Genesis 30:16-17

30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ¹  with me because I have paid for your services ²  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ³  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ⁴  to Leah; she became pregnant ⁵  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ⁶ 

---

¹ tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.

² tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.

³ tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.

⁴ tn Heb “listened to.”

⁵ tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).

⁶ tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.