Genesis 29:32

Gen 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

Ver. 32. Therefore my husband will love me.] This was her greatest care (and is every good wife’s) - to "please her husband," {1Co 7:14} and to win his love.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 29:32. She appears very ambitious of her husband’s love; she reckoned the went of it her affliction, not upbraiding him with it as his fault, nor reproaching him for it; but laying it to heart as her grief, which she had reason to bear, because she was consenting to the fraud by which she became his wife. She called her firstborn Reuben, see a son, with this pleasant thought, Now will my husband love me. And her third son Levi, joined, with this expectation, Now will my husband be joined unto me. The Lord hath heard (that is, taken notice of it) that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son. Her fourth she called Judah, praise, saying, Now will I praise the Lord. And this was he of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. And all our praises must centre in Christ, both as the matter of them, and as the Mediator of them. He descended from him whose name was Praise, for he is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

29:32 Reuben (Hebrew re’uben) sounds like the Hebrew for “He has seen my misery” (ra‘ah be‘onyi). His birth gave Leah consolation from God and hope for Jacob’s love. Jacob seems not to have seen her misery, but God did (cp. 16:14; 24:62; 25:11). The name was a reminder of God’s intervention.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hereby appeareth, that she had recourse to God in her affliction.

For children are a great cause of mutual love between man and wife.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

son . . . his name Reuben--Names were also significant; and those which Leah gave to her sons were expressive of her varying feelings of thankfulness or joy, or allusive to circumstances in the history of the family. There was piety and wisdom in attaching a signification to names, as it tended to keep the bearer in remembrance of his duty and the claims of God.

Next: Genesis Chapter 30

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 32. She called his name Reuben] ראובן reuben, literally, see ye or behold a son; for Jehovah hath looked upon, raah, beheld, my affliction; behold then the consequence, I have got a son!

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. She called his name Reuben. Moses relates that Leah was not ungrateful to God. And truly, I do not doubt, that the benefits of God were then commonly more appreciated than they are now. For a profane stupor so occupies the mind of nearly all men, that, like cattle, they swallow up whatever benefits God, in his kindness, bestows upon them. Further, Leah not only acknowledges God as the author of her fruitfulness; but also assigns as a reason, that her affliction had been looked upon by the Lord, and a son had been given her who should draw the affection of her husband to herself. Whence it appears probable, that when she saw herself despised, she had recourse to prayer, in order that she might receive more succor from heaven. For thanksgiving is a proof that persons have previously exercised themselves in prayer; since they who hope for nothing from God do, by their indolence, bury in oblivion all the favors he has conferred upon them. Therefore, Leah inscribed on the person of her son a memorial whereby she might stir herself up to offer praise to God. This passage also teaches, that they who are unjustly despised by men are regarded by the Lord. Hence it affords a singularly profitable consolation to the faithful; who, as experience shows, are for the most part despised in the world. Whenever, therefore, they are treated harshly and contumeliously by men, let them take refuge in this thought, that God will be the more propitious to them. Leah followed the same course in reference to her second son; for she gave him a name which is derived from “hearing,” to recall to her memory that her sighs had been heard by the Lord. Whence we conjecture (as I have just before said) that when affliction was pressing upon her, she cast her griefs into the bosom of God. Her third son she names from “joining;” as if she would say, now a new link is interposed, so that she should be more loved by her husband. In her fourth son, she again declares her piety towards God, for she gives to him the name of “praise,” as having been granted to her by the special kindness of God. She had, indeed, previously given thanks to the Lord; but whereas more abundant material for praise is supplied, she acknowledges not once only, nor by one single method, but frequently, that she has been assisted by the favor of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(32-35) She called his name Reuben.—There is something very touching in the history of these four births. When the first child is born, Leah joyfully calls him “Reuben,” that is, See, a son! and fondly hopes that now she is a mother her husband will love her. And the mention of her “affliction” shows that, while she loved Jacob tenderly, he was to her more than unloving. Her second son she calls” Simeon,” that is hearing, and, disappointed in her first hope, regards the child as a gift of Jehovah to compensate her for the lack of the affection for which she so longed. Her third son she calls “Levi,” that is, joined, still hoping that as in her tent alone there were children to play around the father, he would be more united to her. But her hope remains unfulfilled. And when her fourth son is born, she calls him “Judah,” that is, praise. Throughout, in the midst of her melancholy, there is a tone of fervent piety, and that not merely to God, but to the covenant Jehovah. And now slowly she parts with her hope of human affection, and finds comfort in Jehovah alone. This time, she says, I will praise Jehovah. And it was this son of the despised one, whose birth called forth from her this hymn of simple thanksgiving, who was fore-ordained to be the ancestor of the promised seed.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. Reuben] The name is evidently here assumed to consist of two words, re’û = “behold ye,” ben = “a son.”

hath … affliction] Heb. râ’ah be‘onyi. The sound of these two words forms some kind of a play on the name Reuben, and represents a popular and unscientific etymology. In some MSS. of LXX and the Syriac, and in Josephus, the name appears as “Reubel,” which has been compared with the Arabic Ri’bal, meaning “a lion”; or it may be compounded with the name of the god Bel or Baal. The tribe Reuben settled between the Jabbok and the Arnon. See Jdg_5:15-16.

“My affliction.” LXX τὴν ταπείνωσιν = “low estate”; cf. 1Sa_1:11; Luk_1:48.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And she conceived again, and bare a son,.... As soon as she well could. The Jews (x) have a notion, that Leah brought forth her sons at seven months' end:

and said, because the Lord hath heard that I was hated; or less loved than her sister:

he hath therefore given me this son also; to comfort her under the trial and exercise, and engage her husband's love the more unto her:

and she called his name Simeon: which signifies "hearing", and answers to the reason of her having him as she concluded.

(x) Pirke Eliezer, c. 36.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ruben. "See the son, or the son of vision;" alluding perhaps, distantly, to ver. 24, He saw Lia. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Lord hath looked upon my affliction with an eye of pity and kindness, as that general phrase is oft understood.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Reuben — Which means, see ye a son.

Looked upon — Rather, Jehovah looked in my affliction; that is, in my sorrow arising from love withheld, Jehovah looked; therefore will I name my first born Look ye — a son! Fondly she hopes now for more of her husband’s love.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben (literally, reuben, Behold a Son! an expression of joyful surprise at the Divine compassion): for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction. Though not directly contained in the term Reuben, the sense of these words is implied (Kalisch). As Leah"s child was an intimation that she had been an object of Jehovah"s compassion, so did she expect it to be a means of drawing towards herself Jacob s affection. Now therefore (literally, for now) my husband will love me. She was confident in the first flush of maternal joy that Jacob"s heart would turn towards her; she believed that God had sent her child to effect this conversion of her husband"s affections; and she regarded the birth of Reuben as a signal proof of the Divine pity.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

She appears very ambitious of her husband's love; she reckoned the want of it her affliction, not upbraiding him with it as his fault, nor reproaching him for it; but laying it to heart as her grief, which she had reason to bear, because she was consenting to the fraud by which she became his wife. She called her first-born Reuben, see a son, with this pleasant thought, Now will my husband love me. And her third son Levi, joined, with this expectation, Now will my husband be joined unto me. The Lord hath heard, that is, taken notice of it, that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son. Her fourth she called Judah, praise, saying, Now will I praise the Lord. And this was he, of whom, as concerning the flesh Christ came. Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. And all our praises must center in Christ, both as the matter of them, and as the Mediator of them. He descended from him whose name was praise, for he is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ותקרא שמו ראובן AND SHE CALLED HIS NAME REUBEN — Our Rabbis explained it thus: she said, “See (ראו) the difference between (בין) my son and my father-in-law’s son who himself sold the birthright to Jacob and yet wished to kill him afterwards. This (my son) did not sell it (his birthright) to Joseph (it must be remembered that Joseph being the founder of two tribes was regarded as the first-born of Jacob’s sons since the eldest son took a double portion in the father’s property), yet he did not raise any protest to him being regarded as the first-born and not only did he not raise a protest but he even wished to take him out of the pit and so rescue him from death (Berakhot 7b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ותהר..יאהבני, just as much as he loves my sister. The vowel patach under the letter ב substitutes for the vowel tzeyreh.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.