be barren was accounted a severe punishment among the Jews (Gen. 16:2; 30:1-23; 1 Sam. 1:6, 27; Isa. 47:9; 49:21; Luke 1:25). Instances of barrenness are noticed (Gen. 11:30; 25:21;…
Leah · Children of — Children of
Polygamy · .In Jacob’ s family — .In Jacob’ s family
Rachel · Sterility of — Sterility of
Wife · Hated — Hated

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 29:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 29:31–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 29:31

Adam Clarke on Genesis 29:31

John Gill on Genesis 29:31

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 29:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 29:31–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 29:31

Adam Clarke on Genesis 29:31

John Gill on Genesis 29:31

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 29:31

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 29:31–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 29:31–end

Rashi on Genesis 29:30