Black Lady Reading About Rachel and Leah From Bible

Biblical matriarch

Leah ^[a] () is an important figure in the Judeo-Christian tradition, the unloved married woman of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob'south beginning wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) married woman Rachel. She is the female parent of Jacob's starting time son Reuben. She has iii more sons, namely Simeon, Levi and Judah, but does not comport another son until Rachel offers her a night with Jacob in exchange for some mandrake root ( דודאים , dûdâ'îm). Leah gives birth to two more sons subsequently this, Issachar and Zebulun, and to Jacob'due south only girl, Dinah.

Biblical narrative [edit]

Overview [edit]

Leah offset appears in the Book of Genesis, in Genesis 29, which describes her every bit the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, and is said to not compare to Rachel's physical beauty and that she has weary eyes. Earlier passages in the Book of Genesis give some background on her male parent's family, noting that through him, she is the niece of Rebecca, who is the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau, and the granddaughter of Bethuel, and rabbinic literature goes even further, with the Volume of Jasher claiming Leah and Rachel were twins and recording her mother's proper name as Adinah and her brothers' names as Beor, Alub, and Murash. Rabbinical literature contradicts itself on whether or not Leah and Rachel were half-siblings to Zilpah and Bilhah, two sisters who would serve equally mistresses to Leah's future husband, Jacob, and whose children she and Rachel would heighten equally their own, as 1 source lists them as being daughters of Laban, merely not his married woman Adinah, and another lists them equally beingness the daughters of Rotheus, a homo who was close to Laban only not related to him. If Zilpah and Bilhah were indeed one-half-sisters of Leah, this would make Leah'southward adoptive sons, Gad and Asher, and Rachel's adoptive sons, Dan and Naphtali, her nephews. According to Genesis 28:2, the family unit resided in Paddan Aram, an area believed to correspond with the historical Upper Mesopotamia.^[4]

Prior to her and Rachel's mentioning, the Volume of Genesis details how their starting time cousin and time to come husband, Jacob, with the help of his mother, Rebecca, willfully deceives his dying father, Isaac, into giving him his twin brother Esau's birthright. Fearful of his brother's wrath, Jacob flees his homeland for Haran, where he meets his maternal family, including Laban and his daughters. Biblical passages are dismissive of Leah and favorable of Rachel, with Rachel said to exist beautiful and of Leah, only that she had "weary" or "tired" optics. Jacob is eager to marry Rachel and agrees to provide seven years' labor to her father if he can ally her. Laban initially agrees but, on the nighttime of what would've been Jacob and Rachel's wedding, Laban reneges; he insists Jacob marry Leah instead, equally she is older. Jacob is ultimately allowed to marry Rachel, which he does immediately after the festivities related to his wedding to Leah terminate, in exchange for another vii years' labor.

Leah'due south life equally Jacob's wife was distressful. So lonely was she that even the 50ORD took notice of it and blessed her with many children as consolation. Due to the extreme emotional distress suffered by both Leah (and Rachel) during the marriage, Yahweh later strictly clarified His opposition to uncovering the nakedness of a adult female and her sis while both were still living (Genesis 30:one, Leviticus xviii:eighteen).

Despite Rachel's infertility, Jacob still favored Rachel over her. He also favored Rachel'due south sons, Joseph and Benjamin, over Leah's, and made no attempts to hibernate that from her or his other children. According to 1 Chronicles v:1, Jacob took the firstborn's birthright, which entitles a firstborn to a larger inheritance in Jewish law, from Reuben, his oldest son, to Joseph, who was his second-youngest son, and, in Genesis 33:two, when he is confronted by Esau, puts Leah, along with Zilpah and Bilhah and all of their sons, in front of himself, Rachel, and Joseph, to exist used every bit something of a buffer or a shield to protect himself in the outcome the confrontation turned tearing. Even later Rachel'due south decease, Leah'southward state of affairs did not meliorate, as Jacob took Bilhah, Rachel'southward handmaiden, as his primary partner.

Appearance [edit]

The Torah introduces Leah by describing her with the phrase, "Leah had tender eyes" (Hebrew: ועיני לאה רכות) (Genesis 29:17). It is argued as to whether the describing word "tender" (רכות‎) should be taken to mean "delicate and soft" or "weary".^[5] Leah'southward (and Rachel's) parents were Laban and Adinah .

The commentary of Rashi cites a Rabbinic interpretation of how Leah's optics became weak. According to this story, Leah was destined to marry Jacob'southward older twin blood brother, Esau. In the Rabbinic mind, the two brothers are polar opposites; Jacob being a God-fearing scholar and Esau being a hunter who also indulges in idolatry and adultery. But people were saying, "Laban has two daughters and his sis, Rebekah, has two sons. The older daughter (Leah) volition marry the older son (Esau), and the younger daughter (Rachel) volition ally the younger son (Jacob)."^{[half dozen]} Hearing this, Leah spent most of her time weeping and praying to God to change her destined mate. Thus the Torah describes her eyes as "soft" from weeping. God hearkens to Leah'southward tears and prayers and allows her to marry Jacob even before Rachel does.

Matrimony to Jacob [edit]

Leah becomes Jacob'southward wife through a deception on the role of her father, Laban. In the Biblical account, Jacob is dispatched to the hometown of Laban—the brother of his mother Rebekah—to avoid being killed by his blood brother Esau, and to find a wife. Out past the well, he encounters Laban'south younger girl Rachel tending her father'due south sheep, and decides to marry her. Laban is willing to give Rachel'due south hand to Jacob as long equally he works seven years for her.

On the wedding night, however, Laban switches Leah for Rachel. Afterwards Laban claims that it is uncustomary to give the younger girl away in marriage before the older i (Genesis 29:sixteen-30). Laban offers to requite Rachel to Jacob in marriage in return for another seven years of work (Genesis 29:27). Jacob accepts the offer and marries Rachel after the week-long commemoration of his wedlock to Leah.

Motherhood [edit]

Leah is the female parent of six of Jacob's sons, including his first four (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah), and afterwards ii more (Issachar and Zebulun), and a girl (Dinah). According to the scriptures, God saw that Leah was "unloved" and opened her womb equally consolation. Through her sons Levi and Judah, she is thus the dame of both the priestly (Levite) and royal (Judahite) tribes in Israel.

Seeing that she is unable to conceive, Rachel offers her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob, and names and raises the ii sons (Dan and Naphtali) that Bilhah bears. Leah responds by offer her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and names and raises the 2 sons (Gad and Asher) that Zilpah bears. Co-ordinate to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah are actually half-sisters of Leah and Rachel.^[7]

One day, Leah's firstborn son Reuben returns from the field with mandrakes for his female parent. Leah has not conceived for a while, and this found, whose roots resemble the human body, is thought to be an aid to fertility.^[viii] Frustrated that she is not able to excogitate at all, Rachel offers to trade her night with their married man in return for the mandrakes. Leah agrees, and that dark she sleeps with Jacob and conceives Issachar. Afterwards she gives nativity to Zebulun and to a daughter, Dinah.^[9] Afterward that, God remembers Rachel and gives her two sons, Joseph and Benjamin.

Rivalry with Rachel [edit]

On a homiletical level, the classic Chassidic texts explain the sisters' rivalry as more than marital jealousy. Each woman desired to grow spiritually in her avodat HaShem (service of God), and therefore sought closeness to the tzadik (Jacob) who is God'due south personal emissary in this world. By marrying Jacob and bearing his sons, who would be raised in the tzadik's home and proceed his mission into the next generation (indeed, all 12 sons became tzadikim in their own correct and formed the foundation of the Nation of State of israel), they would develop an fifty-fifty closer relationship to God. Therefore, Leah and Rachel each wanted to have as many of those sons as possible, going so far as to offer their handmaids every bit proxies to Jacob and then they could have a share in the upbringing of their handmaids' sons, too.^[ten]

Each woman too continually questioned whether she was doing enough in her personal efforts toward increased spirituality, and would employ the other'southward example to spur herself on. Rachel envied Leah'due south tearful prayers, by which she merited to marry the tzadik and bear six of his twelve sons.^{[7] [10]} The Talmud (Megillah 13b) says that Rachel revealed to Leah the secret signs which she and Jacob had devised to identify the veiled bride, because they both suspected Laban would pull such a flim-flam.^[eleven]

Death and burial [edit]

Leah died some time earlier Jacob (according to Genesis 49:31). She is thought to exist cached in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron alongside Jacob. This cave also houses the graves of Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah.^[12]

Family tree [edit]

Terah

Sarah[13]

Abraham

Hagar

Haran

Nahor

Ishmael

Milcah

Lot

Iscah

Ishmaelites

seven sons[14]

Bethuel

1st daughter

second daughter

Isaac

Rebecca

Laban

Moabites

Ammonites

Esau

Jacob

Rachel

Bilhah

Edomites

Zilpah

Leah

1. Reuben two. Simeon iii. Levi 4. Judah 9. Issachar 10. Zebulun Dinah(daughter)

7. Gad 8. Asher

v. Dan 6. Naphtali

11. Joseph 12. Benjamin

According to this family tree, Leah'south husband Jacob is her offset cousin (through their mutual grandfather Bethuel). They are also 2d cousins once removed (Jacob's great-grandfather through Abraham, Terah, is Leah's great-great gramps through Nahor); and again second cousins in one case removed (Jacob's peachy-grandfather through Sarah, Terah, is Leah'south great-great-grandfather through Nahor). Finally, they are 2d cousins twice removed (Jacob's cracking-grandfather through Abraham, Terah, is Leah'southward dandy-great-great-granddad through Milcah); and again 2d cousins twice removed (Jacob's corking-grandpa through Sarah, Terah, is Leah'south great-corking-peachy-granddad through Milcah).

Medieval Christian symbolism [edit]

In medieval Christian symbolism, Rachel was taken equally a symbol of the contemplative (monastic) Christian life, and Leah every bit a symbol of the active (non-monastic) life.^[15] Dante Alighieri's Purgatorio includes a dream of Rachel and Leah, which inspired illustrations past Dante Gabriel Rossetti and others:

"... in my dream, I seemed to encounter a woman
both immature and fair; forth a plain she gathered
flowers, and even as she sang, she said:
Whoever asks my name, know that I'chiliad Leah,
and I utilize my lovely hands to way
a garland of the flowers I have gathered."^[16]

Notes [edit]

1. ^ Hebrew: לֵאָה‎, Modern: Lēʼa , Tiberian: Lēʼā , ISO 259-iii Leˀa; Syriac: ܠܝܐ La'ya; from 𒀖 littu Akkadian for ' cow ' ^{[i] [2] [3]}

References [edit]

1. ^ Meyers, Carol L.; Craven, Toni; Kraemer, Ross Shepard, eds. (2001), Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament, One thousand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, p. 108, ISBN9780802849625
2. ^ Hepner, Gershon (2010), Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical State of israel, Bern: Peter Lang, p. 422, ISBN9780820474625
3. ^ "ab [Moo-cow]", The electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archæology and Anthropology, OCLC 163207721
4. ^ "Paddan-Aram". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org . Retrieved 2020-04-thirty .
5. ^ Bivin, David, "Leah's Tender Eyes," at jerusalemperspective.com Archived 2007-05-26 at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ "What's in A Name," Vayetzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3) at aish.com
7. ^ ^{a b} Ginzberg, Louis (1909) The Legends of the Jews, Volume I, Affiliate 6: Jacob, at sacred-texts.com
8. ^ Mandrake Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Auto in the American Bible Gild Online Bible Lexicon, 1865, Broadway, New York, NY 10023-7505 at world wide web.bibles.com
9. ^ Alihassan, N. (2017). Prophets in Islam. Notion Press. ISBN9781946822680.
10. ^ ^{a b} Feinhandler, Yisrael Pesach, Beloved Companions, Vayetze - III, "Jealousy Tin Be a Tool for Spiritual Growth," at shemayisrael.com
11. ^ Wagensberg, Abba (2006), "Between The Lines," in Toras Aish, Book XIV, No. 11, © 2006 Rabbi A. Wagensberg & aish.com
12. ^ Richman, Chaim (1995), "Focus on Hebron," Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine © 1995 Calorie-free to the Nations, Rabbi Chaim Richman - All Rights Reserved, Reprinted from The Restoration newsletter, July, 1995 (Tammuz/Av, 5755) at lttn.org
13. ^ Sarah was the half–sister of Abraham (Genesis 20:12). An culling tradition holds that she was Abraham'south niece (see Sarah#In rabbinic literature).
14. ^ Genesis 22:21-22: Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, and Jidlaph
15. ^ Dorothy Fifty. Sayers, Purgatory (translation of Dante's Purgatorio), notes on Canto XXVII.
16. ^ Dante'due south Purgatorio, Canto XXVII, lines 97–102, Mandelbaum translation.

External links [edit]

winningoply1938.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah

Share this post