Genesis 29:31
in Genesis 29When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
KJV
And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
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This verse in Genesis 29
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Leah . . . hated--that is, not loved so much as she ought to have been. Her becoming a mother ensured her rising in the estimation both of her husband and of society.
This site's exposition
the LORD saw that Leah was unloved
Unloved here carries the sense of loved less, which verse 30 has just said. The LORD sees it and opens Leah's womb, while Rachel stays barren, as Sarah and Rebekah were barren before her. Rachel's womb opens at 30:22.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
See God's creative wisdom. Whereas one woman by her beauty attracted her husband's favor, the other seemed to be rejected because she lacked it. But it was the latter God awoke to childbirth while leaving the other's womb inactive. He thus dealt with each in his characteristic love so that one might have some comfort from what was born of her and the other might not triumph over her sister on the score of charm and beauty.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thus it was between Elkana's two wives ( 1 Sam. i. 5 ); for the Lord is wise and righteous. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, that is, loved less than Rachel, in which sense it is required that we hate father and mother, in comparison with Christ ( Luke xiv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated,....
The affairs of princes and mighty nations that were then in being are not recorded in the book of God, but are left to be buried in oblivion; while these small domestic concerns of holy Jacob are particularly recorded with their minute circumstances, that they may be in everlasting remembrance. For "the memory of the just is blessed." Jacob's Arrival at Padan-aram.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Lord saw that Leah was hated - From this and the preceding verse we get the genuine meaning of the word שנא sane, to hate, in certain disputed places in the Scriptures.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שְׂנוּאָ֣ה | senuah | [was] hated | H8130 → | 146 times |
| לֵאָ֔ה | leah | Leah | H3812 → | 34 times |
| וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח | vaiyiftach | and he opened | H6605 → | 144 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רַחְמָ֑הּ | rachmah | womb her | H7358 → | 26 times |
| וְרָחֵ֖ל | verachel | and Rachel | H7354 → | 47 times |
| עֲקָרָֽה׃ | ʾakarah | [was] barren | H6135 → | 12 times |
וַיַּ֤רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שְׂנוּאָ֣ה[was] hated
senuahH8130 →146 times
לֵאָ֔הLeah
leahH3812 →34 times
וַיִּפְתַּ֖חand he opened
vaiyiftachH6605 →144 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
רַחְמָ֑הּwomb her
rachmahH7358 →26 times
וְרָחֵ֖לand Rachel
verachelH7354 →47 times
עֲקָרָֽה׃[was] barren
ʾakarahH6135 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 127:3Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
it leads to
- Psalms 128:3–4
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- Deuteronomy 28:4
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
- 1 Samuel 1:27
I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him,
- Genesis 48:4
and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’
- Isaiah 8:18
Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Psalms 128:3–4
Through
1 Samuel 2:21So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
it leads to
- Luke 2:40
And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.
- 1 Samuel 3:19
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
- Genesis 21:1
Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
- Luke 2:40
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsLeahJacob's unloved first wife, on whom the LORD's eye fell — the mother of Judah, the messianic tribe, and of Levi, the priestly trib…
- PersonPatriarchsRachelJacob's beloved wife; mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who dies on the road to Bethlehem — later wept for in the prophets (Jer 31:15…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 56.14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
