Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 29/0

Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 29

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Favored and Unfavored Wives

Bereshit 29 speaks of Yaakov's differing feelings towards each of his wives, "loving" the barren Rachel and "hating" the child-bearing Leah.  This parallels other stories of multiple wives where the barren wife is preferred over the non barren wife, most notably the story of Channah and Peninah.

Tools

• Makbilot Bamikra points out that the notion of a preferred (אהובה, lit. beloved) and less preferred (שנואה, lit. hated) wife appears not only in stories of multiple wives, but also in a legal context, in Devarim 21:15-17. The parallel raises the question of how to understand Bereshit 29:30-31's description of Rachel as "beloved" and Leah as "hated".  Was Leah actually hated or more simply less favored than Rachel?
• Makbilot Bamikra also lists other stories of barren wives, with the story of Channah and Peninah being perhaps the most similar to Rachel's ordeal.

Articles

• See Yaakov's Wives for discussion of how various commentators view Yaakov's relationship with Leah, and whether her deception led to such distrust that Yaakov actively disliked her.
• See Rachel and Channah for an exploration of the parallels and contrasts between the stories.