If we allow only four years of marriage from the four births from Reuben to Judah, then another two years for the births of Dan and Naphtali, and, yet, two more years for the births of Gad and Asher, then Reuben must have been about 9 years old when he went out into the field during the wheat harvest and brought home some mandrake fruits or flowers for his mother, Leah (Genesis 30:14). The problem is, however, that no one really knows what kind of fruit or flower is meant that Reuben brought home. The scholars are much divided over its identity, but it was apparently ripe or flowering during the spring, which was the time of the wheat harvest. Apparently, the fruit or scent of its flower was very desirable and thought to have the quality of helping a woman conceive during lovemaking.
As we read the text at Genesis 30:14, we cannot help but be reminded of the story of Jacob and Esau, when Esau was so hungry that he sold his birthright for a bowel of pottage (Genesis 25:29-34). Here in chapter 30, it is Rachel who cannot contain her desire for some of Ruben’s mandrakes. Indeed, it is possible that Leah had sent her son into the field for the mandrakes, anticipating Rachel’s desire for them, if she knew of their presence. Thus, it is implied that Rachel, the preferred wife, may have had some power over Jacob’s bed, and Leah conspired to gain the right to lay with her husband that evening (Genesis 30:15). So, whether it was Rachel’s idea or Jacob’s that Leah was neglected or that her neglect was simply the result of Jacob’s preference for Rachel, Leah seems to have conspired to have her way with her husband at least for that evening.
Therefore, Leah met Jacob in the field, as he came in from his day’s labor, and she told him that she hired him for the evening[1] with Reuben’s mandrakes, so without objection in the text, no doubt because Jacob had been shamed by his wife’s statement, Leah lay with Jacob that evening (Genesis 30:16). The account would almost be amusing, if it weren’t so sad. The idea that Jacob’s wife must hire him for his attentions doesn’t speak well of their relationship. Between Jacob’s attention given to his favorite wife, Rachel, and hers and Leah’s handmaidens, Leah was probably neglected for several years.
The Lord honored the agreement between Leah and Rachel, just as he had done with Jacob and Esau. Jacob got what he wanted and Leah did as well. She conceived and bore a son and named him Issachar (he is hire), meaning her son was her just payment for her mandrakes (Genesis 30:16-17), but often in the Hebrew there is a double meaning, when there is a play on words done in the text, and naming Issachar is no exception. The greater meaning is applied to the Lord in the sense that, since Leah had sacrificed being with her husband by giving him her handmaid for his concubine, the Lord rewarded her sacrifice (hire) by giving her this, her fifth son (Genesis 30:18). Moreover, she conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son, Zebulun (to dwell), literally: God has endowed me with a good dowry. There is another play on words here, where Zebulun is derived from the word zabal (he dwelt), but a change in one letter makes it zabad, or “good dowry.” Hence, the sense of Leah’s statement that she’s been given a good dowry from the Lord, and (hopefully) Jacob will now dwell with her, because she had born Jacob six sons, more than all of his other wives put together, up to that point (Genesis 30:19-20)! Later, she would also bear Jacob a daughter, Dinah, meaning judged (Genesis 30:21), which is the feminine of the name Dan (see Genesis 30:5-6), which seems to point once again to Leah’s hope that she would be judged a better wife than her sister, Rachel.
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[1] It seems that Leah was being ironical at this point. Hiring her husband expresses her hurt feelings over his neglect. After all, she had born him four sons, as many as both his concubines put together. The life of Jacob’s family depended upon his wives’ fertility, and Leah had proved herself very important in the production of heirs to Jacob’s wealth and name. Hence, the seeming contradictory place she holds in Jacob’s heart.
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