May the mumbling commence!
How would Leah respond to the ugly acts of her sister
Rachel? She would do likewise at least
in giving her maid to Jacob but with a different attitude. Read from Peterson’s The Message:
When
Leah saw that she wasn’t having any more children, she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob for
a wife.
Zilpah had
a son for Jacob. Leah said, “How
fortunate!” and
she named him Gad (Lucky). When Leah’s
maid Zilpah had a second son for Jacob, Leah said
“A happy
day! The women will congratulate
me in my happiness.” So she named him Asher (Happy).
One day
during the wheat harvest Reuben found
some mandrakes in the field and brought them home to his mother Leah.
Rachel asked Leah, “Could I please have some of your son’s mandrakes?”
Leah said, “Wasn’t it
enough that you got my husband away for me? And now
you also want my son’s mandrakes?’
Rachel
said, “All right. I’ll
let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s
love-apples.”
When
Jacob came home that
evening from the fields, Leah was there to meet him: “Sleep with me tonight; I’ve bartered my son’s
mandrakes for a night with you.” So he slept with
her that night. (Genesis 30:9-16)
Now read the same passage from the NIV translation:
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took
her maidservant
Zilpah and gave her
to Jacob as a wife. Leah's servant Zilpah
bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, "What good
fortune!" So she named him
Gad.
Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, "How
happy I am!
The women will call
me happy." So she named him Asher.
During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found
some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me
some of your son's mandrakes."
But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband?
Will you take my
son's mandrakes too?"
"Very well," Rachel said, "he can
sleep with you tonight in return for your son's
mandrakes."
So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah
went out to meet
him. "You must sleep with me," she
said. "I have hired you with my son's
mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. (Genesis 30:9-16)
Though there is some red, the differences between the NIV
and Peterson’s work are simply cosmetic.
They do not change the heart and soul of the passage, in my opinion.
And though Leah gave her maid to Jacob as a wife when
she stopped having children just as Rachel had given her maid to Jacob as a
wife, do you notice the change in attitude?
While Rachel speaks of vindication and winning a great struggle, Leah
speaks of good fortune and happiness. It
seems that Leah only wants the affection of her husband Jacob. She does not entirely see this desire putting
her in conflict with her sister Rachel.
But then Leah’s firstborn, Reuben finds some mandrakes
for his mother. Rachel wanted those
mandrakes badly. What is the importance
of these mandrakes, anyway? Peterson
helps us out with that. Mandrakes were
thought of by the people at that time to be an aphrodisiac that also promised
fruitfulness to the couple. Rachel
wanted the mandrakes in hope that she would bear her first son for Jacob.
That’s why Leah reacted so hostilely. The conflict Rachel was picking finally takes
root in Leah too. And that’s why Rachel
bartered away Jacob for the night. It
seems that Rachel had Jacob wrapped around her finger. He needed Rachel’s permission to sleep with
Leah!
Ugly acts breed more ugly acts. Let’s stop this vicious cycle, if we can!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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