Genesis 29:30-31

29:30 Jacob ¹  had marital relations ²  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ³  for seven more years. ⁴ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ⁵  he enabled her to become pregnant ⁶  while Rachel remained childless.

Deuteronomy 21:15-16

Laws Concerning Children

21:15 Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other, ⁷  and they both ⁸  bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife. 21:16 In the day he divides his inheritance ⁹  he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other ¹⁰  wife’s son who is actually the firstborn.

Luke 14:26

14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ¹¹  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ¹²  he cannot be my disciple.

[29:30]  ¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ² tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:30]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ⁵ 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.

[29:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[21:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “one whom he loves and one whom he hates.” For the idea of שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) meaning to be rejected or loved less (cf. NRSV “disliked”), see Gen 29:31, 33; Mal 1:2-3. Cf. A. Konkel, NIDOTTE 3:1256-60.

[21:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “both the one whom he loves and the one whom he hates.” On the meaning of the phrase “one whom he loves and one whom he hates” see the note on the word “other” earlier in this verse. The translation has been simplified for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[21:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”

[21:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the hated.”

[14:26]  ¹¹ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

[14:26]  ¹² tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.