Introduction
Leah is the elder daughter of Laban and Jacob's first wife, married to him through her father's deception when Jacob had intended and worked seven years for her younger sister Rachel instead. Described in the text as having "lovely eyes" but less favoured by Jacob than Rachel, Leah becomes the mother of six of Jacob's twelve sons, including Levi and Judah, the ancestors of the priestly line and the royal line of David respectively.
Family
- Father: Laban
- Husband: Jacob
- Children: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah
- Siblings: Rachel
The deception
After Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, Laban substituted Leah on the wedding night, explaining afterward that local custom required the elder daughter to marry first; Jacob then worked a further seven years for Rachel as well.
Sons and rivalry
Genesis records that God, seeing Leah was "unloved" compared to Rachel, "opened her womb", while Rachel remained barren; Leah bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah in quick succession, naming each in ways the text connects to her hope of winning Jacob's love. The rivalry between Leah and Rachel continued through their servants, whom each gave to Jacob to bear further children in their names, and through an episode involving mandrakes that Leah's son Reuben found, which Leah traded to Rachel for a night with Jacob, after which Leah bore two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah.
Burial
Unlike Rachel, who died and was buried near Bethlehem, Leah was buried in the family tomb at Machpelah, alongside Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and eventually Jacob himself, a detail Jacob specifically requests near the end of his life.