not just for clandestine meetings

that my mouth may declare (biblical; leah)

gyzym:

Leah is a child and Rachel is a cherub; Leah is a girl and Rachel is a woman;  Leah is first, and Rachel is never last. 

The story of Jacob and Esau will be told until it is worn thin. The story of Leah and Rachel will not be told at all. The bitterest rivalries are always rooted in love. It is always the dangerous tree that bears the ripest fruit. 

—

Leah is mother to Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah; Rachel is mother to Joseph and Benjamin, and it is no secret who is favored. She is covetous of Leah’s womb first, then her mandrakes, then her daughter—Leah lets her have the first two, hoards Dinah for herself. She grows up a willful girl, loves women and hates her aunt. She is a good daughter. 

—

Jacob works seven years and gets Leah by trickery. He never forgives her this betrayal, and she never forgives him his ownership. There is a song not sung till Solomon, and it is not their song; Jacob fucks Leah like she owes him something, and Leah fucks Jacob the way he goes on to wrestle angels. 

Reuben is born to the sound of screams. Of all her sons, he loves her best; of all her sons, he is the best beloved. She is glad his hands are clean of Joseph’s blood. She would still have been glad of him, were they not. 

—

Rachel’s bosom grows in the summer of her thirteenth year; they bloom tenderly at first, and then with abandon. She has long been known as the loveliest sister. She has long been known as the prize. 

“You needn’t look at yourself that way,” Leah tries, once. She loves Rachel, and has never liked her. She wiped the excrement from Rachel’s bottom when she was newly born.

“And why shouldn’t I,” Rachel says, preening. Not for the first time, Leah wishes she could wipe the excrement from her mouth. 

—

The Tribes of Israel are founded not on Jacob’s labor, but on Leah’s labor pains. Rachel avoids her tent for days after a birth, and Leah does not blame her. Rachel would be jealous. Leah would claw her eyes out. 

It is not a bad summary of their lives, when you consider it. Rachel has always coveted. Leah has always thought her blind. 

Posted 3 months ago — 95 notes