July 11, 2023

Rachael had trouble conceiving, and when Leah, her sister, Jacob’s other wife’s son, Ruben, came home with some Mandrake, a sweet-smelling plant, Rachael wanted them and offered that Jacob could sleep with her if she gave them to her. It reminds me of the television show, Sisterwives. As a plant person, I was curious to know why she wanted them so badly, so I looked them up. Come to find out, they have some medicinal purposes, as I have learned with many weeds growing in my own yard. This weed can cause hallucinations, but it is also an aphrodisiac that increases fertility. It’s probably outlawed in the United States because it can be used to treat cancer, among many other things. We are becoming wise to the plight of the pharmaceutical companies. I imagine that Rachael thought that it would help her conceive. There was a lot of rivalry between these two women; I can understand it because Jacob loved Rachael, but Leah produced sons. I found it surprising that Leah, rather than Rachael, is in the lineage of Jesus because Rachael seems to be the one that was favored in the stories. The remarkable thing I’m learning by going through these chapters one by one is that asking a few simple questions and using the internet to look them up can make the Bible come to life in an extraordinary way. Use your curiosity to drive your study of the scriptures; doing so will increase the depth of your research and help you retain it for future use.

By the way, the Bible is full of sex and intrigue. It’s not boring!

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. 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 30:14-15