NIV Genesis 29:31
When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
was unloved,
שְׂנוּאָ֣ה (śə·nū·’āh)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular
Strong's Hebrew 8130: To hate
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
enemy, foe, be hateful odious, utterly
A primitive root; to hate (personally) -- enemy, foe, (be) hate(-ful, -r), odious, X utterly.
This is a Hebrew word with strong feelings.
Who hated Leah? Clearly not God.
Let's see the context:
26 Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 27Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”
28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. 30 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Leah was not unloved by Jacob. Rachel hated Leah. It was a case of sister jealousy. I am not saying that Rachel hated Leah all the time. I am saying that at Genesis 29:31, Leah was hated by Rachel.
The two were not always on friendly terms as we can see later from
Genesis 30:14 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
Leah was jealous of Rachel's beauty and Rachel was jealous of Leah's prolific womb. And they shared the same husband. These relationships provided the backdrop for a mess of love and hate situations.