The competition for children between Leah and Rachel was
something that really struck my interest in today’s reading. In Genesis, I saw, first off, that bearing
a child was an issue between more than just two people. The competition in
itself demonstrates that the idea of bearing a child is something that more
than just a man and a woman deal with, because in this case there are three
people Leah, Rachel, and Jacob. But furthermore, I found that God is always
involved. For example, “And the Lord saw that Leah was despised and He opened
her womb, but Rachel was barren” (29:31-32).
God chooses to intervene in the situation between Leah, Rachel, and
Jacob, but in addition to his intervention, he elects to favor Leah by allowing
her to bear Jacob’s children. I think that this goes to show that the idea of
bearing a child, in the context of Genesis,
is a more than two person issue. When God involves himself in the situation as
well, it is evident that he is favoring one woman over the other. Therefore, I
feel as though a born child shows that God is favoring a certain pair, at least
for the time being. Verse 30:22-24 states that “ God remembered Rachel and God
heard her and He opened her womb ,and she conceived and bore a son, and she
said, ‘God has taken away my shame.’” God shows Rachel favor as well, but
later, but what I figured to be important was that Rachel felt shame. I noted
Rachel’s shame as her internalizing the neglect of favor she received from God
in not being able to bear a child as her shame. I think this is important
because it highlights that God’s creations are very much affected by his
actions, such as bestowing favor upon a subject. This shame that Rachel felt could
possibly have been the motivator for he wanting to bear a child and win God’s
favor so much that she pursued the competition with her sister, Leah.
Iska makes a solid point about children in Genesis being seen as a blessing from God. However, there is one exception. Rereading the chapters on Jacob, Leah and Rachel I saw that every single boy born was praised as a blessing from God, but when the Leah's final child in the chapter is born a girl, it is simply said that "afterwards she bore a daughter and she called her name Dinah" (30:21). The only child not to be praised as a blessing from the Lord is also the only one born a girl. This suggests that girls are devalued and their birth i not a sign of God's favor in the way the birth of boys is.
ReplyDeleteIska's points are very interesting. I was thinking the same thing when reading this section. Both Rachel and Leah were competing with each other to provide children for their husband. I think this again come to the same points that De Beauvoir was pointing out. She notes that women have been given this idea that it is so wonderful to have children and that women are so blessed to have a child, which Lachlan points out as well. There is also the winning of the Jacob's attention that Rachel and Leah participate in. In Genesis, Leah says "'yes, the Lord has seen my suffering , for now my husband will love me" (29:32). It seems that while keeping De Beauvoir's ideas in mind, that women have been given this idea that they only way they obtain love from their husband is to give him children. This idea goes on through the narrative as Iska mentions. I especially liked Iska's points on the significance of having a more than two interactions in the narrative; the text says that "God heard Leah" (30:17) and "God remembered Rachel and God heard her..." (30:22). Not only is the woman in Genesis trying to gain attention and love from her husband, but also God recognizes the suffering and allows for each to have children to please their husband.
ReplyDeleteThe competition between Rachel and Leah that Iska points out in her post shows the importance of childbearing in the role as a wife. This is illustrated through the Leah's belief that her "husband will love [her]" (29:33) after she gives him three sons and Rachel's resulting frustration and jealousy. As Liezel mentions, this relates to de Beauvoir's assertion that women need to transcend their biological facticity. In Genesis, neither woman is able to separate her role as a wife from her ability to bare children.
ReplyDeleteAlong these same lines, I find it really interesting that whenever a couple in Genesis has trouble conceiving, it is always the fault of the woman. For example, "Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, for she was barren, and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived" (25:21-22). How can we be sure that Isaac isn't the infertile one? The fact that Rebekah automatically gets blamed highlights (as you guys have already pointed out) women's primary function as child-bearers. Even if the husband is the "barren" one, it doesn't matter, because it's not his responsibility to produce children- it's his wife's.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with most of the comments of how both women feel that Jacob will favor them if they give him children, I disagree to an extent that bearing children is the initial purpose of the wife.
ReplyDeleteWe see that "Jacob loved Rachel" (29:18) from the first time he sees her, and is not in love with Leah, but Laban tricks him into marrying her anyway. The women's rivalry to bear children is a result of them having to share a husband who "loved Rachel more that Leah" (29:30). The women bear children so that Jacob will love them, but bearing children is not Jacob's only criteria for love.
Anker's point about the duty of the woman not lying solely in childbearing is very interesting. On one hand, Jacob loved Rachel, but was unable to have children with her until after he had children with Leah. While it is clear that he "loved Rachel more than Leah," God seems to see the value in Leah's presence in Jacob's life nonetheless (29:30). I think this aspect of woman's purpose relates to Simone de Beauvoir's idea that women are both individual and the other at the same time.
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