Genesis 30:14

12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Now during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
KJV
And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.
WEB
Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother, Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
ASV
And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son`s mandrakes.
DARBY
And Reuben went out in the days of wheat-harvest, and found mandrakes in the fields; and he brought them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
BLB
And Reuben went in the days of the harvest of wheat, and he found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, “Please give to me [some] of the mandrakes of your son.”
ÅB
En dag i hvetehøstens tid gikk Ruben ut og fant alruner[^6] på marken og bar dem hjem til Lea, sin mor; da sa Rakel til Lea: Kjære, gi meg noen av din sønns alruner!
OTB
Under hvetehøsten gikk Ruben og fant alruner på marken, og brakte dem til sin mor Lea. Da sa Rakel til Lea: "Vær så snill å gi meg noen av din sønns alruner."
B1930
En dag i hvetehøstens tid gikk Ruben ut og fant alruner på marken og bar dem hjem til Lea, sin mor; da sa Rakel til Lea: Kjære, gi mig nogen av din sønns alruner! / < d.e. et slags plante som mentes å kunne vekke elskov og fremkalle svangerskap.>

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Song of Solomon 7:13

    The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

    Read in context
  • Genesis 25:30

    And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

    Read in context