Leah gives birth to her first son, but the text has already established that Jacob loved Rachel and didn't love Leah. Her childbearing doesn't change that - she's still the unloved wife.
I teach literature, and Leah's story is an exercise in reading what's not said. She names her children with hope that her love-giving will finally result in being loved. It's painful to watch.
The text doesn't resolve this. Leah remains unloved, even as she bears sons. Her value isn't determined by love or by fertility. She just is, beloved or not. That's bleak and real.
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