Leah

by James R. Shott

Book Overview

Leah is the other sister. She is awkward, introverted, almost blind, and in love with Jacob. He marries Leah by mistake and she becomes his companion, advisor and closest friend, as well as the mother... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0836135261
• ISBN13: 9780836135268
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Herald Press (VA)
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Isaac's death

"Leah" by James R. Shott was a wonderful way to get inside the person of Leah and see this story from her perspective. I found it factual for the most part, allowing for being fictionalized. One error I feel led to point out is the statement that Jacob's father, Isaac, died before Jacob returned to his homeland with his family. In fact, Gen. 35:27-29 tells us Isaac was still alive when Jacob returned home, and died after that time, "and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him." This also discounts the statement that Jacob and Esau did not see each other after the initial encounter when Jacob bestowed Esau with many gifts from his flocks and herds. I can appreciate the struggles of writing a novel based on a Biblical character, but feel obvious errors like this one could have been avoided with a little more research. Thank you, James Shott, for giving us a wholesome and enjoyable look at characters in the Bible.

A different take on the Jacob story

This is a lovely little retelling of the Jacob story from his first wife Leah's point of view.In love with Jacob but realizing that he's barely noticed her, Leah takes desperate measures and pulls the world's most famous bed trick. With Jacob believing himself finally in bed with Leah's younger sister, the beautiful Rachel, they consumate their marriage and when the morning light comes Jacob finds that he is saddled with a woman he doesn't love - although in time he gets his Rachel as well.Leah consoles herself with the knowledge that she is the mother of Jacob's sons, with Rachel apparently barren. But then the long-awaited Joseph is born, and Leah must bear the disinheritance of her eldest son, goodhearted Reuben, who has done nothing wrong except to not be Rachel's (the Bilhah scandal is never mentioned, which is a shame as it would have been interesting to see Leah's reaction to Reuben's one major moral lapse). Leah must draw on inner strength and God to deal with the difficult times that follow, including the Shechem massacre and it's aftermath, a sickening suspicion that her sons had something to do with Joseph's death (and this version ends grimly, as Leah did not live long enough, as Jacob did, to find out that Reuben saved Joseph by suggesting he be thrown into a well instead of killed outright) - and, always, the knowledge that Jacob will always love Rachel more than her.It is not until the end of her life that Jacob shows Leah that he has noticed how she has been the glue that binds the family together and how much her intelligent advice has meant to him, even if it was Rachel's bed he went to most nights. And, of course, it is Leah - not Rachel - who is honored with a place in Jesus' ancestry.Shott keeps the novel in historical perspective, not trying to modernize the morality of biblical times. He also intriguingly picks up on the Bible's mention of Leah's bad eyesight and vividly describes what it must be like to live in a world where you have to ask someone to tell you what's going on if it's more than a few feet from you.

Spellbinding and romantic.

Shott masterfully tells the story of Jacob (and somewhat of Joseph) through the eyes of Leah, his first wife who was not the beauty Rachel was, but who was extraordinarily bright and a leader - a true matriarch. As with other "People of the Promise" series books I've loved, I had to read this book in one sitting. A great romantic story.