Leah was the elder daughter of Laban.
Leah was the mother of seven of Jacob's children. She was a matriarch to Jesus Christ.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Leah is portrayed to be the unloved wife of the biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was the first wife of Jacob and was also the elder sister of his second wife, Rachel, who he loved.
Leah's life teaches us many lessons and her journey is truly one to admire. Leah also played a very important role in the Bible.
If you've enjoyed this article, then why not check out some of our other articles like facts about Samson in the Bible or facts about Matthew in the Bible.
Leah's Life History
Jacob's father, Isaac, had married a matrilineal cousin, and Jacob was supposed to do the same. After Jacob had deprived his brother, Esau of his birthright and blessing, he fled from the wrath of Esau and took refuge in the household of his uncle Laban.
Leah's story started when, one day, Jacob met Laban's younger daughter and Leah's younger sister, Rachel, at a well. Jacob fell in love with Rachel almost instantly.
Wanting to marry Rachel, Jacob worked for seven years to earn enough money in order to ask for Rachel's hand in marriage. However, on the day of the marriage, Jacob discovered he hadn't married Rachel, but Leah. Jacob was tricked by Karma itself, for he himself had tricked his blind and dying father before he passed.
Uncle Laban tells Jacob that his younger daughter would not be married before his older daughter. Jacob is mad at this and asks for Rachel's hand one more time, telling Laban to send Rachel to him and he will serve Laban for the next seven years in order to earn her bride money.
After Jacob eventually marries Rachel, the tension between the two sisters begins to affect Leah's marriage drastically. Jacob makes it very obvious that he favors Rachel over Leah, which makes Leah feel alienated.
To compensate for her misery, God blessed Leah with fertility while Rachel initially remained barren. Leah gave birth to six sons and one daughter.
She hoped that seeing how fertile she was, Jacob would pay her more attention but Jacob always favored Rachel over her. Even after Rachel's death, Jacob favored the children Rachel gave him over his children with Leah.
Leah and Rachel always competed for the love of Jacob and both gave birth to many sons who eventually became known as the 12 tribes of Israel. Leah and Rachel were both known as ancestresses 'who built up the house of Israel'.
The Role Of Leah In The Bible
Although she was the unloved wife, Leah played a very important role in the Bible.
In the Bible, Leah's eyes are described to be 'loving' or 'tender' but are not to be compared with Rachel's external beauty. Since Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he translates the texts as to Leah having dull or lightless eyes.
Sympathizing with her pain, God made her fertile. She may not be unloved but she was said to be favored by God.
The relationship between the two wives was extremely competitive. Rachel had given Jacob her handmaid who had born him two sons.
In response, Leah gave her handmaid to Jacob who also bore him two sons.
After their father, Laban, refused to give them the bride money that Jacob earned for seven years for Leah and later seven years for Rachel, the sisters almost reunited.
They did not intend on letting the seven years he spent working hard for them go to waste.
When Leah's first son bought mandrakes for his mother, which were known at the time to help in child-bearing due to their aphrodisiac qualities, Rachel asked Leah to give her the mandrakes in exchange for hiring Jacob for one night, and Leah obliged.
Leah was always the first. Leah's life might have been unloved but she was the first and the older daughter who became the first wife of Jacob and the first mother to give birth to Jacob's first son.
Her entire marriage was unhonored yet Jacob asked for her to be buried next to his parents and grandparents and was also buried next to her. She lived an honorless life yet was honored in the end.
Leah is a matriarch in the birth of Jesus Christ. Jacob might not have chosen her, however, God chose her to play a major role in the birth of the savior of the world. Leah praised and thanked God for all she had received and such praise was what formed a legacy that led to the birth of Christ.
Passages From The Bible That Reference Leah
As has already been mentioned, Leah played a very important role in the Bible, with many passages that make reference to her and her life. We have given some examples of these passages below:
Genesis 29:16: And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Genesis 29:17: Leah was tender-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well-favored.
Genesis 29:23: And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
Genesis 29:24: And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for a handmaid.
Genesis 29:25: And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? Did not I serve with thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
Genesis 29:30: And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah and served with him yet seven other years.
Genesis 29:31: And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
Genesis 29:32: And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now, therefore, my husband will love me.
Genesis 30:9: When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
Genesis 30:11: And Leah said, a troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
Genesis 30:13: And Leah said, happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
Genesis 30:14: And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
Genesis 30:16: And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
Genesis 30:17: And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
Genesis 30:18: And Leah said God hath given me my hire because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
Genesis 30:19: And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
Genesis 30:20: And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
Genesis 31:4: And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock.
Genesis 31:14: And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?
Genesis 33:1: And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, Esau came and with him 400 men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.
Genesis 33:2: And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.
Genesis 33:7: And Leah also with her children came near and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.
Genesis 34:1: And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
Genesis 35:23: The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun.
Genesis 46:15: These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
Genesis 46:18: These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
Genesis 49:31: There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
Ruth 4:11: And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, we are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem.
Leah's Praise For God
Leah's praise for God can be witnessed by the way she names her children.
Leah knew that she was unloved and that her husband preferred Rachel over her. When she received Gods' favor, she realized that though her husband may not love her, God did. She expresses her praise and thankfulness towards God by naming her children, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
Leah named her first son Reuben meaning, 'behold a son'. This name sounded similar to a Hebrew word which meant 'he has seen my misery'.
This showed how Leah believed that if she had a son before Rachel, her husband would see how miserable she was and would love her more but that was not the case, so when she had her second son she named him Simeon. Simeon means 'to hear'.
She felt as if the Lord had heard how she was unloved and had pity on her by giving her a second son. Her third son was named Levi meaning, 'joined'.
She thought that because she had born her husband three children, he definitely loved her more. However, as Jacob continued to favor Rachel, Leah realized that the only person who had favored her all along was God.
So, she named her fourth son Judah meaning, 'praise'. After bearing four sons she decided to praise the Lord for all he had given her.
Her fourth son, Judah, became an ancestor of King David. Ultimately, Jesus would also come from the ancestral line of Judah.
After the mandrakes incident, Leah bore a fifth son and named him Issachar. She had hired Jacob for the night and hence, this name meant 'hire' or 'wages'.
When her sixth son was born, she named him Zebulun meaning, 'to dwell'. Leah at this moment said, "I have born him six sons." She no longer dwelled on her feeling of loneliness but instead praised God and thanked him for what he had given her.
Leah's role in the Bible is truly special. Her story teaches those of the Christian faith that even if they feel unloved or miserable, God will always love them.
God was always been there by Leah's side and didn't hesitate to help Leah, who was a soul. In Leah's story, God saw how Leah's soul was broken by the fact that her husband never paid her any attention or showed her any love.
Seeing her pain, God offered her his blessings by making her fertile.
In return, Leah praised God and was always generous in showing how thankful she was for God's help. This story provides an opportunity for Christians to remember that God can be watching over them not just in their happy times, but also when they feel sorrow.
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