Question: According to Genesis, what physical imperfection did Jacob’s first wife Leah have?
Answer: Weak eyes. (Genesis 29:17).
Comments: Genesis gives a rare physical description when it characterizes Laban's two daughters, Leah and Rachel. The description of Rachel is straightforward. She is beautiful. In contrast, her sister Leah is said to have possessed "weak eyes" (Genesis 29:17 - ESV, NASB, NIV, RSV). The translation "weak eyes" has been prevalent since H.F.W. Gesenius (1786-1842) incorporated it into his foundational Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament.
And Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. (Genesis 29:17, NASB)
The word used to describe her eyes is rak in Hebrew, which means "tender". Hence the ASV and KJV render her "tender eyed". Some newer translations like the HCSB and the NKJV depict her eyes as being "delicate".
Since this descriptor is being juxtaposed with Rachel's beauty many take it to mean that she was not as attractive as her sister. In this context, the verse implies that her eyes lacked luster and detracted from her beauty. The CEV follows this interpretation reading "her eyes didn't sparkle".
The Jewish historian Josephus (37-100) puts it bluntly "she was of no comely countenance." (Antiquities, I, xix, 7)
Note: This oil painting is "Dante's Vision of Rachel and Leah" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882). It was painted in 1855.
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