Genesis 30:14
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.
Genesis 30:14 in other translations
| 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.” |
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| 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. |
| YLT | And Reuben goeth in the days of wheat-harvest, and findeth love-apples in the field, and bringeth them in unto Leah, his mother, and Rachel saith unto Leah, ‘Give to me, I pray thee, of the love-apples of thy son.' |
| 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. |
| BBE | Now at the time of the grain-cutting, Reuben saw some love-fruits in the field, and took them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to her, Let me have some of your son's love-fruits. |
| Webster | And 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, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. |
What does Genesis 30:14 mean?
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 Reuben - found mandrakes - דודאים dudaim. What these were is utterly unknown, and learned men have wasted much time and pains in endeavoring to guess out a probable meaning. Some translate the word lilies, others jessamine, others citrons, others mushrooms, others figs, and some think the word means flowers, or fine flowers in general. Hasselquist, the intimate friend and pupil of Linne, who traveled into the Holy Land to make discoveries in natural history, imagines that the plant commonly called mandrake is intended; speaking of Nazareth in Galilee he says: "What I found most remarkable at this village was a great number of mandrakes which grew in a vale below it. I had not the pleasure to see this plant in blossom, the fruit now (May 5th, O. S). hanging ripe to the stem, which lay withered on the ground. From the season in which this mandrake blossoms and ripens fruit, one might form a conjecture that it was Rachel's dudaim. These were brought her in the wheat harvest, which in Galilee is in the month of May, about this time, and the mandrake was now in fruit." Both among the Greeks and Orientals this plant was held in high repute, as being of a prolific virtue, and helping conception; and from it philtres were made, and this is favored by the meaning of the original, loves, i.e., incentives to matrimonial connections: and it was probably on this account that Rachel desired them. The whole account however is very obscure.
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 30:14-24
The desire, good in itself, but often too great and irregular, of being the mother of the promised Seed, with the honour of having many children, and the reproach of being barren, were causes of this unbecoming contest between the sisters. The truth appears to be, that they were influenced by the promises of God to Abraham; whose posterity were promised the richest blessings, and from whom the Messiah was to descend.
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
Genesis 30:14 in the original Hebrew
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
לִ֔יLito <the> me
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Genesis 30:14
- 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.
- 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.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A.M. 2256. B.C. 1748. mandrakes.The mandrake may be the Hebrew {dudaim:} it is so rendered by
all the ancient versions, and is a species of melon, of an
agreeable odour. Hasselquist, speaking of Nazareth in
Galilee, says, "What I found most remarkable at this village
was the great number of mandrakes which grew in a vale below
it. I had not the pleasure of seeing this plant in blossom,
the fruit now (May 5th, O. S.) hanging ripe on the stem, which
lay withered on the ground. From the season in which this
mandrake blossoms and ripens fruit, one might form a
conjecture that it was Rachel's {dudaim.} These were brought
her in the wheat harvest, which in Galilee is in the month of
May, about this time, and the mandrake was now in fruit." The
Abbee Mariti describes it as growing "low like a lettuce, to
which its leaves have a great resemblance, except that they
have a dark green colour. The flowers are purple, and the
root is for the most part forked. The fruit, when ripe in the
beginning of May, is of the size and colour of a small apple,
exceedingly ruddy, and of a most agreeable odour. Our guide
thought us fools for suspecting it to be unwholesome."
So 7:13
Give me.
25:30
So 7:13
Give me.
25:30
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Genesis 30:13
And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
- Genesis 30:14
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.
- Genesis 30:15
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.
Genesis 30:14 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y fué Rubén en tiempo de la siega de los trigos, y halló mandrágoras en el campo, y trájolas á Lea su madre: y dijo Rachêl á Lea: Ruégote que me des de las mandrágoras de tu hijo. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et Ruben sortit aux jours de la moisson du froment, et il trouva des mandragores dans les champs, et les apporta à Léa, sa mère. Et Rachel dit à Léa: Donne-moi, je te prie, des mandragores de ton fils. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und Ruben ging aus in den Tagen der Weizenernte und fand Dudaim auf dem Felde; und er brachte sie seiner Mutter Lea. Und Rahel sprach zu Lea: Gib mir doch von den Dudaim deines Sohnes. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Egressus autem Ruben tempore messis triticeæ in agrum, reperit mandragoras, quas matri Liæ detulit. Dixitque Rachel: Da mihi partem de mandragoris filii tui. |