Soft Eyes

 

Leah may not have been as beautiful as her younger sister Rachel, but there was definitely something about her eyes.

We read in Genesis 29:17 that “Leah had tender eyes” (CSB)

What did Leah’s tender eyes reveal? Was it weakness, as found in several translations, or was it, as the MEV translation tells us, sadness.

The bible is not clear as to why Leah’s eyes were specifically described, but the original Hebrew text used the word “rak”, which means tender or soft.

Researching this phenomenal woman, I pored over Genesis from the time she was introduced but I gathered little, so I focused elsewhere but everywhere I turned, Leah mostly went unnoticed like a mere blimp in a vast universe; page after page said that the bible did not reveal much about her. Because of my recent experience, I wanted to agree but because of my past  experience, I couldn’t. Those excuses did not satisfy me. What was I missing?

I went back to the Source, and I dug deeper into the bible. And as I began digging, God’s Word opened up and showed me all that I’d been searching for. I recognized that Leah herself tells us everything that she was going through.

You see, gliding on the surface, Leah’s role of the unloved wife of Jacob is apparent, but there is much more to her story than we initially see.

Unfortunately for Leah, she got caught in the middle of an act of deceit perpetrated by her father. She had become the tangible image of betrayal, Jacob’s visual reminder of Laban’s trickery. Leah was the unwanted wife.

Yet, Leah bore Jacob six sons, and with each birth, and with each name, she told her own story, divulging what was happening to her, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Leah painted a picture of her heart, her mind and her soul.

Leah conceived and gave birth to a son and named him Reuben (See, a son!), for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my humiliation and suffering; now my husband will love me [since I have given him a son].” – Genesis 29:32 (AMP)

Leah gave birth to a son, so Jacob must see her worth and value now. Love must come. But Leah wasn’t hoping for just any love, she was longing for an emotional bond with her husband. That was her hope.

See, a son! I have given him a son.

In those days, to have had a son first was an honour and a blessing to the family, certainly this firstborn would elevate Leah in Jacob’s eyes.

Sadly, Reuben failed to inspire in Jacob the “Ahava” that Leah hoped for.

Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Because the Lord heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon (God hears). – Genesis 29:33 (AMP)

Another son, she named him Simeon. Two sons, that must count for something? Her husband’s loving validation if not his romantic love.

But Leah is telling us something here. She knew that even though she did not have her husband’s ear, God was listening.

The Lord was attentive to her plight; He was paying attention to her desperation.

She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me [as a companion], for I have given him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi. – Genesis 29:34 (AMP)

A third son, Levi. Conception does not qualify a relationship. Leah still yearned for Jacob’s companionship. Even after three births, there was no connection between husband and wife.

Jacob would have been aware of what Leah was communicating to him in the names she gave to their sons. Three sons later, two were still not one flesh.

Leah’s soft eyes might have been perceived as weakness, but they certainly belied her mental and physical fortitude. She soldiered on in this lopsided marriage, assured that God was mindful of her.

Again she conceived and gave birth to a [fourth] son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah; then [for a time] she stopped bearing [children]. – Genesis 29:35 (AMP)

The inherent meaning of the name Judah is “praised” and its spiritual connotation is “full of love”.

Jacob now had a fourth son by Leah. But notice that Leah’s attention had obviously shifted; she was, by this time, in a different head space. Her focus was now on the One who had given her love that goes beyond the romantic love she yearned for from her husband Jacob.

God satisfied everything that was lacking in her relationship with Jacob. Leah’s gratitude for and love of God provoked an outpouring of praise, which was reflected in her fourth son’s name.

Beloved, despite all her best efforts, Leah’s love-starved existence with Jacob had not changed; Jacob hadn’t softened toward her, yet she praised.

Looking into her soft eyes, it was Jacob’s God who saw that she was unloved, his God heard her unspoken cries and acted, it was his God who had been her companion through it all. 

Once embroiled in the idolatry of seeking the love of her husband through childbearing, now Jacob’s God had become her God.

Trapped in a situation that showed no signs of getting better, Leah chose to love, to hope, to be thankful and to praise God and in so doing she gained much more than she imagined, the Love (Agape) of God.

And just as Leah “stopped bearing” for a time, let us leave Issachar and Zebulun for another time.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Soft Eyes” © September 16, 2025