Thematic Bible: Instances of infelicity in


Thematic Bible



And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD has looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. read more.
And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Because the LORD has heard that I was hated, he has therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. read more.
And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid as his wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her to Jacob as his wife. And Zilpah Leah's maid bore Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop comes: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah's maid bore Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher. 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 you, of your son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? and would you take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, You must come in unto me; for surely I have hired you with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God has given me my reward, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and bore Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God has endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God has taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son. And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto my own place, and to my country.


And Sarai said unto Abram, The wrong done to me be upon you: I have given my maid into your bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and you.

Therefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very displeasing in Abraham's sight because of his son.


And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, who chose me before your father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I make merry before the LORD. And I will yet be more contemptible than this, and will be abased in my own sight: and of the maidservants whom you have spoken, of them shall I be held in honor. read more.
Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.


On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look upon. But queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his eunuchs: therefore was the king very angry, and his anger burned within him. read more.
Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, (for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment: And next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who sat first in the kingdom;) What shall we do unto queen Vashti according to law, because she has not obeyed the commandment of king Ahasuerus by the eunuchs? And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen has not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen shall become known to all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be said, King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king's princes, who have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath. If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honor, both to great and small. And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan: For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.


And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless you before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spoke unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard your father speak unto Esau your brother, saying, read more.
Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from there two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves: And you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, and that he may bless you before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father perhaps will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be your curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go bring me them. And he went, and took, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took the best clothing of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who are you, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau your firstborn; I have done according as you bade me: arise, I pray you, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD your God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray you, that I may feel you, my son, whether you be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he recognized him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. And he said, are you my very son Esau? And he said, I am. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed: Therefore God give you of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine: Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you: be lord over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you: cursed be everyone that curses you, and blessed be he that blesses you. And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savory food, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who are you? And he said, I am your son, your firstborn Esau. And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that has taken venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. And he said, your brother came with subtlety, and has taken away your blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with grain and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto you, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Have you but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, your dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by your sword shall you live, and shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall have the dominion, that you shall break his yoke from off your neck. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, your brother Esau, concerning you, does comfort himself, purposing to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away; Until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets that which you have done to him: then I will send, and bring you from there: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these who are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?


Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband are you to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband you are, because of the circumcision.


And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her severely to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. read more.
And as year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.