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THE MESSAGE
Genesis 29:32
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalParallel Translations
Le'ah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Re'uven. For she said, "Because the LORD has looked at my affliction. For now my husband will love me."
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.
Then Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because Yahweh has noticed my misery, that I am unloved. Now my husband will love me."
Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, because she said, "The Lord has seen my troubles. Surely now my husband will love me."
So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now."
Leah conceived and gave birth to a son and named him Reuben (See, a son!), for she said, "Because the LORD has seen my humiliation and suffering; now my husband will love me [since I have given him a son]."
Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."
And Leah conceiued & bare a sonne, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Because the Lord hath looked vpon my tribulation, now therefore mine husband will loue me.
So Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, "Because Yahweh has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."
Leah gave birth to a son and named him Reuben, because she said, "The Lord has taken away my sorrow. Now my husband will love me more than he does Rachel."
Le'ah conceived and gave birth to a son, whom she named Re'uven [see, a son!], for she said, "It is because Adonai has seen how humiliated I have been, but now my husband will love me."
And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and called his name Reuben; for she said, Because Jehovah has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.
Leah gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben. She named him this because she said, "The Lord has seen my troubles. My husband does not love me. So now maybe my husband will love me."
And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me."
And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, Because the LORD has seen my affliction, now therefore my husband will love me.
Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, "The Lord has seen my trouble, and now my husband will love me"; so she named him Reuben.
Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now.”
And Leah conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Reuben; for she said, Surely Jehovah has looked on my affliction, for now my husband will love me.
And Lea coceaued, and bare a sonne, whom she called Ruben, and sayde: The LORDE hath loked vpon my aduersite. Now wyll my huÃbande loue me.
And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Because Jehovah hath looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.
And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me.
And Lea conceaued and bare a sonne, and she called his name Ruben: for she sayde, the Lord hath loked vpon my tribulation: nowe therfore my husband wyll loue me.
And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said: 'Because the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.'
And Leah conceiued and bare a sonne, and shee called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely, the LORD hath looked vpon my affliction; now therefore my husband will loue me.
And Lea conceived and bore a son to Jacob; and she called his name, Ruben; saying, Because the Lord has looked on my humiliation, and has given me a son, now then my husband will love me.
And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Because the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.
And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, "The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now."
And Lia childide a sone conseyued, and clepide his name Ruben, and seide, The Lord seiy my mekenesse; now myn hosebonde schal loue me.
and Leah conceiveth, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Reuben, for she said, `Because Jehovah hath looked on mine affliction; because now doth my husband love me.'
And Leah conceived, and bore 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.
Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, "Because Yahweh has looked at my affliction. For now my husband will love me."
So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; [fn] for she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me."
So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me."
Leah was able to have a child and she gave birth to a son. She gave him the name Reuben. For she said, "The Lord has seen my trouble. Now my husband will love me."
Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, "Because the Lord has looked on my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."
So Leah conceived, and hare a son, and called his name Reuben, - for she said, Because, Yahweh hath looked upon my humiliation, For, now, will my husband love me.
And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Ruben, saying: The Lord saw my affliction: now my husband will love me.
And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."
And Leah became pregnant, and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, Because Yahweh has looked on my affliction. For now my husband will love me.
Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
am 2252, bc 1752
his name: Genesis 35:22, Genesis 37:21, Genesis 37:22, Genesis 37:29, Genesis 42:22, Genesis 42:27, Genesis 46:8, Genesis 46:9, Genesis 49:3, Genesis 49:4, 1 Chronicles 5:1
Reuben: that is, see a son
looked: Exodus 3:7, Exodus 4:31, Deuteronomy 26:7, 1 Samuel 1:11, 1 Samuel 1:20, 2 Samuel 16:12, Psalms 25:18, Psalms 106:44, Luke 1:25
Reciprocal: Genesis 3:20 - Adam Genesis 16:11 - shalt Genesis 30:6 - God Genesis 31:42 - hath seen Genesis 35:23 - General Genesis 41:52 - called he Genesis 42:13 - Thy servants Genesis 46:15 - Leah Numbers 1:5 - Elizur Numbers 1:20 - General Numbers 26:5 - the eldest Numbers 32:1 - the children Deuteronomy 27:13 - Reuben Deuteronomy 33:9 - I have not Ruth 4:11 - Rachel 1 Chronicles 2:1 - Reuben 1 Chronicles 5:18 - Reuben Isaiah 7:14 - shall call Ezekiel 48:6 - Reuben Matthew 1:2 - Jacob begat
Cross-References
Jacob said, "Hello friends. Where are you from?" They said, "We're from Haran."
"We can't," they said. "Not until all the shepherds get here. It takes all of us to roll the stone from the well. Not until then can we water the flocks."
While Jacob was in conversation with them, Rachel came up with her father's sheep. She was the shepherd. The moment Jacob spotted Rachel, daughter of Laban his mother's brother, saw her arriving with his uncle Laban's sheep, he went and single-handedly rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. Then he kissed Rachel and broke into tears. He told Rachel that he was related to her father, that he was Rebekah's son. She ran and told her father. When Laban heard the news—Jacob, his sister's son!—he ran out to meet him, embraced and kissed him and brought him home. Jacob told Laban the story of everything that had happened.
Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife; I've completed what we agreed I'd do. I'm ready to consummate my marriage." Laban invited everyone around and threw a big feast. At evening, though, he got his daughter Leah and brought her to the marriage bed, and Jacob slept with her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.)
Later Reuben came back and went to the cistern—no Joseph! He ripped his clothes in despair. Beside himself, he went to his brothers. "The boy's gone! What am I going to do!"
Reuben broke in. "Didn't I tell you, ‘Don't hurt the boy'? But no, you wouldn't listen. And now we're paying for his murder."
When they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to get food for his donkey; there at the mouth of his bag was his money. He called out to his brothers, "My money has been returned; it's right here in my bag!" They were puzzled—and frightened. "What's God doing to us?"
God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Once you enter the land that God , your God, is giving you as an inheritance and take it over and settle down, you are to take some of all the firstfruits of what you grow in the land that God , your God, is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place God , your God, sets apart for you to worship him. At that time, go to the priest who is there and say, "I announce to God , your God, today that I have entered the land that God promised our ancestors that he'd give to us." The priest will take the basket from you and place it on the Altar of God , your God. And there in the Presence of God , your God, you will recite: A wandering Aramean was my father, he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, he and just a handful of his brothers at first, but soon they became a great nation, mighty and many. The Egyptians abused and battered us, in a cruel and savage slavery. We cried out to God , the God-of-Our-Fathers: He listened to our voice, he saw our destitution, our trouble, our cruel plight. And God took us out of Egypt with his strong hand and long arm, terrible and great, with signs and miracle-wonders. And he brought us to this place, gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. So here I am. I've brought the firstfruits of what I've grown on this ground you gave me, O God . Then place it in the Presence of God , your God. Prostrate yourselves in the Presence of God , your God. And rejoice! Celebrate all the good things that God , your God, has given you and your family; you and the Levite and the foreigner who lives with you. Every third year, the year of the tithe, give a tenth of your produce to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow so that they may eat their fill in your cities. And then, in the Presence of God , your God, say this: I have brought the sacred share, I've given it to the Levite, foreigner, orphan, and widow. What you commanded, I've done. I haven't detoured around your commands, I haven't forgotten a single one. I haven't eaten from the sacred share while mourning, I haven't removed any of it while ritually unclean, I haven't used it in funeral feasts. I have listened obediently to the Voice of God , my God, I have lived the way you commanded me. Look down from your holy house in Heaven! Bless your people Israel and the ground you gave us, just as you promised our ancestors you would, this land flowing with milk and honey. This very day God , your God, commands you to follow these rules and regulations, to live them out with everything you have in you. You've renewed your vows today that God is your God, that you'll live the way he shows you; do what he tells you in the rules, regulations, and commandments; and listen obediently to him. And today God has reaffirmed that you are dearly held treasure just as he promised, a people entrusted with keeping his commandments, a people set high above all other nations that he's made, high in praise, fame, and honor: you're a people holy to God , your God. That's what he has promised.
Before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son. She named him Samuel, explaining, "I asked God for him."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben,.... That is, "see the son", as if she by this name called upon her husband, her friends, and all about her, to look at him, and view him; perhaps hoping and imagining he might be the famous son, the promised seed, the Messiah that was to spring to Abraham, in the line of Jacob; but if she so thought, she was greatly mistaken; for this son of hers proved unstable, and did not excel; or rather God hath seen or provided a son, as Hillerus w gives the signification of the name, which seems better to agree with what follows:
for she said, surely the Lord hath looked on my affliction; being deceived by her father, not so much loved by her husband as her sister was, and perhaps slighted by her:
now therefore my husband will love me: more than he has done, and equally as my sister, having bore him a son.
w Onomastic. Sacr. p. 918.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacob’s Marriage
6. רחל rāchēl, Rachel, “a ewe.”
16. לאה lê'âh, Leah, “wearied.”
24. זלפה zı̂lpâh, Zilpah, “drop?”
29. בלהה bı̂lhâh, Bilhah, “timidity.”
32. ראוּבן re'uvbēn, Reuben, “behold a son.” A paronomasia in allusion to the phrase בעניי ראה be‛ānyı̂y rā'âh. Derivatives and compounds, being formed by the common speaker, are sometimes founded upon resemblance in sound, and not always on precise forms of the original sentence which prompted them.
33. שׁמעין shı̂m‛ôn, Shim‘on, “hearing, answer.”
34. לוי lêvı̂y, Levi, “junction, union.”
35. יחוּדה yehûdâh, Jehudah, “praised.”
In this chapter and the following, Jacob grows from a solitary fugitive with a staff in his hand Genesis 32:10 to be the father of a large family and the owner of great wealth. He proves himself to be a man of patience and perseverance, and the Lord according to promise is with him.
Genesis 29:1-8
Jacob arrives at the well of Haran. “The land of the sons of the east.” The points of the heavens were defined by the usage of practical life, and not by the standard of a science yet unknown. Hence, the east means any quarter toward the sunrising. Haran was about four degrees east of Beer-sheba, and five and a half degrees north. The distance was about four hundred and fifty miles, and therefore it would take Jacob fifteen days to perform the journey at thirty miles a day. If he reached Bethel the first night, he must have travelled about fifty miles the first day. After this he proceeds on his journey without any memorable incident. In the neighborhood of Haran he comes upon a well, by which lay three flocks. This is not the well near Haran where Abraham’s servant met Rebekah. It is in the pasture grounds at some distance from the town. On its mouth was a large stone, indicating that water was precious, and that the well was the common property of the surrounding natives. The custom was to gather the flocks, roll away the stone, which was too great to be moved by a boy or a female, water the flocks, and replace the stone. Jacob, on making inquiry, learns that Haran is at hand, that Laban is well, and that Rachel is drawing nigh with her father’s flocks. Laban is called by Jacob the son of Nahor, that is, his grandson, with the usual latitude of relative names in Scripture Genesis 28:13. “The day is great.” A great part of it yet remains. It is not yet the time to shut up the cattle for the night; “water the sheep and go feed them.” Jacob may have wished to meet with Rachel without presence of the shepherds. “We cannot.” There was a rule or custom that the flocks must be all assembled before the stone was rolled away for the purpose of watering the cattle. This may have been required to insure a fair distribution of the water to all parties, and especially to those who were too weak to roll away the stone.
Genesis 29:9-14
Jacob’s interview with Rachel, and hospitable reception by Laban. Rachel’s approach awakens all Jacob’s warmth of feeling. He rolls away the stone, waters the sheep, kisses Rachel, and bursts into tears. The remembrance of home and of the relationship of his mother to Rachel overpowers him. He informs Rachel who he is, and she runs to acquaint her father. Laban hastens to welcome his relative to his house. “Surely my bone and my flesh art thou.” This is a description of kinsmanship probably derived from the formation of the woman out of the man Genesis 2:23. A month here means the period from new moon to new moon, and consists of twenty-nine or thirty days.
Genesis 29:15-20
Jacob serves seven years for Rachel. “What shall thy wages be?” An active, industrious man like Jacob was of great value to Laban. “Two daughters.” Daughters in those countries and times were also objects of value, for which their parents were accustomed to receive considerable presents Genesis 24:53. Jacob at present, however, is merely worth his labor. He has apparently nothing else to offer. As he loves Rachel, he offers to serve seven years for her, and is accepted. Isaac loved Rebekah after she was sought and won as a bride for him. Jacob loves Rachel before he makes a proposal of marriage. His attachment is pure and constant, and hence the years of his service seem but days to him. The pleasure of her society both in the business and leisure of life makes the hours pass unnoticed. It is obvious that in those early days the contact of the sexes before marriage was more unrestrained than it afterward became.
Genesis 29:21-30
Jacob is betrayed into marrying Leah, and on consenting to serve other seven years obtains Rachel also. He claims his expected reward when due. “Made a feast.” The feast in the house of the bride’s father seems to have lasted seven days, at the close of which the marriage was completed. But the custom seems to have varied according to the circumstances of the bridegroom. Jacob had no house of his own to which to conduct the bride. In the evening: when it was dark. The bride was also closely veiled, so that it was easy for Laban to practise this piece of deceit. “A handmaid.” It was customary to give the bride a handmaid, who became her confidential servant Genesis 24:59, Genesis 24:61. In the morning Jacob discovers that Laban had overreached him. This is the first retribution Jacob experiences for the deceitful practices of his former days. He expostulates with Laban, who pleads the custom of the country.
It is still the custom not to give the younger in marriage before the older, unless the latter be deformed or in some way defective. It is also not unusual to practise the very same trick that Laban now employed, if the suitor is so simple as to be off his guard. Jacob, however, did not expect this at his relative’s hands, though he had himself taken part in proceedings equally questionable. “Fulfill the week of this.” If this was the second day of the feast celebrating the nuptials of Leah, Laban requests him to Complete the week, and then he will give him Rachel also. If, however, Leah was fraudulently put upon him at the close of the week of feasting, then Laban in these words proposes to give Rachel to Jacob on fulfilling another week of nuptial rejoicing. The latter is in the present instance more likely. In either case the marriage of Rachel is only a week after that of Leah. Rather than lose Rachel altogether, Jacob consents to comply with Laban’s terms.
Rachel was the wife of Jacob’s affections and intentions. The taking of a second wife in the lifetime of the first was contrary to the law of nature, which designed one man for one woman Genesis 2:21-25. But the marrying of a sister-in-law was not yet incestuous, because no law had yet been made on the subject. Laban gives a handmaid to each of his daughters. To Rebekah his sister had been given more than one Genesis 24:61. Bondslaves had been in existence long before Laban’s time Genesis 16:1. “And loved also Rachel more than Leah.” This proves that even Leah was not unloved. At the time of his marriage Jacob was eighty-four years of age; which corresponds to half that age according to the present average of human life.
Genesis 29:31-35
Leah bears four sons to Jacob. “The Lord saw.” The eye of the Lord is upon the sufferer. It is remarkable that both the narrator and Leah employ the proper name of God, which makes the performance of promise a prominent feature of his character. This is appropriate in the mouth of Leah, who is the mother of the promised seed. “That Leah was hated” - less loved than Rachel. He therefore recompenses her for the lack of her husband’s affections by giving her children, while Rachel was barren. “Reuben” - behold a son. “The Lord hath looked on my affliction.” Leah had qualities of heart, if not of outward appearance, which commanded esteem. She had learned to acknowledge the Lord in all her ways. “Simon” - answer. She had prayed to the Lord, and this was her answer. “Levi” - union, the reconciler. Her husband could not, according to the prevailing sentiments of those days, fail to be attached to the mother of three sons. “Judah” - praised. Well may she praise the Lord; for this is the ancestor of the promised seed. It is remarkable that the wife of priority, but not of preference, is the mother of the seed in whom all nations are to be blessed. Levi the reconciler is the father of the priestly tribe. Simon is attached to Judah. Reuben retires into the background.
Reuben may have been born when Jacob was still only eighty-four, and consequently Judah was born when Jacob was eighty-seven.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 29:32. She called his name Reuben — ראובן reuben, literally, see ye or behold a son; for Jehovah hath looked upon, raah, beheld, my affliction; behold then the consequence, I have got a son!
