Genesis 29:9

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ¹ 

Genesis 29:17

29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ²  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ³ 

Genesis 29:31

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ⁴  he enabled her to become pregnant ⁵  while Rachel remained childless.

Genesis 33:7

33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

Genesis 31:34

31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ⁶  and sat on them.) ⁷  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ⁸ 

¹ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

² tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.

³ tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

⁴ tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”

⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

⁶ tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.