New American Standard Bible 2020
Genesis 29:31
31Now the Lord saw that Leah was 1unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children.
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 female slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. 30So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years. Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. 32Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.
Read all of Genesis 29Genesis 29:31 word by word
וַיַּ֤רְא יְהוָה֙ כִּֽי־שְׂנוּאָ֣ה לֵאָ֔ה וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח אֶת־רַחְמָ֑הּ וְרָחֵ֖ל עֲקָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Genesis 29:31
- Exodus 3:7And the Lord said, “I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their outcry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.
- Genesis 29:30So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.
- Genesis 27:41So Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
- Deuteronomy 21:15“If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, and the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,
- Malachi 1:3but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.”
- Matthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
- Matthew 10:37“The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
- Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
- John 12:25The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
- Genesis 16:1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar.
- Genesis 20:18For the Lord had completely closed all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
- Genesis 21:1Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised.
- Genesis 25:21Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children; and the Lord answered him, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
- Genesis 30:1Now when Rachel saw that she had not borne Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I am going to die.”
- Judges 13:2And there was a man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was infertile and had not given birth to any children.
- 1 Samuel 1:5but to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but 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
In the dictionaries
Notes
- 1. Genesis 29:31 Lit hated ↩
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
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Commentaries