As Jacob continued on his journey, he came to the land of the eastern people, Genesis 29:1. These were people from Haran; this is the land where Abraham was from, Genesis 11:31. It’s here he encounters these people at a well, which was a commonplace to meet people who were tending their flocks, Genesis 29:2.
Willis, in his commentary, says the following.
‘This could have been the same well where the servant of Abraham met Rebekah years earlier’, Genesis 24:10-27.’
Notice that the stone wasn’t rolled away until everyone arrived, Genesis 29:3, and so, when Rachel arrived, the stone was removed, and the flock could be watered. Jacob asked the shepherds, where are you from and they replied, from Harran, Genesis 29:4.
Jacob then asked them if they knew Laban, Nahor’s grandson, Genesis 24:29, and they said they did, Genesis 28:5. He then asked them how Laban was doing, and they told him he was well, Genesis 29:6.
Just then, Laban’s daughter Rachel arrives with some sheep, Genesis 29:6. Because it was getting late, Jacob suggests that it’s too late for the flocks to be gathered and so they should just water the sheep and take them back to pasture, Genesis 29:7.
They tell him that they can’t do that until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then they will water the sheep, Genesis 29:8.
Rachel now arrives with Laban’s sheep, indicating that she is a shepherd, Genesis 29:9. Remember, Rachel is Jacob’s cousin, and it seems like Jacob managed to roll the stone on his own in order to water Laban’s uncle’s sheep, Genesis 29:10. This would usually take two people because of the weight.
We saw earlier that Esau was a manly man, the outdoor man, the hunter, but Jacob was kind of a mummy’s boy, Genesis 25:27. Here we see the emotional side of Jacob, as he kissed Rachel, indicating she was to be his wife, and he wept aloud, Genesis 29:11.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘These were tears of joy, for the realisation that at last Jacob had reached his destination and that God had blessed him all the way.’
Jacob does the right thing in identifying himself as Rachel’s cousin, Genesis 29:12 / Genesis 24:42-49. The excitement is such that Rachel runs, Genesis 29:12, and arranges for Jacob to meet her father, Laban, and he, in turn, kisses Jacob and welcomes him as his own son into his household, Genesis 29:13-14.
Jacob had been staying with Laban for a month, Genesis 29:14, and so Laban asks him if he expects to stay for nothing just because he is a relative, and then he asks what his wages should be, Genesis 29:15.
Although possible, it seems doubtful that Laban allowed Jacob to live with him for free, Acts 20:34-35, so it’s highly probable that he was working for him during this month.
Laban had two daughters; the older one is called Leah, whose name means gazelle, and the younger is called Rachel, whose name means ewe, Genesis 29:16. Leah had weak eyes, possibly meaning she had a squint in her eyes, and Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful, Genesis 29:17.
Rachel was beautiful, and she was the first woman Jacob met. The love Jacob had for Rachel is clearly seen in these passages, Genesis 29:18. And so, Jacob offers to work for seven years so that he can marry Rachel, Genesis 29:18.
Mathews, in his commentary, says the following.
‘When Abraham’s servant had discovered Rebekah’s identity, he worshipped the Lord, Genesis 24:24 / Genesis 24:26, but here Jacob flexed his muscle, proving his capacity to serve Laban’s house.’
Jacob’s family had great wealth, but Jacob himself didn’t, so he isn’t used to working hard. Jacob had no wealth, but he didn’t want to refuse the offer. This is the first time he will be treated as a servant. Laban must have seen the love between Rachel and Jacob, and he could have taken advantage of their love for one another.
If we think about it, Rachel was the youngest, and if Jacob loved her that much, Laban would know that he would be willing to work for him for seven years, Genesis 29:18.
Laban agrees that it would be better if Rachel marries Jacob rather than someone else and invites him to stay, Genesis 29:19. Jacob serves seven years to get Rachel, but oh how time flies by when you’re in love; to him it felt like only a few days, Genesis 29:20.
After serving Laban for seven years, he approaches Laban and asks for Rachel so he can consummate the marriage, Genesis 29:21. Remember, in Jewish custom, it was the eldest daughter, Leah, who should get married first, and then the others would follow.
In this case, Laban had other ideas; he got everyone together to celebrate the wedding, Genesis 29:22, but Laban switched Leah for Rachel, Genesis 29:23. He gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant, Genesis 29:24.
Francisco, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The trick of Laban when he substituted Leah for Rachel could not have been possible without Rachel’s consent. Evidently, she did not fear any competition from her less-favoured sister and welcomed the thought of her company back to Canaan.’
We don’t know why Jacob didn’t notice, possibly because of a head covering. The text does say it was evening, Genesis 29:23, so it’s possible that it was so dark he couldn’t recognise her. Remember what happened earlier in Genesis 27?
Rebekah cooks the meat the way Isaac likes it, Genesis 27:9, as Isaac had requested Esau to do, Genesis 27:4. Jacob then wears Esau’s garments so that he would smell of the field like his brother, Genesis 27:15 / Genesis 27:27, and then Jacob wears goatskins on his arms and chest so that he would feel hairy like Esau, Genesis 27:16 / Genesis 27:23.
Jacob didn’t notice anything was up until the morning after the wedding celebrations. It was only then that he realised he’d been deceived, Genesis 29:25. Jacob the deceiver has now been deceived, and he’s now reaping what he sowed, Galatians 6:7-8.
Laban now informs Jacob of their custom. The eldest daughter, Leah, should get married first, and then the others would follow, Genesis 29:26. As you can imagine, Jacob isn’t very happy about what took place, but his love for Rachel was simply too great, and so, he agreed to work for another seven years for Laban in order to marry Rachel, Genesis 29:27.
After Leah was given her week with Jacob, Genesis 29:27-28 / Judges 14:12 / Judges 14:17, Rachel was then given to him in advance of the seven years of work he was to do for her, Genesis 29:28. Laban gave his servant Bilhah to Rachel as her attendant, Genesis 29:29.
Wenham, in his commentary, says the following.
‘It was customary for the bride’s father to give her a large present when she got married: a dowry. In the ancient world, the gift normally consisted of clothing, furniture, and money, and it served as a nest egg for the wife in case her husband died or divorced her. Some dowries were exceptionally valuable, such as slave-girls, Genesis 24:61 / Genesis 29:29, or a city, 1 Kings 9:16. Laban was being generous.’
I don’t think any loving father would want to put any of his daughters in a situation where they weren’t loved. It’s not that Jacob hated Leah, but he loved Rachel more, Genesis 29:30. We can imagine how Leah must have felt, lonely, isolated, and feeling unloved.
The whole problem here was that Jacob didn’t have a clue about the legalities concerning marriage in this part of the land, and if he had simply asked about these legalities first, he would have saved himself a whole bunch of heartache.
Laban was well aware of these legalities; he knew that the law of his land meant the eldest daughter should marry first. Possibly because Leah wasn’t as beautiful as Rachel, Leah had ‘weak eyes,’ Genesis 29:17, possibly meaning she had a squint in her eyes; he was struggling to find someone to marry her.
Nonetheless, he managed to get another seven years of work out of Jacob, Genesis 29:30; he knew exactly what he was doing. In a sense, God disciplined Jacob as he ended up working for Laban for twenty years in all. Jacob worked fourteen years for his two wives and six years for his livestock.
Jacob submitted to Laban because he had no other option. Jacob married Leah and Rachel, who were sisters. But as we shall see in a moment, there’s a whole host of problems which are coming because of Laban’s deceptiveness.
Notice it was the Lord who saw Leah and recognised how she was feeling, Genesis 29:31 / Genesis 16:13. She was innocent in all of this, but she must have been a woman of faith because she was greatly encouraged and comforted when the Lord opened her womb, so she could have children, while Rachel couldn’t.
The good news is that God always looks after the unloved. She gives birth to a son and names him Reuben, Genesis 29:32. The name Reuben means, ‘behold, a son’.
It seems as though Jacob just used Leah for sex because he didn’t love her, Genesis 29:32. She gives birth to another son and names him Simeon, Genesis 29:33. The name Simeon means, ‘the Lord has heard.’
These two names together show that she had faith in God, and she recognised that God’s work was at hand. She gives birth to another son and names him Levi, Genesis 29:34. We can see how she longed for Jacob’s love and attention, as the name Levi means ‘attachment’.
Now she focuses on God for what he has done for her. She has another son and gives him the name Judah, Genesis 29:35. The name Judah means ‘praise,’ which shows us how grateful she was for God allowing her to have four children.
At this point in time, she stopped having children, Genesis 29:35. She would have had all four children over a period of four years, during which Rachel still didn’t have any children.
Leah may have felt unloved by Jacob, but God loved her and blessed her richly. In fact, Levi would go on to become the tribe of priests who would serve God in His tabernacle, Numbers 3:10, and Judah, who were to become the royal tribe, Genesis 49:10, through whom would come the Messiah, Hebrews 7:14 / Revelation 5:5.