Genesis 29:32

29:32 So Leah became pregnant 1  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, 2  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. 3  Surely my husband will love me now.”

1 tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

2 sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

3 tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the Lord has “looked” with pity on her oppressed condition. See further S. R. Driver, Genesis, 273.