Genesis 29:31

Genesis 29:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
• New International Version (NIV)When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

Context of Genesis 29:31

29Laban also gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. 30Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.” 33Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon.

Genesis 29:31 word by word

וַיַּ֤רְא יְהוָה֙ כִּֽי־שְׂנוּאָ֣ה לֵאָ֔ה וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח אֶת־רַחְמָ֑הּ וְרָחֵ֖ל עֲקָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear

• When the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• thatכִּיkîy · forH3588
• Leahלֵאָהlê'âh · LeahH3812
• was unlovedשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
• He openedפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• her wombרֶ֫חֶםrechem · wombH7358
• but Rachelרָחֵלrâchêl · RachelH7354
• barrenעָקָר‛âqâr · barrenH6135

Cross-references for Genesis 29:31

• Exodus 3:7The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
• Genesis 29:30Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
• Genesis 27:41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
• Deuteronomy 21:15If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,
• Malachi 1:3but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
• Matthew 6:24No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
• Matthew 10:37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
• Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
• John 12:25Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
• Genesis 16:1Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
• Genesis 20:18for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
• Genesis 21:1Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
• Genesis 25:21Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
• Genesis 30:1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
• Judges 13:2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
• 1 Samuel 1:5But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved her even though the LORD had closed her womb.

Commentaries on Genesis 29:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31The 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, Genesis 29:30; : "Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah," i.e., he loved Leah less than Rachel; and this is called hating in Genesis 29:31; : When the Lord saw that Leah was hated - that she had less affection shown to her…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-35Verses 1-35 - Jacob‘s Marriage 6. רחל rāchēl Rachel, “a ewe.” 16. לאה lê'âh Leah, “wearied.” 24. זלפה zı̂lpâh Zilpah, “drop?” 29. בלהה bı̂lhâh Bilhah, “timidity.” 32. ראוּבן re'uvbēn Reuben, “behold a son.” A paronomasia in allusion to the phrase בעניי ראה be‛ānyı̂y rā'âh Derivatives and compounds, being formed by the common speaker, are sometimes founded upon resemblance in sound, and not always on precise forms of the original sentence which…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 31-35Verses 31-35 The names Leah gave her children, expressed her respect and regard, both to God and to her husband. Reuben, or See a son, with this thought, Now will my husband love me; Levi, or joined, expecting, Now will my husband be joined unto me. Mutual affection is both the duty and comfort of the married relation; and yoke-fellows should study to recommend themselves to each other, 1Co 7:33, 34. She thankfully acknowledges the kind providence of God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31-35The rivalry between these sisters explains much of the later conflict among their sons, and then among the tribes. This is similar to how Jacob and Laban's rivalry predicted future conflicts between Israel and the Arameans of Damascus (2 Samuel 8:5–6; 10:8–19; 1 Kings 20:1–34; 2 Kings 5:1–8:29; 13:1–25; Isaiah 7:1–9). God fights for the cause of the poor and oppressed. He honored Leah, the despised first wife, by making her the first mother. Judah's royal…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3131. 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.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 29:31

• Family
• Jacob
• Leah
• Polygamy
• Rachel
• Wife

In the dictionaries

• Leah
• Rachel
• Barren
• Serve
• Wages
• Archaeology; Archaeology and Criticism
• Barren; Barrenness
• Father
• Genealogy
• Genesis

Commentaries on Genesis 29

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings