Bible Strands
Genesis 29:33
Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Leah speaks immediately after conceiving and bearing a third son for Jacob, addressing the situation within her household. The moment follows her previous births of Reuben and precedes the birth of Levi.
The words — The Hebrew שָׁמַע (sha.Ma') translates literally as "he has heard," directly preceding the divine name יְהוָה (Yahweh). Leah employs this verb to state that Yahweh has perceived her condition of being unloved.
The thread — The pattern of God hearing a woman’s plea and granting a son appears in Genesis 30:6 and Genesis 30:8. The sons named here, Simeon and Levi, are later cited together in Genesis 34:25 during the retaliation against Shechem.
Why it lands — The text records Leah attributing Simeon’s birth to Yahweh’s response to her unloved status, making her naming of the child a direct claim of divine intervention. A reader must observe the causal link Leah constructs between God’s hearing and her marital standing without importing external theological assumptions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.
Cross-references
- Genesis 34:25 Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.
- Genesis 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
- Genesis 30:8 Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
- Genesis 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
- Genesis 30:20 “God has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun.
- Genesis 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
- Genesis 35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
- Genesis 42:24 And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
- Genesis 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.