Leah’s First Four Sons
The matriarchs hold a special place in the Hebrew canon and society. They are so much more than “Jacob’s wives” or “the mothers of the Children of Israel.” This post looks at the naming of Leah’s first four sons.
Reuben
Reuben is Leah’s and Jacob’s first-born. Genesis reports that Leah said “Because the Lord has looked on my affliction; surely now my husband will love me” (29:32). His name literally means “see, a son.”
Her speech here is two-fold. She first acknowledges the favor that God has shown her. God has indeed seen her affliction and allowed her to bring forth a son. She then concludes that since she has given Jacob his firstborn son, “surely now my husband will love me.” The narrator quickly moves on to the conception and birth of Leah’s next son, which, though not explicitly stating it, assumes the procreative role of Jacob.
Simeon
Leah’s naming of her and Jacob’s second son indicates that the birth of Reuben did not solve her problem as she thought it would: “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also” (29:33). Leah believes that God has heard that she is unloved, and has therefore given her Simeon also.
She does not mention Jacob in this speech, but he may be understood as the one that hates her (but, always remember, the text does not clarify that so we’re filling in the gaps). Perhaps she views Simeon as a means of making up for the fact that she is hated, or as a means (as she hoped with Reuben) of gaining Jacob’s love. The text is ambiguous at best.
Regardless of the way Leah interpreted the birth of Simeon, it was not enough to satisfy her longing for her husband, as is evident with the birth of her third child.
Levi
For the first time, Leah recognizes Jacob as a father, saying, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons” (29:34). She does not mention God in this speech, and it is the only one of her naming speeches for her biological children that she does not.
Levi’s name is connected with the word yillaweh, which literally means “he will be joined.” His name is almost a prayer, perhaps a talisman, that Jacob will love her. Leah is still not satisfied with her lot.
She has three children – and boys at that! – giving her a place in her society, but she does not have her husband’s love.
Judah
With the birth of her fourth child, Leah’s attitude seems to shift. Her first three sons encouraged her hope that Jacob would love her, but there is no mention of her relationship with Jacob in this speech. Leah simply says, “This time I will praise the Lord.”
Judah’s name has an “association with the term ‘odeh, literally ‘I will praise.”1 There is no clear reason why her perspective changes with the birth of Judah. Perhaps she recognized that, despite being rejected by her husband, she was favored by God. Or she may have, only momentarily, felt as though Jacob’s attitude toward her had changed. Or she may have been grateful simply for having another son. Whatever her reasoning, Leah is resolved, if not content, to praise God.
Rachel, however, is another story altogether. Rachel’s maneuvers to have children are discussed in the next post of this series
- Joan Ross-Burstall, “Leah and Rachel: A Tale of Two Sisters.” Word and World Vol. 14 Number 2 (1994), 170.
Jillian D. Nelson, PhD 
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