In Genesis 49:33, Jacob finally “breathes his last.” He “draws his feet into the bed” and is “gathered to his people.”
That phrase – “gathered to his people” – can be taken very literally. In his final words, he requests that he be buried in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah are all buried.
As is Leah.
It’s one of those blink-and-you-miss-it moments in Scripture, where a huge note is buried amongst a list of other notes. Scan the Text too quickly, and you may forget that Rachel is talked about throughout Genesis as Jacob’s favorite wife, not Leah. So why does Jacob want to be buried next to Leah?
The simplest answer has less to do with Leah and more to do with the other occupants of the family gravesite, including.. Jacob wants to rest next to his father and grandfather; the fact that Leah is there is a simple add-on.
Another answer lies in the fact that as the first wife of Jacob, Leah was given the primary status and honor of being buried next to Jacob. He’s just following protocol, in other words. How romantic.
Neither of those explanations are satisfactory to me, though. The final resting places of anyone represents a place that is most important to them. Next to family, in a significant location, a peaceful meadow – the choice is rarely an afterthought.
When Rachel died, Jacob buried her “on the way to Bethlehem” (Genesis 35:19). Her burial is stated as a matter of fact. Jacob puts a pillar over her grave and moves on.
Leah’s death is never recorded. We have no idea when she dies; all we know is that by the time Jacob passes away, he wants to be buried next to her in the cave of Machpelah. The reason why is never given to us.
If you track the lives of the two women though, you notice that Leah is talked about as the “unloved” one (Genesis 29:31). She’s barren too, even though she eventually bears more children than Rachel does. As she brings forth her third son, she prays “maybe now my husband will become attached to me.”
It appears that that’s exactly what happens. Somewhere along the way – either because of Rachel’s absence or despite it – Jacob becomes attached to Leah. He chooses to rest peacefully next to her body, instead of Rachel’s. The unloved wife, in this occasion, became the loved.
Jacob’s final acknowledgment of Leah is a testament to the fact that love develops over time. Our culture is infatuated with the idea that love is a spontaneous, “falling” feeling that is almost inescapable.
The relationship of Jacob and Leah proves the contrary. Though Jacob was indignant at marrying Leah in the beginning, it was her that he eventually wanted to stay besides until the end of time. Somewhere along the way, love erupted in full bloom.