INTRODUCTION
ORIENTATION AND CONTEXT
Significance of Text
A wedding celebration gives new meaning to family drama in an account involving the patriarch Jacob, his uncle Laban, and Laban's daughters both of whom will become the matriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Having fallen in love with Laban's younger daughter, Rachel, (Gen. 29:18), Jacob comes to the end of their agreed upon seven years of work and tells his uncle, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed." (V 21). The CJB in verse 21 says, "Give me my wife, since my time is finished, so that I can start living with her." This phrase "start living with her" suggests that their marriage was similar to Joseph and Mary's in the NT, where they were betrothed with the promise of consumation at a later date—in this case, after seven years of labor.
When the big day arrives, however, Laban is not ready to let go so easily and sends his elder daughter Leah into the bedchamber come the evening. Jacob is none the wiser until morning breaks. This raises a few questions. First, was he so drunk that he did not realize he had the wrong woman? Or, did Leah go along with her father and kept quiet so Jacob would not realize their trickery until it was too late?
Either way, when Jacob confronts Laban, his uncle says it would be against local customs to marry off the younger daughter before the elder. Then, he talks him into working another seven years with the assurance that Jacob will receive Rachel, as well. (vv 26-27).
Did Jacob know of the custom of which Laban speaks? If he did, then did he think his uncle would ignore it? If this custom was well-known, why was Jacob so surprised? Why did a known trickster trust his uncle so implicitly?
Starting in verse 31, the focus shifts from Jacob to Leah and the Lord. God saw Leah was hated, He opened her womb but Rachel, whom Jacob loved the most remains barren. Throughout the final four verses of chapter 29, the struggle is in Leah's heart. She goes from focusing on getting Jacob to love her to trusting in God for her worth.
Interestingly enough, Rachel, the one described as beautiful and lovely (v 17) is silent in this account. One can only speculate her attitude using the adjectives in the text. Verse 17 says her older sister had weak eyes. It is contrasted with Rachel being lovely and beautiful which suggests a life-long rivalry. Verse 30 tells us plainly that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah which also hints at the drama to come. However, at this point in the story, we know very little about the sisters' relationship.
While this account in chapter 29 is different that the family stories before and after it, it does remind us of the family drama found in Abram's house back in chapter 16. God has promised Abram that a child born from him will be his heir. Sarai, Abram's wife thinks she has come up with a way to make God's plan work. She gives her Egyptian maid, Hagar to Abram so that Hagar can have a baby for her, because she is barren. Hagar conceives, becomes contemptuous of her mistress, Sarai deals harshly with her maid, and Hagar flees (vv1-6).
While out on her own, the Lord speaks to Hagar. So she returns to her mistress (vv 7-10). Yet as one reads the rest of the account, there is a tension the hints at the drama to come.
Historical and Social Setting
"Jewish tradition calls the first book of the Bible after its first word, Bereshit, which can be translated as "in the beginning" or "when first." (Coogan 7). Coogan goes on to say "Christian tradition takes its name for the first book of the Bible, Genesis, from the ancient Greek translation of the Torah, the Septuagint. Genesis in Greek means "origin or birth."
"The group of narrative and genealogical traditions called the book of Genesis describes the origin of the cosmos and its first inhabitants and unfolds the life stories of the earliest ancestors of ancient Israel" (Newsom 27). In essence, the book of Genesis is a book about beginnings. As an origin story, we read the history from where our beliefs come. As a beginning story, it echoes the theme that wil serve throughout the entire canon.
Moses was the first to be atributed with the authorship of Genesis. However, as centuries went by, scholars began to question this claim. "Some verses in Genesis refer to events after the time of Moses, such as when the Canaanites were no longer in the land(12.6). In addition, a few rabbis wondered how Moses would have written a narrative about his own death and burial (Deut 34) (Coogan 7).
Genesis began as an oral tradition before becoming a written one. "Most scholars agree that the text now found in Genesis began to be written down sometime after the establishment of the monarchy in Israel in the tenth century bce or later" (Coogan 7).
Two sources are named as authors of Genesis. The J or Yahwist source (stands for (Yahweh). This source is said to have been around the time of King David or Solomon. The other source is the Elohist source, (Elohim) written in the Northern kingdom of Israel in about the eighth century bce. "In either case," Coogan says, "the earliest works now imbedded in Genesis were products of Scribes working in the context of the monarchies of early Judah and Israel" (8).
Literary Context
This historical narrative is found in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis. It began in chapter 25, long before the famous wedding day. Formerly barren, Rebekah finally conceives after her husband prays to the Lord on her behalf (v 21). The babies struggled in Rebekah's womb, and the Lord tells her she will give birth to two nations (vv22-23).
When the twins are grown Jacob relies on his twin's weakness to trick him out of his birthright. Faint with hunger after hunting in the field, Esau comes in to see Jacob cooking pottage and demands to be given some to eat (25:29-30). Jacob says "First sell me your birthright." (V 31).
"I am about to die," Esau says. "Of what use is a birthright to me?" (V 32).
Taking advantage, Jacob makes his brother swear to give him his birthright. Esau does, and Jacob gives him a bowl of red lentils and bread (v 34).
In chapter 27 Jacob plays another trick, this time including his father as well as his brother. With his mother's urging, he disguises himself to smell and feel like Esau in order to make his father who is blind believe he is in deed Esau. Isaac falls for it and gives Jacob the blessing, causing a rift between the brothers resulting in Jacob fleeing to his uncle's home in Haran.
On his journey to Haran, Jacob has a dream of a ladder that reaches Heaven with angels ascending and descending on it (28:12). The Lord is above it and says, "I am the LORD, God of Abraham thy father and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (28:13-14 KJV).
In verse 15 God promises to be with Jacob wherever he goes. He tells him He will not leave him until He has done what He promised He would do, and He will bring him back to this land.
Waking up with this promise firmly in his head and heart, Jacob builds an altar and vows that if God will keep His promise, then He will be Jacob's God. Then, with confidence and perhaps some arrogance, he proceeds to his uncle's home where our story begins.
After the account in 29:21-35, which is the subject of this paper, Rachel finally gets to have her say. Jealous of her sister, she tells Jacob to give her children, (30:1).
One can almost hear Jacob's frustration in verse 2 when he asks, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" (RSV).
At her wit's end, Rachel gives her maid to Jacob to have children in her stead. Bilhah gives Jacob two sons, which Rachel names. Not to be outdone, Leah gives her maid Zilpah to Jacob, and two more sons are born. What follows is a drama well suited to twenty-first century reality tv. The sisters argue and trade mandrakes for their husband's marital attentions and two more sons and a daughter are born to Leah. Rachel finally has a son whom she names Joseph. By this time, Jacob is ready to carry his family back to his father's house. However, even with all this drama, it will take more trickery and sneakiness on Jacob and Laban's part and a wrestling match with an angel before Jacob becomes Israel.
PRESENTATION OF TEXT
Scripture Passage
Gen 29:21 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 men 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 maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 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 first-born. 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 wife. 29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years. 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; surely now my husband will love me." 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the Lord has heard[b] 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 joined[c] 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. (RSV)
Text Critical Notes
Genesis 29:17 says in the RSV "Leah's eyes were weak". The KJV calls her "tender eyed". Neither description makes much sense in modern English. The Hebrew word used is "rak" (Strong's 7390). There are several interpretations for this word; they include tender, soft, delicate, and weak.
Jacob says in verse 21, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her". The term used here is wife, not bride or girlfriend. The Hebrew word here for wife is 'iššâ (Strong's 802). It means wife or woman. Rachel is Jacob's legal wife because of the agreement between Jacob and Laban (vv 18-20).
Leah gives birth to four sons (vv 32-35. The first is Reuben (Strong's h 7205). It means behold a son. The second is Simeon (Strong's h 8095) which means heard. She names her third son Levi (Strong's h 3878) which means joined to. Her fourth son she names Judah (Strong's h 3063) which means praised.
Outline of Passage
I. A Wedding Feast is Planned (vv 21-22)
A. Jacob says his time is completed
B. Jacob asks for his wife
C. Laban invites his neighbors and makes a feast
II. Laban's Deceit (vv 23-25)
A. Laban sends Leah to Jacob instead of Rachel
B. Jacob goes into her
C. Laban gives his maid Zilpah to Leah for a maid
D. Jacob realizes Laban's deceit and confronts him
III. Jacob's Discovery (vv 26-30)
A. Laban makes excuse
B. Laban playcates his son-in-law
C. Jacob agrees and is given Rachel
D. Laban gives his maid Bilhah to Rachel for a maid
E. Jacob loves Rachel enough to work seven more years
IV. The Lord Blesses Leah (vv 31-35
A. God opens Leah's womb
B. Rachel is barren
C. Leah names her first-born Reuben
D. Leah names second son Simeon
E. Leah names third son Levi
F. Leah names fourth son JudahA WEDDING FEAST IS PLANNED
At last, the long-awaited time has come. With expectation in his heart, Jacob says to his uncle Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed." (V 21).
Notice Jacob asked for his wife, not his bride. Laban's youngest, Rachel was already legally Jacob's wife and had been ever since the agreement between Jacob and Laban was made.
Both Exodus 22:16 and Deuteronomy 22:29 say the bride price was fifty shekels of silver. However, in these instances, it is a price paid if the woman has been violated. The man who violates her is to pay this price to her father. In Jacob and Rachel's case, no crime has been committed. Whether that fifty shekels of silver was to pay for the wife plus make restitution or not, Jacob's price was seven years of labor to which Laban agreed (vv 18-20).
"Maimonides tells us that a Jewish marriage consists of two stages. The first is betrothal, kiddushin. The second is the nuptials, chuppah" (Lamm Article).
In essence, Jacob was saying that he had fulfilled his part of the agreement, and now he wants to complete the wedding ceremony begun seven years before. After all, that first stage was not a "preliminary agreement to contract a marriage at a future date," but it was an "integral component of the two-step marriage process" (Lamm Article).
Between stage one and stage two, the couple may not live together. This explains why Jacob calls Rachel his wife before the wedding feast and subsequent wedding night (v 21).
Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel seven years before when he fled from his brother's wrath. Arriving at a well, he sees her coming with her father's sheep and rolls the stone from the well's mouth (vv9-11). "His mother Rebekah is not there to tell him what to do; he is on his own now. When alone, he is apparently capable of shedding his passivity and becoming master of the situation. No longer in his mother's shadow, he manages to upstage the shepherds" (Hamilton 255).
Rather like a romance novel of today, we see Jacob as the hero. This is only enhanced when he tells Laban that he will work seven years for the pretty shepherdess (v 18).
When we read further in the narrative, it seems as if Laban is as excited for this second stage of the wedding as his nephew. He gathers "all of the men of that place and made a feast" (v 22). Yet, with the very next word, we glimpse someone who might be just as sneaky, if not worse than the trickster himself.
LABAN'S DECEIT
"But in the evening he brought his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her" (v23). Leah? Was not Rachel his legal wife?
Here Laban begins to show his true colors. Perhaps he wants to follow tradition and see that his eldest is married first as he later says in verse 26. Perhaps he has been scheming all along to get fourteen years of work out of his sister's son (v 27). In any case, "The exchange could be made because the bride was brought veiled to the bridegroom" (Coogan 80).
Unaware of his uncle's deceit, either because the woman is veiled or because he has had too much to drink at the feast, Jacob goes into the sleeping chamber with Leah and proceeds with the second stage of the wedding agreement—the nuptials, chuppah.
Interestingly enough, here a possible crime against Leah has been committed. Nowhere does it say if she agreed. She could have been the woman violated as mentioned in Deuteronomy 22:29. A bride price is due.
Verse 24 interupts this drama to inform the reader that Laban has given Leah his maid, Zilpah to be her maid. Unlike many women servants, this one is named. She will play an important role later in Jacob's story as the mother of two of his sons, Gad and Asher (Gen 30:9-13). For the present, however, the family drama reminiscent of our modernday tabloid talk shows is only just beginning.
JACOB'S DISCOVERY
With the coming of the morning light Jacob wakes up to find Leah by his side instead of the woman he fell in love with back at the well seven years before. "What is this that you have done to me?" he asks in verse 25. "Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"
One can only imagine Leah's response to her husband's anger. She may have been the one with "weak eyes" while her sister was "beautiful and lovely(v 17), but she was the one with whom he had just shared a wedding night.
"The traditional rendering "Leah's eyes were weak" (RSV, NIV NEB; JB) is in need of reexamination. The adjective raf.5 means "weak"6 in a few places, particularly Gen. 33:13 ("frail" children) and Deut. ("softhearted, timid" paralleling "fearful/' yare'). (Hamilton 258).
Hamilton goes on to say that more often it describes something tender such as a flock of sheep. It could also mean gentle, soft, delicate, and/or young (Hamilton 259).
Regardless, the sisters' father keeps control of the situation, announcing "It is not so done in our country to give the younger before the first-born" (v 26). Whether Jacob knew of this custom beforehand or not, Laban's statement makes his nephew look foolish, and before the shock can wear off, Laban tells him he will give him Rachel as well for another seven years of labor (v 27). All Jacob need do is complete Leah's week and agree.
"The week refers to the week of marriage festivity" (Coogan 80). Verse 28 informs us that Jacob agreed with his uncle to work another seven years. He completed Leah's celebratory week, and only then received Rachel as his wife.
Here again in verse 29, the story is interupted to inform the reader that Laban gave Rachel his maid Bilhah to be her maid. Again, this servant is named and will become important in the story of the twelve tribes of Israel. Bilhah is the mother of Dan and Naphtali (Gen 30:6-8).
Completing this section of the narrative the text tells us that Jacob finally gets the woman he wanted. He goes in to her and loves her more than Leah (v30). All is well, for the moment, and Jacob works another seven years to pay off the bride price for his second wife.
THE LORD BLESSES LEAH
Beginning in verse 31 the narrator shifts focus from Jacob's point of view to the Lord's and Leah's. Seeing that Leah was hated, the Lord opens Leah's womb (v 31). Rachel, the text says was barren. What a blow that must have been for Rachel and Jacob, seeing as how he loved her so much. One might wonder if Jacob began to resent her. After all, it was because of her that this trouble began. However, the text in chapter 29 does not suggest any of the sort. The only clue to Jacob and Rachel's feelings on the matter is found in chapter 30.
"Give me children or I shall die!" She cries (v 1).
"Am I in the place of God?" Jacob asks in anger (v 2)
However, back in chapter 29, nothing more is said about Rachel or Jacob. Instead, Leah and her sons are the focus of verses 32-35.
Hated or not, Leah is not ignored by her husband. She conceives and has a son. She names him Reuben. Pronounced Reuven, the name is made up of two halves; re'u means look or see, and ben means son. "Thus, the name Reuben expresses the fact that "re'u" - God saw my needs, and therefore blessed me with "ben" - a son" (Davidson Article).
Leah conceives again and gives birth to a second son. She says, "Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also" (v 33).
She names this second son Simeon "This name is derived from the Hebrew verb שמע shama (#8085) meaning "to hear" (Benner Article).
Upon the arrival of son number three, Leah says, "Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons" (v 34). She names this one Levi which is "from the verb לוה (lawa), to join or connect" (Abarim-Publications).
Yet, even after three sons Jacob's affection has still not turned to his first wife.
Although we are not told what changes Leah's focus, something causes a shift, for when her fourth son is born she declares, "This time I will praise the Lord" (v 35). She names this son Judah.
Most Hebrew dictionaries will define this word as "praise" but as this English word is an abstract word it falls short of its true Hebraic meaning. The parent root of this word is יד (YD - yad) meaning "hand". Several child roots are derived from this parent root having the meaning of "throw" including the child root ידה (YDH - yadah), the root of yehudah. The word "Yehudah" has the meaning of "to throw your hands out". If you were standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time you might throw your hands out and say "Wow, will you look at that". This is the Hebraic understanding of "praise". (Benner Article).
Leah makes no mention of her husband; only praise to the God who has given her this fourth son.
CONCLUSION
SUMMATION
Rivalry, deceit, treachery, love and hatred come together in a family drama in the first book of the Old Testament. After making a deal with his mother's uncle, Jacob works for seven years for Laban's youngest daughter, Rachel. When the seven years is fulfilled, he tells his uncle to give him his wife. Laban throws a party, but in the evening brings his eldest daughter, Leah to the bedchamber. None the wiser, Jacob goes in and he and Leah have a wedding night. At dawn he realizes he has been tricked. Yet, Laban is not finished and tells his nephew to finish Leah's week, agree to work another seven years, and he will give him Rachel, as well. Jacob agrees and becomes the husband of sisters. Seeing she is hated, the Lord opens Leah's womb and gives her four sons. Rachel, however, is barren, and this will lead to more family drama in the future.
APPLICATION
As an origin story, both Christians and Jews alike can rest in the knowledge that our ancestors in the faith were not so different as we. "By and large, the world reflected in these stories is ordinary and familiar, filled with the surprises and joys, the sufferings and the troubles, the complexities and ambiguities known to every community. At the same time, Genesis is God's story. These stories disclose a world in which God has become deeply engaged, not to bring people into heavenly spheres, but to enable a transformation of life in this world." (Fretheim 113).
Through Jacob's surprises and joys, troubles and sufferings, we see him grow out of some of his arrogance and naivete. Although he is a trickster, God did promise to be with him. Therefore, we must conclude that God is using these trials and blessings to form him into the man He wants him to be.
We can apply this to our own lives, as well. After all, the writer of Hebrews says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (13:5 KJV). As God used Jacob's life experiences to transform him into the patriarch Israel, so God will use our life experiences to transform us into the men and women He is calling us to be.
Sometimes it takes a dose of our own medicine for God to get our attention. In other cases, such as with Leah, it might take the blessing of four sons for us to realize that all God wants from us is us. The text does not tell us what happens in Leah's heart to change her way of thinking. However, the Bible is clear on the fact that with the birth of three sons she was focused on making her husband notice and love her but was focused on praising God with the birth of her fourth.
We may not measure up to the world's standards. We are often left feeling rejected by the unfeeling actions of others. But when we turn our focus to the one who created us, only then will we find our true purpose and fulfillment. The patriarch Jacob may have been horrified to find the weak or tender eyed sister in his bed come morning, but we can rest assured that our bridegroom, Jesus Christ looks on us with pure love, tender compassion and ravishing joy. "Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the smell of thine ointments than all spices!" (Song of Solomon 4:9-10 KJV).
WORKS CITED
Coogan, Michael, The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version An Ecumenical Study Bible. Kindle ed. Oxford University Press, 2018
Fretheim, Terence E., The Pentateuch: Interpreting Biblical Texts, Abingdon Press, 1996
Hamilton, Victor P., The New International Commentary of the Old Testament, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995
Newsom, Carol, Women's Bible Commentary, Third Edition, Westminster John Knox Press, 1998
