Jacob’s Sons

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,(A) He opened her womb;(B) but Rachel was unable to conceive.(C)

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Jacob’s Children

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved,(A) he enabled her to conceive,(B) but Rachel remained childless.

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The Right of the Firstborn

15 “If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved bear him sons, and if the unloved wife has the firstborn son, 16 when that man gives what he has to his sons as an inheritance, he is not to show favoritism to the son of the loved wife as his firstborn over the firstborn of the unloved wife. 17 He must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved wife, by giving him two shares[a][b] of his estate, for he is the firstfruits of his virility; he has the rights of the firstborn.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 21:17 Lit mouth of two, or two mouthfuls
  2. Deuteronomy 21:17 Or two-thirds; the two-thirds interpretation holds that the firstborn son receives two-thirds of the total estate no matter how many sons are in the family.

The Right of the Firstborn

15 If a man has two wives,(A) and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,(B) 16 when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love.(C) 17 He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double(D) share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength.(E) The right of the firstborn belongs to him.(F)

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Violations of Proper Sexual Conduct

13 “If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her,

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Marriage Violations

13 If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her(A), dislikes her

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16 The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her.

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16 Her father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her.

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“I was sure you hated her,” her father said, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Isn’t her younger sister more beautiful than she is? Why not take her instead?”

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“I was so sure you hated her,” he said, “that I gave her to your companion.(A) Isn’t her younger sister more attractive? Take her instead.”

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23 an unloved woman when she marries,(A)
and a servant girl when she ousts her queen.

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23 a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

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