Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband?: Leah’s question expects a negative answer, “No, it is not a small matter.” Some translators will find it more natural to translate the rhetorical question as an emphatic statement: “You have already taken away my husband.” Leah is the first wife and older sister. She therefore has the authority to claim certain rights.

Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?: Leah’s second question builds on the first. In some languages the two rhetorical questions will be quite natural. In others the second question may need to be expressed as a statement that parallels the first statement: “and now you want to take away my son’s mandrakes.”

Rachel’s reply is in the form of a deal in which Leah gets to sleep with Jacob in exchange for some of the mandrakes. This thought is not entirely clear in Revised Standard Version Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes. In translation it should be made clear that for your son’s mandrakes means in exchange for your son’s mandrakes. Revised English Bible translates “Very well, in exchange for your son’s mandrakes, let Jacob sleep with you tonight.” For a different model see Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .