Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jacob Marries
The next three chapters in Genesis record the twenty years Jacob spent away from home in Paddam-aram. While this story may seem at times to be harsh for Jacob, it should not be considered a punishment for deceiving his brother, as some commentators suggest.
29:1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” 6 He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!”
The phrase, “went on his journey,” in the Hebrew (“yiś·śā rǎḡ·lāy’ w”),[1] essentially means, “lifted up his feet.” Here the narrative once again moves forward in time giving us no detail of Jacob’s journey after leaving Bethel, but we see that God leads him to the exact time and spot he needs to be. It is interesting to note the detail of Jacob’s observations. He sees a water well that has a large stone covering the mouth of the well, and three flocks of sheep had gathered around it, while they wait for enough of the shepherds to show up to help move the stone.
When he approached the shepherds, he asked where they were from, and when hearing they were from Haran, he asked if they knew Laban. He further inquired as to Laban’s wellbeing and while they were responding, Laban’s daughter Rachel was approaching.
29:7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.” 9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.
Understanding how to take care of sheep, Jacob wondered why the sheep and shepherds were resting by the well so early in the day. He even advised them that they should water the sheep and get them out into the pasture, perhaps even emphasizing some urgency. The shepherds responded that it was necessary to wait as the stone was too large for one person to move. Then Rachel approaches, some commentators suggest that Jacob desired some privacy with Rachel and that was the real reason he was somewhat insistent that the other shepherds take their flocks into the pasture. That may be true, as he then moves the cover stone from over the well for her, not only showing her kindness but also his physical strength. He proceeded to water Laban’s sheep, then without comment, he kisses her and begins to cry. He may have been struck with love at first sight, or perhaps the emotion of everything that had happed in the last several days then being guided by God to his uncle’s daughter, was overwhelming for Jacob. It was probably both. He explained to her who he was and after hearing that, she ran home to tell her father, apparently leaving the flock in his hands.
29:13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14 and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month. 15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”
In response to the news of Jacob’s arrival, Laban ran back to the pasture to greet him. He brought Jacob back to his house and Jacob told him about all that had happened. It is unknown why Laban expressed, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” Perhaps due to some physical resemblance or manner of speech, in either case, Laban accepted him as family and after staying with them for a month, Laban offered to pay Jacob for his labor. He asked him what his wages would be and without hesitation, he requested to marry his daughter Rachel, for seven years of labor. Laban agreed, saying it is better to give her to Jacob than to any other man. Unlike Abraham’s servant that came with valuable gifts and wealth that was offered in exchange for Rebekah, Jacob had nothing to give except for labor.
In verse 17, we are given a brief description of Laban’s two daughters. We read that “Leah’s eyes were weak.” The Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘weak’, is ‘rǎk·kôṯ’,[2] which can mean a number of things, including tender, soft, weak, indecisive and is used to describe everything from meat (see Genesis 18:7); the frailty of a person (see Genesis 33:13); a person’s character (see Deuteronomy 28:54, 56); a person’s speech (see Proverbs 15:1; 25:15); a loved child (see Proverbs 4:3); a kind word (see Job 41:3); and a new growth on a tree (see Ezekiel 17:22). This can explain, to some degree, the wide variance on how this verse is translated, such as: “Leah was tender eyed" (KJV); "Leah’s eyes were delicate” (NKJV); “Leah had attractive eyes” (GW); “There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes” (NLT); and “Leah had ordinary eyes” (CSB). However, many scholars believe that the “weak eyes,” is simply a reference to poor eyesight. The second half of that verse requires no investigation, Rachel was beautiful in both form and appearance. The name ‘Leah’ is similar to the Hebrew word ‘lā’āh’,[3] meaning to be weary, tired, exhausted, or frustrated. The name ‘Rachel’ is also the Hebrew word (‘rāḥēl’),[4] referring to an ewe lamb (a female sheep). Some commentators try to associate the meaning of their names to their appearances, while there may be some credibility to that discussion, it is mostly unmerited. Regardless of how either one of them looked, Jacob loved Rachel.
29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)
Time passed quickly for Jacob, his love for Rachel made the time seem only a few days. It was now time for Laban to pay Jacob his wages. A great feast was prepared, but something, other than what Jacob and Laban agreed on was proceeding. Did Laban plan on deceiving Jacob at the time they agreed on Rachel, or did Laban expect Leah to be married to someone else in those seven years that passed? Regardless, Laban brought his daughter Leah to Jacob as a wife. The text informs us that Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant, which would have been in compliance with one of several written legal practices reflected in the Bible that were revealed on clay tablets discovered in Nuzi (northeastern Mesopotamia, now Yorghan Tepe in northern Iraq) between 1925 and 1931. These documents written in the Akkadian language included contracts for labor, deeds of sale, testamentary wills, slave sales, ration lists, interoffice memoranda, trial records, scholastic texts, etc. Offering an invaluable insight to the Late-Bronze Age “legal system,” and the customs referenced in this story.
29:25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.
As readers of this story, we need to understand that there are many details missing in this narrative. Questions like where was Rachel during this time, what was her reaction, was Leah forced to sleep with Jacob, how was she deceived, and many other questions like these remain unanswered.
Now regarding Jacob, we can certainly see why he was upset. When he discovered the deception, he was angry and bitter toward both Leah and Laban (although this incident may have reminded him of his own deception he participated in years earlier). Laban told Jacob that it was their country’s custom that the eldest was to be married first, so he proposed that he complete another seven years of service for Rachel if he was willing to complete the seven-day wedding feast to marry Leah (see also Judges 14:12-17). The narrative quickly leaps forward those seven years and Laban finally gives his daughter Rachel to Jacob to be his wife, where he then completed that week-long celebration to marry her as well. Polygamy, even though not God-ordained, was common, having multiple wives will become a source of several problems later in his life.
Considerations
It is interesting to note that both Jacob and the shepherds spoke the same language. The language of Haran is believed to be Aramaic (meaning “of Aram”), and was apparently a language known to Abraham, and probably taught to Isaac and Jacob. However, the process of how they communicated with the various Canaanites and the Egyptians, in their travels, is never revealed. Each of those languages were quite different and complex.
In verse 27 we see the word ‘week’ (Hebrew word ‘šā·ḇûª’)[5] for the first time in Scripture. In Hebrew the word indicates a group of sevens: a week of seven days (see Leviticus 12:5; Deuteronomy 16:9); a week of weeks (seven weeks of days or 49 days, such as celebrated in the Feast of Weeks, see Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:9-10); or a week of years (seven years, see Daniel 9:24-27). Since in English the word implies a period of seven days, care has to be taken to understand the context of the verse before determining the period of time.
Sons of Jacob
29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.
Jacob only wanted to marry Rachel; it would have been hard for him to hide his true love. This would have been a difficult period for Leah. The Hebrew word ‘śenû·ā(h)’,[6] (translated here as ‘hate’) is the antonym (or opposite) of love. Seeing that Leah was not loved, God allowed her to have children, while Rachel was barren and could not conceive. Rachel experienced being barren for a period of time just like Sarah and Rebekah before her. During that time Leah had four sons: Reuben (meaning “behold a son,” in recognition of God seeing her affliction and granting her a son); Simeon (meaning “to hear,” or ‘hearing’, in recognition that God heard that Leah was hated); Levi (a word that sounds similar to a Hebrew word that means ‘joined’ or ‘attached’, acknowledging that now after three sons, Jacob would stay with her); and Judah (since the name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for praise and that Jacob spoke a blessing to Judah emphasizing praise, see Genesis 49:8, the name is believed to mean, “Let Him be praised,” of course this is the line of the Messiah, Jesus, so that is very likely). We need to remember that these names should be considered a play on words rather than strict translations and definitions. Apparently, Leah was a godly woman as she acknowledged God in all things in her life.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 5375, 7272 and 1931.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 7390.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 3811.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 7353.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 7620.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 8130.