Q: #632. What is the meaning of "Leah had weak eyes" in (Gen 29:17)?
A: We do not “exactly” know the meaning of the phrase “Leah had weak eyes.” This being the case, several theories have been proposed. Two are most prominent, and we will look at both below. First, let’s post the verse (and the one before it):
(Gen 29:16-17)(KJV) “And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. (17) Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.”
(Gen 29:17)(NASB) “And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in figure and appearance.”
***Note: The ESV / NIV also use “weak.” (The NIV also uses “figure.” The NKJV / ESV use “form.”)
My first step was to look at the Hebrew word used for “weak” or “tender.” That word is “rak,” and it is defined in Strong’s as: “tender by impl. weak.” It is used 15 times in the Old Testament, translated 9 of those times as “tender” (and as “weak” once). I looked up each of the 15 uses.
“Tender” is not generally used in a positive light, and is translated by other versions more clearly: i.e. (Gen 33:13) “the children are weak” (KJV = “tender”), (1 Chr 22:5) “David said, Solomon my son is young and inexperienced” (KJV = “tender”). In addition, “rak” is translated in (Deut 20:8) as “fainthearted” in almost all major versions, and in (2 Sam 3:39) as “weak” in almost all major versions.
Having said this, let’s look at the two theories prominent theories. These are actually the opposite of each other. One views the description of Leah’s eyes as a negative, and the other as a positive. Let’s look at the negative first.
This is the more prominent view. What was it about Leah’s eyes that made them “weak?” Have you ever thought about what makes a person look attractive to you? In most cases, it is their eyes isn’t it? Have you ever told someone, “You have beautiful eyes?” Some people (women and men) just have beautiful eyes, in shape / color. It appear that Leah did not have “beautiful eyes.”
In the Middle East, brown is far and away the most prominent eye color. Those with green or blue eyes stand out as having beautiful eyes. I did a search on what is the most desired eye color, and green was first, followed by blue. Did Rachel have this color, and Leah brown? In addition, “big” eyes are considered attractive (some call it “doe-eyes”).
Some suggest that perhaps Leah’s eyes were “literally” weak, as in she had bad eyesight. Others suggest that she may have had bleary or red eyes, as some do in dry living conditions (like living in the wilderness). BUT… for whatever reason, something about Leah’s eyes was unattractive (perhaps compared to Rachel’s eyes).
Now, to the second and opposite view. This view generally states that when Leah’s eyes are said to be “weak,” “tender” is the better translation of “rak.” Tender is equated to “soft.” Therefore, when Leah’s eyes are mentioned, it is saying that she had “soft and beautiful eyes.” It was her most attractive quality. This ties in contrast to Rachel, who was “beautiful in figure (“form”) and appearance.” In other words, while Leah had beautiful eyes, Rachel had the whole package: beautiful in face and body. Leah wasn’t “ugly,” she just didn’t have a “great body” like Rachel did. (Is someone popping into your mind as you read this?)
Recently, I was teaching on the names of people in the Bible. I find it utterly fascinating that a number of times in the Bible, we see people given a name at birth that ends up being “prophetic” later in their life. For example:
Abram meaning “exalted father,” and God changed his name to Abraham “father of many nations”
Jacob meaning “supplanter or deceiver”
Job meaning “persecuted” or “He who weeps”
Jeremiah meaning “Yahweh will exalt”
In relation to this, I gasped a little when I read in Strong’s that “Leah” means “a wild cow,” and Rachel means “ewe.” Was this prophetic? (Some sources say Leah means “weary.”)
(***Note: God also named, or changed the name of a number of people in the Bible. Some were prophetic to what they would do in the future. More on this here.
It is also interesting to note that the Hebrew word “toar” is used when it says Rachel’s “form” was beautiful. “Toar” is used to describe several other people in the Bible: Joseph (Gen 39:6), David (1 Sam 16:18), and Abigail (1 Sam 25:3).