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Genesis 29:31-33
New English Translation
Genesis 29:31-33
New English Translation
The Family of Jacob
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,[a] he enabled her to become pregnant[b] while Rachel remained childless. 32 So Leah became pregnant[c] and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,[d] for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition.[e] Surely my husband will love me now.”
33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved,[f] he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.[g]
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- Genesis 29:31 tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.
- Genesis 29:31 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
- Genesis 29:32 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
- Genesis 29:32 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, reʾuven) means “look, a son.”
- Genesis 29:32 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the Lord has “looked” with pity on her oppressed condition. See further S. R. Driver, Genesis, 273.
- Genesis 29:33 tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
- Genesis 29:33 sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shimʿon) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.
New English Translation (NET)
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