Genesis 29:34 | 59 and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and wa tered his un cle’ s sheep. 11 Then Ja cob kissed Ra chel and be gan to weep aloud. 12 He had told Ra chel that he was a rel a tive of her fa ther and a son of Re bek ah. So she ran and told her fa ther.
13
As soon as La ban heard the news about Jacob, his sis ter’ s son, he hur ried to meet him. He em braced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Ja cob told him all these things. 14 Then La ban said to him,“ You are my own flesh and blood.” cob, and Ja cob made love to her. 24 And La ban gave his ser vant Zil pah to his daugh ter as her at ten dant.
25
When morn ing came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to La ban,“ What is this you have done to me? I served you for Ra chel, didn’ t I? Why have you de ceived me?”
26
La ban re plied,“ It is not our cus tom here to give the youn ger daugh ter in mar riage be fore the old er one. 27 Fin ish this daugh ter’ s brid al week; then we will give you the youn ger one also, in re turn for an oth er sev en years of work.”
28
And Ja cob did so. He fin ished the week with Leah, and then La ban gave him his daugh ter Rachel to be his wife. 29 La ban gave his ser vant Bil hah to his daugh ter Ra chel as her at ten dant. 30 Ja cob made love to Ra chel also, and his love for Ra chel was great er than his love for Leah. And he worked for La ban an oth er sev en years.
Jacob’ s Children
31
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he en abled her to con ceive, but Ra chel re mained child less. 32 Leah be came preg nant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reu ben, b for she said,“ It is be cause the Lord has seen my mis ery. Sure ly my hus band will love me now.”
33
She con ceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said,“ Be cause the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Sim e on. c
34
Again she con ceived, and when she gave birth
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
Af ter Ja cob had stayed with him for a whole month, 15 La ban said to him,“ Just be cause you are a rel a tive of mine, should you work for me for noth ing? Tell me what your wag es should be.”
16
Now La ban had two daugh ters; the name of the old er was Leah, and the name of the youn ger was Ra chel. 17 Leah had weak a eyes, but Ra chel had a love ly fig ure and was beau ti ful. 18 Ja cob was in love with Ra chel and said,“ I’ ll work for you sev en years in re turn for your youn ger daugh ter Ra chel.”
19
La ban said,“ It’ s bet ter that I give her to you than to some oth er man. Stay here with me.” 20 So Ja cob served sev en years to get Ra chel, but they seemed like only a few days to him be cause of his love for her.
21
Then Ja cob said to La ban,“ Give me my wife. My time is com plet ed, and I want to make love to her.” 22
So La ban brought to geth er all the peo ple of the place and gave a feast. 23 But when eve ning came, he took his daugh ter Leah and brought her to Jaa
17 Or delicate b
32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son. c
33 Simeon probably means one who hears.
29:11 Jacob kissed Rachel Though Jacob falls in love with Rachel, this is a normal greeting in the ancient Near East. 29:16 Leah The etymology of the Hebrew name le’ ah is unknown. 29:17 weak eyes It is unclear whether this description is positive or negative. If the Hebrew word used here, rakh, is translated“ weak” or“ dull,” it may indicate a lack of brightness in her eyes; lustrous or sparkling eyes were considered a striking sign of beauty( 1Sa 16:12; SS 4:1,9). On the other hand, if rakh is translated“ delicate,”“ tender” or“ lovely,” it may indicate that she had one striking feature, while Rachel had many. 29:18 I’ ll work for Jacob’ s ser vice is in exchange for the normally expected bride payment price, elsewhere called in Hebrew mohar( see note on Ex 22:16). Though the ensuing narrative could hint at Laban expecting the arrangement to involve Jacob’ s adoption into Laban’ s household, Jacob had no intention or desire to stay with Laban in Harran. He was a normal day laborer, paying his debt of a bride price( Ge 31:38 – 42). 29:21 my wife This language is consistent with the ancient Near Eastern cultural view that a betrothed woman had the status of a wife. 29:25 Leah As Jacob had disguised himself to deceive his father( 27:1 – 29), Laban presented the veiled Leah at the wedding instead of Rachel. Ancient Near Eastern evidence indicates that brides were veiled. However, as there is no evidence that Leah was veiled during intercourse that night, Jacob’ s surprise may be explained by darkness( the wedding occurred in the evening; see v. 23) or severely inebriated, although the text itself does not say this. 29:27 Finish this daughter’ s bridal week This refers to a seven-day marriage celebration.
29:31— 30:24 This extended account of the birth of Jacob’ s children is framed by references to God opening wombs— first Leah’ s( 29:31) and then Rachel’ s( 30:22). In between, Rachel and Leah compete for their husband’ s favor by providing offspring for him( 29:34; 30:1,15). The 12 sons born to them and their maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah( 11 in this section, plus Benjamin in 35:16 – 18), eventually become the eponymous( or name-giving) ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel( 49:28).
29:31 remained childless Barrenness was viewed as a divine judgment( see 16:2 and note). 29:32 Reuben This name is a combination of two Hebrew words, meaning“ See! A son!” See the table“ Symbolic Names of People in Hebrew” on p. 1388. 29:33 Simeon The Hebrew name Shim’ on derives from the Hebrew for“ heard,” shama’, as Leah indicates. 29:34 Levi The origin of this name is uncertain. It derives from the Hebrew word lawah, meaning“ to attach.”