But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. Leah's reaction won't be especially polite, but it will reveal just how dysfunctional this family has become.ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful In any case, when Rachel sees or hears that Reuben has brought mandrake plants to his mother Leah, she asks if she can have some of them. Their interest in these mandrake plants makes perfect sense given their desire to become pregnant, as well as their urge to corner Jacob's affection. Leah, for her part, has stopped conceiving after giving birth to four sons (Genesis 29:31–35). Rachel has never herself given birth to children, instead obtaining hers using a cultural law which allowed her to claim the children of her servant, Bilhah (Genesis 30:1–8). This discovery becomes contentious, because sisters Rachel and Leah are engaged in a bitter competition to produce children for their mutual husband, Jacob. It's possible that mandrakes were quite rare in this region at this time, making Reuben's discovery quite a find. Mandrakes were also thought, apparently, to be an aphrodisiac and perhaps an aid to infertility in women.

This perennial plant is thought to be of the mandragora family, with blue flowers and yellow fruit in season. It's possible that Reuben was helping with the wheat harvest when he found these plants known as mandrakes. Some scholars suggest he may have been less than six years old at this time. It's hard to tell from the chronology how old he is here. Reuben is Leah's firstborn son (Genesis 29:31–32). When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, 'Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.' Genesis 30:14, CSB: Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.

Rachel begged Leah, 'Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.' Genesis 30:14, NLT: One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, 'Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.' Genesis 30:14, NASB: Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrake fruits in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. Genesis 30:14, 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, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” Genesis 30:14, ESV: In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, 'Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.' Genesis 30:14 Parallel Verses Genesis 30:14, NIV: During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah.

Mandrake in the bible