Genesis Part 047
What were the mandrakes that Leah and Rachael bartered for in Genesis 30:14–15? Tradition indicates that a “mandrake or love-apple” is associated with “exciting sexual desire and favoring procreation.” Strong’s dictionary says it was an “aphrodisiac.” To obtain these mandrakes, Rachel gives Leah a night with Jacob.
Jacob’s competition with Esau had brought near-open warfare to Isaac’s household. Now Jacob would live the remainder of his life eating the bitter fruits of his ways. Leah and Rachel vied with each other for the affection of Jacob. Jacob loved Rachel deeply, but he lacked love for Leah. Where the New King James Version says Leah was “unloved” (Genesis 29:31), the old King James Version says “hated.” The Nelson Study Bible says that “hated” is the literal translation. According to New Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies, the Hebrew word here “sometimes means only a less degree of love and regard; to be cold and indifferent to, to show less favor to” (p. 209).
With any of these translations, we see that Leah was second-rate in Jacob’s eyes, a very difficult position for any woman. Because Jacob treated Leah this way, God blessed her with children. This would seem to indicate that, in God’s eyes, Leah was not principally at fault in the whole mess—her father having forced her into it. In the meantime, Rachel was barren and very frustrated in general. She felt betrayed by her father and resentful of her sister, whom she no doubt viewed as an unwelcome interloper in her marriage. Between these two squabbling women and their maids, Jacob would father 12 sons and a daughter. The sons of the various wives and concubines would likewise spend a majority of the time fighting. Jacob’s house was in constant turmoil—characteristics of a dysfunctional family.
Part of the dysfunction in Jacob’s family may have begun a generation earlier with Isaac and Rebekah, who fell into a devastating pitfall in parenting—favoritism within the family. Isaac favored Esau; Rebekah favored Jacob. This divided affection produced an unhealthy atmosphere of competition, mistrust, double-dealing, disrespect, and lasting resentment. The two sons of Isaac and Rebekah were the unwitting victims, and Jacob repeated the error in his own family. Rachel was favored over Leah, Joseph over his brothers, and then Benjamin over his brothers later on. This is somewhat understandable in Jacob’s case, since he had not intended to marry Leah in the first place. Still, she was his wife, and they had children together—so he should have done his best to show her love and affection.
God later gave the following law to Israel:
“You shall not take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her nakedness while the other is alive” (Leviticus 18:18).
It does not appear that God had revealed this to be sin to those of Jacob’s day. But Jacob’s life demonstrated the great need for the establishment of this law.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of the young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships, and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
