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PASTOR'S CORNER
Some years ago my sister, who is my only sibling, made a counted cross-stitch sampler for me with the words "A Sister Is a Forever Friend." I also made one for her. For us, those words are not so much a statement of fact as a hope against the odds. For the two generations preceding us on the maternal side of our family, serious tensions have marred the relationships of the only two children, in both cases sisters. My sister has two sons; my two children are girls. The potential for continuing female rifts is frightening.
The best-known story of sisters in the Bible is that of Leah and Rachel. We know nothing of them before their marriages to Jacob. Whether they were the best of buddies or had experienced serious sibling rivalry as children, we have no hint in the texts. Whether Rachel's good looks had already created problems in the sisterly relationship, we cannot tell. Their marriage to the same man, however, is a recipe for disaster. Jacob's strong preference for Rachel is obvious ("and he loved Rachel more than Leah," Gen. 29:30).1 Rachel's initial barrenness, however, somewhat balances the unhappy equation. Neither sister is content.
For the most part, Leah directs her anger at Jacob rather than at Rachel. When Leah gives birth to her first son, she names him Reuben and exclaims, "Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; surely now my husband will love me" (Gen. 29:32). Similarly, after the birth of her second son, she says, "Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, He has given this son also" (Gen. 29:33). Contrary to some interpreters who see in her words the hatred of Rachel, no textual evidence exists to suggest that Rachel hates Leah.2 Genesis 30:1 indicates that Rachel is envious of Leah's fecundity, but envy is not hatred. In the context of Leah's other speeches when naming her sons, which clearly focus on Jacob as the source of her affliction, it is most likely that he is the one who she believes hates her. His lack of love for her could easily be interpreted as hatred. Again after the birth of Levi, Leah's third son, she says, "Now this time my husband...