New King James Version
Genesis 29:31
31When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
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 Living Translation (NLT)When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.
Context of Genesis 29:31
29And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years. When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.
Read all of Genesis 29Genesis 29:31 word by word
וַיַּ֤רְא יְהוָה֙ כִּֽי־שְׂנוּאָ֣ה לֵאָ֔ה וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח אֶת־רַחְמָ֑הּ וְרָחֵ֖ל עֲקָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 29:31
- Exodus 3:7And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
- Genesis 29:30Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.
- Genesis 27:41So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed 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 21:15“If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved,
- Malachi 1:3But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For 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 else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
- Matthew 10:37He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he 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 father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
- John 12:25He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
- Genesis 16:1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
- Genesis 20:18for the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
- Genesis 21:1And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.
- Genesis 25:21Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Genesis 30:1Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”
- Judges 13:2Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children.
- 1 Samuel 1:5But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries