Leah's growing pains. . .

Women don't take up a lot of the Old Testament. Although it is important to notice that the Hebrews were extremely progressive among other cultures of their time in allowing women to own land, be mentioned in genealogies, etc. One venue they do get to speak out from in scripture is that of the birth quote (there's probably a fancier term for that somewhere; this is mine). I had read the Bible several times before I really noticed this amazing little micro-genre. One interesting study is just going through scripture and looking at who had miraculous/angel-announced births (which you will notice ended with Jesus). And another study to go through all the births that give the name of the baby and why the mother named it what she did-something autobiographical usually. (Remember Ichabod? The glory has gone out. Look that one up for poignancy).

Anyway, Leah, the unlucky, unloved, unlovely wife. Her husband had to be tricked into marrying her. How much would your heart break at the fury of your husband the next day when you were not who he wanted to be married to. Leah's story is eked out every few years with birth of each new son.

1) Reuben ("See, a son!") 29:32. And she says, "Surely my husband will love me now!"
Maybe having this son will change his feelings for me. . .

2) Simeon (one who hears) 29:33. "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, He gave me this one too." Wow, how much pain does that reveal. Maybe he won't love me now either, but God blessed me because of my broken heart.

3) Levi (Attached) 29:34 "Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons." Now it sounds like Leah has finally given up on winning her husband's affection through her fertility. . . and something beautiful happens.

4) She gives birth to Judah (Praise) 29:35 and she says "THIS TIME I WILL PRAISE THE LORD." She has turned from looking to her validation from her husband to connecting directly with God. And perhaps she begins to look at her children as ends in themselves, gifts from God, not means to her husband's heart.

Now, let me just pause to do a little Hallelujah dance. Zoom in on this and think. The oldest son is always given all the honors and birthrights, yes? You'll find out as you read on that Reuben and Simeon made God and a lot of other people really really mad after Dina's assault. Levi at least gets to be the father of the priests for a few thousand years. But JUDAH. Judah is the ancestor of Jesus (and David, first of course). So Two Huge Points here:

1) When Leah's heart totally yielded to God, she gave birth to the man whose descendant would give birth to the Son of God.

2) Jesus did not descend from Rachel, the favorite wife. He descended from the wife who was rejected!

There's an even cooler reason for Judah to be the ancestor of Jesus which I will get to when we get to Joseph (also, btw, not the ancestor of Jesus, just to reiterate (: Jesus did not descend from the favorite)

5) Now she "has a baby" through her concubine Zilpha, and names him Gad (Good fortune) 30:10,11

6) And another via Zilpha, Asher (How Happy I am! The women will call me happy!) 30:12,13 (and I don't even want to think about what it was like to be Zilpha)

Leah may also be succumbing to a motive of competition with Rachel, whose loveliness and lovedness seem to leave Leah empty handed even now. Still, with her maidservant-borne children, she continues to focus on gratitude rather than wistfulness toward her husband.

After a spate of barreness, apparently, Leah is able to conceive again when she so poignantly "hires" her own husband by giving Reuben's mandrakes of the day to Rachel. Mandrakes are a root and they kind of resemble hips and legs and were regarded as fertility 'enhancers.' Her seventh and eight sons come from her own womb.

7) Issachar (Reward) 30:17, 18 "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband."

8) Zebulun (Honor) 30:19,20 "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor because I have borne him six sons."

So her feelings seem to progress as
1) I can win his love
2) He doesn't love me so God will comfort me with a child
3) At least maybe he will feel some bond toward me as the mother of his 3 sons.
4) I give up on my husband; I will praise God.
5) Eh, a child is good thing.
6) Motherhood is good-other women will see me as happy and blessed-they will esteem me.
7) This child is a reward for my good deed (I'm not sure I follow how giving the maidservant to her husband was a good deed bearing on Issachar's birth, since it was her own womb that bore him--I would have expected her to mention the mandrakes).
8) This child is a precious gift AND I should receive honor (if not love) from my husband

In her search for identity, it seems that Leah tries the role of wife, but it does not fulfill her need for meaning. She tries the role of mother and finds her greatest fulfillment here. In some ways her identity is the cut out as the complement (or the negative?) of Rachel-Rachel is what Leah is not, Leah is what Rachel is not. In the end, like many people, Leah seeks out respect, which is a cousin if not a child of Power, in lieu of love, at least in her identity visavis her husband.

And about Rachel I will write in my next post.