saw her pain, however, and came to her rescue. Leah bore Jacob many sons.
Rachel, however, could not have children.
What is interesting in this story are the names of Leah’s children. These
names indicate the intense struggle she had in her battle for her husband’s
affection. The first child of Leah and Jacob was named Ruben. Leah gave
him this name because she said, “it is because the Lord has seen my misery.
Surely my husband will love me now.” (Genesis 29.32b). She was hoping
that because she had given Jacob this son, he would love her.
When she gave birth to her second son, Leah called him Simeon. Genesis
29.33 tells us that she named him Simeon because “the Lord heard that I
am not loved, he gave me this one too” (Genesis 29.33). Her pain is
obvious. She is looking for anything that would make Jacob love her. She
wants to be loved.
Leah called here thirds son, Levi because she said, “now, at last, my
husband will become attached to me because I have born him three sons
(Genesis 29.34). After three sons and at least three years of marriage, Leah
still has not won the heart of her husband. She still longs to be loved but is
being starved of her husband’s attention.
When her fourth son was born, Leah called him Juda, which simply means
“praise.” She has a sense that the Lord is blessing her. While her husband
did not love her, God had not abandoned her. For this, she would praise His
name. After this, Leah stopped having children.
Rachel, who had been the object of Jacob’s attention, could not help but feel
jealousy in her heart when she could not give her husband a son. She
decided to give Jacob her servant so that he could have a son through her.
This son would become Rachel’s son by law. Bilhad gave to Jacob a son
whom Rachel named Dan because she said, “God has vindicated me; he has
listened to my plea and given me a son (Genesis 30.6). Her vindication was
against her sister Leah who was giving Jacob many sons.
Rachel’s servant, Bilhah, gave Jacob a second son. Rachel named him
Naphtali because she said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I
have won (Genesis 30.8). She now had a certain confidence in her heart that
Jacob’s attention was sufficiently turned away from Leah again.