Genesis 29:31 (WEB)
The LORD saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Genesis 29:31 (KJV)
And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
Key words
- שְׂנוּאָהsenu'ah · Hebrew
- 'hated' — in Hebrew idiom, 'loved less' (compare Deuteronomy 21:15). Leah is the less-loved wife; Rachel the beloved.
- עֲקָרָהaqarah · Hebrew
- 'barren.' Rachel joins Sarah and Rebekah as the beloved but childless matriarch whose womb only God can open.
Why it matters
Rachel is the beloved wife of Jacob, yet she is barren while her rival Leah bears son after son. Pitre sketches her as the matriarch of sorrow: loved, yet long deprived, and finally fruitful only by God's intervention. This pattern of sorrow turned to motherhood prepares the way for Mary, whose grief at the cross issues in a new spiritual motherhood.