Genesis 29:15-30:21--The Plain Jane
Leah. For most of my life, I questioned the wisdom
of parents who named their daughter “Leah.” I’d wonder, “If the
parents were looking for a female biblical name, why not select the
name of a woman who was known for her beauty, such as ‘Sarah,’ ‘Rebekah,’
or ‘Rachel?’”
Growing up, I only came to know one aspect about
Leah, and that was how the Bible described her. The Bible says Leah
was “tender-eyed,” which can also be translated “weak-eyed.” Did
that mean she had droopy eye lids? Was she cross-eyed, or did she
perhaps have a lazy eye?
Whatever her eye problem, evidently it was the most
significant attribute about her looks, because that is the sum of
her description in Genesis 29:17. However, in the very next
sentence, we are told that Rachel was beautiful and well favored.
Hmm, God made it a point to inform us of the physical appearance of
these sisters: Leah was weak-eyed, and Rachel was beautiful. It was
the beauty queen against the plain Jane. I’m a visual person, so
when I imagine how Rachel might have looked, I think of several
dark-haired beauties such as Catherine Zeta Jones, Jennifer Lopez
and
Kim Kardashian, who, to me, have a “take-your-breath-away” type of beauty.
But here we have Leah, the older, unmarried sister,
who is not breathtakingly beautiful. Unfortunately, having to stand
beside Rachel, she is overlooked, unwanted and undesirable. So, with
Rachel betrothed to Jacob, what is Laban going to do with Leah?
After all, it was a custom for the elder sister to marry first. So,
rather than being honest with Jacob, Laban decided to deceive Jacob
after he worked seven years for the privilege of marrying Rachel.
It certainly appears that deceit was a family trait
here. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, who is also Laban’s sister, is the one
who convinced Jacob to masquerade as Esau in order to receive
Isaac’s blessing. Not only that, but she also arranged the entire
sham. She prepared the phony venison stew, provided Jacob an “Esau
costume,” and convinced Isaac that he was, indeed, blessing Esau.
There’s a bit of irony here when Rebekah suggested Jacob head toward
her former homeland, Haran, to flee Esau’s wrath. The deceiver was
being sent off to another deceiver and into the web of another
sibling rivalry. When Jacob negotiated for the hand of Rachel in
marriage, he trusted Laban to hold up his end of the bargain.
Unfortunately for Jacob, he experienced firsthand the devastation of
being double crossed, much like the double cross he pulled on his
brother, Esau.
After Jacob informed Laban that he had served his
seven years and was ready to wed Rachel, we’re told in Genesis 29:22
that Laban prepared a feast. The KJV indicates that Laban gathered
together all the men of the place, and made a feast. This makes it
seem Laban might possibly have planned a men’s only private party,
probably to assure that Rachel wouldn’t be around. It’s possible
that only Laban, Jacob and Leah knew that a wedding was about to
take place that evening.
However, in other translations and study Bibles I
researched, the indication is that Laban gathered all the people
together, which is what I have always been taught. The Jewish Study
Bible (Tanakh Translation) p. 60, includes an interesting side note
taken from a midrash* in the Talmud, which
“…speaks of Rachel’s selflessness and her
concern to spare her unloved older sister humiliation.”
Anticipating that Laban was capable of deceit, the
midrash reports that:
“… Jacob had given Rachel certain tokens by
which he could identify her, lest her deceitful father succeed
in substituting Leah. Worried that her sister would then be put
to shame in her wedding bed, she handed the tokens over to
Leah.”
I had never heard or read this insightful viewpoint
before, but it would go a long way in answering a question I’ve
always had, “Where was Rachel when the feast and wedding ceremony
were taking place? How did Laban manage to keep her away from the
celebration and feast that everyone else was attending?”
It’s difficult for us to imagine how Jacob didn’t
notice the switch that took place, but if it was dark, and the
lighting was poor, and if Leah had a veil covering her face, it’s
understandable how Laban could have pulled this off. I’m sure, too,
that the wine flowed freely at that party, so we have no idea of the
sobriety of Jacob on his wedding night. We’re not given any
indication that Leah was involved in the scheming aspect of this
deception, only that she was obedient to her father. And, if there’s
any validity to the midrash quoted above, Leah would have been able
to produce the tokens, or proof to convince Jacob that he was really
marrying Rachel.
We also have no indication that Jacob ever grew to
love Leah, certainly not like he loved Rachel. Genesis 29:30 says
that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. But in Genesis 29:31, we’re
told that the LORD saw that Leah was hated (KJV), or unloved (other
translations). As Leah begins bearing children for Jacob, and Rachel
doesn’t, Leah’s desire is that through the birth of each male child
she might obtain the affection of Jacob.
When Leah conceived and bore her first son, she
named him Reuben, for “Surely the Lord hath looked upon my
affliction; now therefore my husband will love me” (29:32). When her
second son, Simeon, was born, she said, “Because the LORD hath heard
that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also” (29:33).
When her third son is born, she said, “Now this time will my husband
be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons,” and he was
called Levi.
Her insecurities and her sense of being unloved were
evident as she named her children. It was obvious that she was
lonely, and that she longed to be noticed and loved by Jacob. Sadly,
her entire self worth became connected to her bearing children,
especial male babies. She hoped that her children would be the
catalyst for gaining Jacob’s attention and adoration. However, we’re
never given any hint that that ever happened.
Fortunately, we see a change take place in Leah’s
heart when she named her fourth son. She declared, “Now will I
praise the Lord,” and she called his name Judah. Finally, she
praised the LORD!! Finally, she threw off the cloak of self pity and
self-centeredness, and she praised the LORD for this fourth son.
Finally, she saw the blessings and favor God had been bestowing on
her all along, and that her personal situation wasn’t as bleak as
she perceived it. Though we don’t know this from Scripture, it’s
hopeful that she recognized that having the love of the LORD was
enough. Yes, having the love of a man would be great, but God’s love
was better, not to mention more than sufficient.
Judah was obviously a blessing to Leah; but in her
lifetime, she would never be able to truly understand the extent of
this child’s blessing to the world. Today, we know that this
precious baby boy for whom she praised the LORD would become the
tribal head through which our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, would
be born. The Abrahamic covenant was fulfilled through Leah. Jesus,
the Messiah from the tribe of Judah (the tribe of thanksgiving),
didn’t come through Rachel, the beautiful and the loved. Judah came
through Leah, the weak-eyed and the unloved. Unloved by a man, yes,
but loved by the LORD.
In today’s society, as women put so much stock and
importance on being loved by a man, we would do well to remember
that the love that is the most significant and fulfilling is the
love of our Heavenly Father, and His love is always available and is
always unconditional. It doesn’t depend on our outward beauty, what
we can accomplish or what we achieve. God IS love.
One other point worth noting is the blessing God
bestowed on the Israelites through Leah’s third child, Levi. It was
through Levi’s tribe that God would establish the priestly order who
would oversee the Law, Tabernacle, the sacrifices, the feasts, the
temple, the baptisms and worship.
Yes, the birth of Judah was worthy of God’s praise.
Leah certainly got that part right. And when I recognized it was
Leah through whom we eternally benefitted, I changed my attitude
toward her. No longer will I question a parent’s naming a daughter
Leah. Instead, when I meet a young girl or woman with the name of
Leah, or a derivative of her name, I share with her the blessing
with which her name is identified.
*The New World Encylopiedia states that a Midrash is
a Hebrew word referring to the exposition, or exegesis, of a
biblical text. The term can also refer to a specific compilation of
midrashic teachings.
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