Leah, Rachel and the Growth of Jacob's Family

The Lord saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, while Rachel had no children. Leah gave birth to four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. In the names she gave them, Leah spoke of her affliction, of being heard, of longing for her husband's closeness, and then of praising the Lord.

Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, and she envied her sister. She told Jacob she wanted children, and Jacob answered angrily that he was not in God's place. Rachel then gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, hoping to obtain children through her.

Bilhah conceived and bore two sons to Jacob. Rachel named them Dan and Naphtali. She saw Dan as a sign that God had judged her case and heard her voice. She saw Naphtali as part of her great struggle with her sister. When Leah had stopped bearing, she also gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

Zilpah bore two sons, and Leah named them Gad and Asher. Later, in the days of wheat harvest, Reuben found mandrakes and brought them to Leah. Rachel asked for some, and the sisters argued over them. Rachel agreed that Jacob would lie with Leah that night in exchange for the mandrakes.

That evening Leah went out to meet Jacob, and he lay with her. God listened to Leah, and she conceived again. She bore Issachar and then Zebulun, making six sons for Leah in all. Afterwards she also bore a daughter, Dinah. Jacob's household kept growing in the middle of a troubled family story.

Then God remembered Rachel, listened to her, and opened her womb. She bore a son and named him Joseph. Rachel said that God had taken away her reproach, and she hoped the Lord would add another son. Where do you notice both sorrow and hope in this family's story?