Genesis 29:31

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ¹  he enabled her to become pregnant ²  while Rachel remained childless.

Genesis 29:33

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ³  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 21:15

Laws Concerning Children

21:15 Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other, ⁵  and they both ⁶  bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife.

Proverbs 13:24

13:24 The one who spares his rod ⁷  hates ⁸  his child, ⁹ 

but the one who loves his child ¹⁰  is diligent ¹¹  in disciplining ¹²  him.

Matthew 10:37

10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Luke 14:26

14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ¹³  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ¹⁴  he cannot be my disciple.

John 12:25

12:25 The one who loves his life ¹⁵  destroys ¹⁶  it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards ¹⁷  it for eternal life.

[29:31]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:33]  ³ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁴ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[21:15]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[13:24]  ⁷ sn R. N. Whybray cites an Egyptian proverb that says that “boys have their ears on their backsides; they listen when they are beaten” (Proverbs [CBC], 80). Cf. Prov 4:3-4, 10-11; Eph 6:4; Heb 12:5-11.

[13:24]  ⁸ sn The importance of parental disciplining is stressed by the verbs “hate” and “love.” “Hating” a child in this sense means in essence abandoning or rejecting him; “loving” a child means embracing and caring for him. Failure to discipline a child is tantamount to hating him – not caring about his character.

[13:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “his son.”

[13:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (his child) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “seeks him.” The verb שָׁחַר (shahar, “to be diligent; to do something early”; BDB 1007 s.v.) could mean “to be diligent to discipline,” or “to be early or prompt in disciplining.” See G. R. Driver, “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 170.

[13:24]  ¹² tn The noun מוּסָר (musar, “discipline”) functions as an adverbial accusative of reference: “he is diligent in reference to discipline.”

[14:26]  ¹³ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

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

[12:25]  ¹⁵ tn Or “soul.”

[12:25]  ¹⁶ tn Or “loses.” Although the traditional English translation of ἀπολλύει (apolluei) in John 12:25 is “loses,” the contrast with φυλάξει (fulaxei, “keeps” or “guards”) in the second half of the verse favors the meaning “destroy” here.

[12:25]  ¹⁷ tn Or “keeps.”