Hannah's Song Read Through Leah and Rachel's Wombs

Midrash Shmuel 5:11

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Yose explained the verse as referring to the matriarchs. "Those who were sated with bread have hired themselves out" (1 Samuel 2:5) — this is Leah, who, being sated with sons, hired herself out. "And those who were hungry have ceased" — this is Rachel, who, being hungry for sons, ceased. "While the barren has borne seven" — this is Leah, who was barren from her house of childbearing, yet bore seven. "And she that had many children has languished" — this is Rachel, who was fit to raise up the majority of the tribes, yet languished. Who did such a thing?

Themes

MatriarchsBirthWomenZebulunMusic

Biblical References

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Midrash Tanchuma Buber, VayishlachWhy Dinah Is Called the Daughter of Leah"And Dinah the daughter of Leah went out." Why does Scripture tie the daughter to her mother, when ordinarily a son is reckoned to the woman and a daughter to tMidrash ShmuelThe Seven Barren Ones Made Joyful Mothers in Midrash ShmuelHear how one verse holds seven women's tears. The psalmist sings, "He sets the barren woman of the house as a joyful mother of children, Hallelujah." Who is thiMidrash ShmuelThree Women Who Died Giving Birth in Midrash ShmuelThe sages taught a hard and tender thing: three women in Israel died in the very act of giving birth — Rachel our mother, the daughter-in-law of Eli, and MichalMidrash AggadahLeah Prays Her Unborn Son Become Dinah So Rachel Is Not ShamedLeah already cradled six sons of her own, and the two maidservants had given Jacob four more. Ten. And Leah knew the count that Heaven had set: twelve tribes weMidrash AggadahWhy Scripture Calls Dinah the Daughter of Leah in Genesis 34When Scripture tells how Shechem seized Dinah, it weighs every word. Why does it name her "the daughter of Leah" and not "the daughter of Jacob"? The Midrash anTargum JonathanLeah and Rachel Swapped Babies in the WombGenesis 30 describes the intense rivalry between Rachel and Leah as they compete to bear Jacob's children. The Targum Jonathan turns this domestic drama into a