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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Genesis 29 Pulpit Commentary</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/genesis/29.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/genesis/29-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">Pulpit Commentary</a> > Genesis 29</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../genesis/28.htm" title="Genesis 28">◄</a> Genesis 29 <a href="../genesis/30.htm" title="Genesis 30">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Pulpit Commentary</div><div class="chap"><div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-1.htm">Genesis 29:1</a></div><div class="verse">Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 1.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Then Jacob went on his journey</span> (literally, <span class="accented">lifted up his feet - a</span> graphic description of traveling. Inspired by new hopes, and conscious of loftier aims than when he fled from Beersheba, the lonely furtive departed from Bethel), <span class="cmt_word">and came into the land of the people of the east</span> - literally, <span class="accented">the land of the sons of the east</span>, <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. Mesopotamia, about 450 miles distant from Beersheba. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-2.htm">Genesis 29:2</a></div><div class="verse">And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there <i>were</i> three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone <i>was</i> upon the well's mouth.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And he looked</span> (either to discover where he was, or in search of water), <span class="cmt_word">and behold a well in the field</span>, - not the well at which Eliezer's caravan halted, which was a well for the village maidens, situated in front of the town, and approached by steps (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/14.htm">Genesis 14</a>.), but a well in the open field for the use of flocks, and covered at the time of Jacob's arrival with a huge stone - <span class="cmt_word">and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it.</span> A frequent Oriental scene (cf. <a href="/genesis/14-11.htm">Genesis 14:11</a>; <a href="/exodus/2-16.htm">Exodus 2:16</a>). "Who that has traveled much in this country has not often arrived at a well in the heat of the day which was surrounded with numerous flocks of sheep waiting to be watered? I once saw such a scene in the burning plains of Northern Syria. Half-naked, fierce-looking men were drawing up water in leather buckets; flock after flock was brought up, watered, and sent away; and after all the men had ended their work, then several women and girls brought up their flocks, and drew water for them. Thus it was with Jethro's daughters; and thus, no doubt, it would have been with Rachel if Jacob had not rolled away the stone and watered her sheep" ('Land and Book,' p. 589). <span class="cmt_word">For out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth.</span> "Most of the cisterns are covered with a large thick, flat stone, in the center of which a hole is cut, which forms the mouth of the cistern. This hole, in many instances, we found covered with a heavy stone, to the removal of which two or three men were requisite" (Robinson, 2. p. 180). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-3.htm">Genesis 29:3</a></div><div class="verse">And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And thither were all the flecks gathered.</span> "Fifteen minutes later we came to a large well in a valley among the swells, fitted up with troughs and reservoirs, with flocks waiting around" (Robinson, 3. p. 21). <span class="cmt_word">And they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, find watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place</span>. From the middle of ver. 2 the words are parenthetical, the watering of the flocks not having taken place till Rachel had arrived (ver. 9) and Jacob had uncovered the well (ver. 10). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-4.htm">Genesis 29:4</a></div><div class="verse">And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence <i>be</i> ye? And they said, Of Haran <i>are</i> we.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Jacob said unto them</span> (the shepherds of the three flocks), <span class="cmt_word">My brethren</span> (a friendly salutation from one who was himself a shepherd), <span class="cmt_word">whence be ye?</span> Anticipating that their reply would reveal his whereabouts. <span class="cmt_word">And they said, Of Haran are we</span>. This could scarcely fail to remind Jacob of God's premise to guide him in his journey. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-5.htm">Genesis 29:5</a></div><div class="verse">And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know <i>him</i>.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And he said unto them</span> (with the view of discovering his kinsmen), <span class="cmt_word">Know ye Laban the son of Nahor</span>? - <span class="accented">i.e.</span> the grandson, Laban's father having been Bethuel, who, however, here, as in <a href="/genesis/14.htm">Genesis 14</a>, retires into the background. <span class="cmt_word">And they said, We know him</span>. The language of the shepherds being Chaldaean (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/31-47.htm">Genesis 31:47</a>), Jacob, who spoke Hebrew, was able to converse with them either because he had learnt Chaldee from his mother (Clericus), or, as is more probable, because the dialects were not then greatly dissimilar (Gosman in Lange). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-6.htm">Genesis 29:6</a></div><div class="verse">And he said unto them, <i>Is</i> he well? And they said, <i>He is</i> well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And he said unto them, Is he well</span>? Literally, <span class="accented">is there peace to him?</span> meaning not simply bodily health, but all manner of felicity; <span class="greek">ὑγιαίνει</span> (LXX.); <span class="accented">sanusne</span> est? (Vulgate). Cf. the Christian salutation, <span class="accented">tax vobiscum <span class="cmt_word"></span>And they said, He is well</span> (literally, peace): <span class="cmt_word">and, behold, Rachel</span> - "Ewe" (Gesenius) - <span class="cmt_word">his daughter cometh with the sheep.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-7.htm">Genesis 29:7</a></div><div class="verse">And he said, Lo, <i>it is</i> yet high day, neither <i>is it</i> time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go <i>and</i> feed <i>them</i>.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> <span class="accented">- <span class="cmt_word"></span>And he said, Lo, it is yet high day</span> (literally, <span class="accented">the day is yet great</span>, <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. much of it still remains), <span class="cmt_word">neither is it time that the cattle should he gathered together</span> (<span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. to shut them up for the night): <span class="cmt_word">water ye the sheep, and go and feed them</span> - being desirous to get the shepherds away from the well that he might meet Rachel alone (Keil, Lange, Murphy), though perhaps his words with as much correctness may be traced to that prudent and industrious habit of mind which afterwards shone forth so conspicuously in himself, and which instinctively caused him to frown upon laziness and inactivity (Starke, Kalisch, Bush). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-8.htm">Genesis 29:8</a></div><div class="verse">And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and <i>till</i> they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And they said, We cannot</span>, - not because of any physical difficulty (Kalisch), since three men could easily have accomplished what Jacob by himself did, but because they had agreed not to do so (Rosenmüller, Murphy), but to wait - <span class="cmt_word">until all the flocks be gathered together</span> (when the watering was done at once, instead of at so many different times), <span class="cmt_word">and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth</span>; - more correctly rendered, and (sc. then, <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. when the flocks are assembled) they (<span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. the shepherds) <span class="accented">roll away the stone -</span> <span class="cmt_word">then</span> (or, and) <span class="cmt_word">we water the sheep.</span> The object of watering the flocks collectively may have been, as above stated, for convenience, or to prevent the well from being opened too frequently, in which case dust might rapidly accumulate within it (Kalisch), or perhaps to secure an equal distribution of the water (Murphy). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-9.htm">Genesis 29:9</a></div><div class="verse">And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And while he yet spake with them</span> (literally, <span class="accented">he yet speaking with them</span>), <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them</span> - or, she was a shepherdess, the part. <span class="hebrew">רֹעָה</span> being used as a substantive (Gesenius, 'Lex.,' sub. nom.). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-10.htm">Genesis 29:10</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother</span>, - "the term mother's brother is not unintentionally repeated three times in this verse to describe with the greatest possible stress that Jacob had met with his own relations, with "his bone and his flesh" (Kalisch) - <span class="cmt_word">and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother</span> (Jacob from the first takes particular notice of Laban's flock, perhaps regarding them as a sign of Laban s wealth. If Laban s daughter had her attractions for the son of Isaac, so also had Laban s sheep), <span class="cmt_word">that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth</span> (probably disregarding the shepherds' rule to wait for the gathering of all the flocks, unless, indeed, Rachel s was the last), <span class="cmt_word">and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.</span> The threefold repetition of this phrase does not prove that Jacob acted in all this purely as a cousin (Lange). The phrase is the historian's, and Jacob had not yet informed Rachel of his name. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-11.htm">Genesis 29:11</a></div><div class="verse">And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Jacob kissed Rachel</span>, - in demonstration of his cousinly affection. If Jacob had not yet discovered who he was to the fair shepherdess, his behavior must have filled her with surprise, even allowing for the unaffected simplicity of the times; but the fact that she does not resent his conduct as an undue liberty perhaps suggests that he had first informed her of his relationship to the inmates of Laban s house (Calvin). On kissing <span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/27-26.htm">Genesis 27:26</a> - <span class="cmt_word">and lifted up his voice, and wept</span> - partly for joy in finding his relatives (cf. <a href="/genesis/43-30.htm">Genesis 43:30</a>; <a href="/genesis/45-2.htm">Genesis 45:2, 14, 15</a>); partly in grateful acknowledgment of God's kindness in conducting him to his mother s brother's house. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-12.htm">Genesis 29:12</a></div><div class="verse">And Jacob told Rachel that he <i>was</i> her father's brother, and that he <i>was</i> Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Jacob told</span> (or, had told, <span class="accented">ut supra</span>) <span class="cmt_word">Rachel that he was her father's brother,</span> - as Lot is called Abraham's brother, though in reality his nephew (<a href="/genesis/13-8.htm">Genesis 13:8</a>; <a href="/genesis/14-14.htm">Genesis 14:14, 16</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and that he was Rebekah's son</span> (this clause would explain the meaning of the term "brother in the former): <span class="cmt_word">and she ran and told her father</span>. Like Rebekah, believing the stranger's words and running to report them, though, unlike Rebekah, first relating them to her father (cf. Genesis 14:28). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-13.htm">Genesis 29:13</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings</span> (literally, <span class="accented">heard the hearing</span>, or <span class="accented">thing heard</span>, <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. the report of the arrival) <span class="cmt_word">of Jacob his sister's son,</span> - he acted very much as he did ninety-seven years before, when Abraham's servant came to woo his sister (<a href="/genesis/14-20.htm">Genesis 14:20</a>, 30) - <span class="cmt_word">that</span> (literally, and) <span class="cmt_word">he ran to meet him, and embraced him</span>, - so afterwards Esau did Jacob (<a href="/genesis/33-4.htm">Genesis 33:4</a>), and Jacob the two sons of Joseph (<a href="/genesis/48-10.htm">Genesis 48:10</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">and kissed him, and brought him to his house</span> - thus evincing the same kindness and hospitality that had characterized him on the previous occasion. <span class="cmt_word">And he</span> (Jacob) <span class="cmt_word">told Laban all these things</span> - what his mother bad instructed him to say to attest his kinship (Calvin); the things related in the immediate context (Keil); more likely the entire story of his life, and in particular of his exile from home, with its cause and object (Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Lange). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-14.htm">Genesis 29:14</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban said to him, Surely thou <i>art</i> my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban said unto him</span> (giving utterance to the impression Jacob s recital had produced upon his mind), <span class="cmt_word">Surely thou art my bone and my flesh</span> - i.e. my blood relation (cf. <a href="/judges/9-2.htm">Judges 9:2</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/5-1.htm">2 Samuel 5:1</a>). Laban meant that Jacob had satisfactorily proved himself Rebekah's son. <span class="cmt_word">And he abode with him the space of a month</span> - literally, a <span class="accented">month of days</span> (cf. <a href="/genesis/41-1.htm">Genesis 41:1</a>; <a href="/numbers/11-20.htm">Numbers 11:20</a>), or a month as regards time, "the second substantive describing the general notion of which the first is a specification" (Kalisch). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> CHAPTER 29:15-30 </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-15.htm">Genesis 29:15</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou <i>art</i> my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what <i>shall</i> thy wages <i>be</i>?</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 15.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban said unto Jacob</span> (probably at the month's end), <span class="cmt_word">Because thou art</span> - literally, <span class="accented">is it not that</span>. <span class="accented">thou art</span> (cf. <a href="/genesis/27-36.htm">Genesis 27:36</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/23-19.htm">2 Samuel 23:19</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">my brother</span>, - my kinsman (<span class="accented">vide</span> on ver. 12) - <span class="cmt_word">shouldest thou therefore serve me for naught</span>? (literally, <span class="accented">arid thou server me gratuitously</span>) <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>tell me, what shall thy wages be</span>? A proof of Laban's generosity and justice (Kalisch); of his selfishness and greed (Keil); of his prudence and sagacity in opening up the way for a love-suit (Large). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-16.htm">Genesis 29:16</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder <i>was</i> Leah, and the name of the younger <i>was</i> Rachel.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban had two daughters</span> (the wife of Laban is not mentioned in the story): <span class="cmt_word">the name of the elder was Leah</span>, - "Wearied" (Gesenius); "Dull," "<span class="accented">Stupid"</span> (Furst); "Pining," "Yearning" (Lange) - <span class="cmt_word">and the name of the younger was Rachel</span> - "Ewe" (Gesenius). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-17.htm">Genesis 29:17</a></div><div class="verse">Leah <i>was</i> tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 17.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Leah was tender eyed</span>. Literally, the <span class="accented">eyes of Leah were tender</span>, <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. weak, dun; <span class="greek">ἀσθενεῖς</span> (LXX.), <span class="accented">lippi</span> (Vulgate); cf. <a href="/1_samuel/16-12.htm">1 Samuel 16:12</a>. Leah's face was not ugly (Bohlen), only her eyes were not clear and lustrous, dark and sparkling, as in all probability Rachel's were (Knobel). <span class="cmt_word">But Rachel was beautiful and well favored</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">beautiful in form</span> (<span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. in outline and make of body; cf. <a href="/genesis/39-6.htm">Genesis 39:6</a>; also <a href="/1_samuel/16-18.htm">1 Samuel 16:18</a> - "a man of form," <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. <span class="accented">formosus</span>, well made) <span class="accented">and beautiful in appearance</span> (<span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. of a lovely countenance). "If authentic history was not in the way, Leah, as the mother of Judah, and of the Davidic Messianic line, ought to have carried off the prize of beauty after Sarah and Rebakah (Lange). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-18.htm">Genesis 29:18</a></div><div class="verse">And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 18.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Jacob loved Rachel</span> (it is more than probable that this was an illustration of what is known as "love at first sight" on the part of Rachel as well as Jacob); <span class="cmt_word">and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.</span> Having no property, with which to buy his wife, according to Oriental custom (Kalisch), or to give the usual dowry for her to her father (Keil), - cf. Genesis 14:53; 34:12; <a href="/1_samuel/18-25.htm">1 Samuel 18:25</a>, - Jacob's offer was at once accepted by his grasping uncle, though he was that uncle's "brother" (ver. 15). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-19.htm">Genesis 29:19</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban said, <i>It is</i> better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 19.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man</span>. Orientals commonly prefer alliances within the circle of their own relatives. Burckhardt, Volney, Layard, and Lane testify that this is still the case among the Bedouins, the Druses, and other Eastern tribes. <span class="cmt_word">Abide with me</span> - a formal ratification of the compact on the part of Laban. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-20.htm">Genesis 29:20</a></div><div class="verse">And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him <i>but</i> a few days, for the love he had to her.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 20.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Jacob served</span> - hard service (<a href="/genesis/31-40.htm">Genesis 31:40, 41</a>), in keeping sheep (<a href="/hosea/12-12.htm">Hosea 12:12</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">seven years for Rachel</span>. The purity and intensity of Jacob's affection was declared not alone by the proposal of a seven years' term of servitude, - a long period of waiting for a man of fifty-seven, if not seventy-seven, years of age, - but also by the spirit in which he served his avaricious relative. Many as the days were that required to intervene before he obtained possession of his bride, they were rendered happy by the sweet society of Rachel. <span class="cmt_word">And they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.</span> "Words breathing the purest tenderness, and expressing more emphatically than the flowery hyperboles of romantic phraseology the deep attachment of an affectionate heart" (Kalisch); words too which show the lofty appreciation Jacob had of the personal worth of his future bride. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-21.htm">Genesis 29:21</a></div><div class="verse">And Jacob said unto Laban, Give <i>me</i> my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 21.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Jacob said unto Laban</span> (who, though the term of servitude had expired, appeared to be in no haste to implement his part of the bargain), <span class="cmt_word">Give me my wife</span> (i.e. my affianced wife, as in <a href="/deuteronomy/22-23.htm">Deuteronomy 22:23, 24</a>; <a href="/matthew/1-20.htm">Matthew 1:20</a>), <span class="cmt_word">for my days are fulfilled</span> (<span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. my term of service is completed), <span class="cmt_word">that I may go in unto her</span> - <span class="accented">quo significant intactam adhuc esse virginem</span> (Calvin); a proof that Jacob's love was pure and true. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-22.htm">Genesis 29:22</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 22.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban</span> (unable to evade or delay the fulfillment of his agreement with Jacob) <span class="cmt_word">gathered together all the men of the</span> <span class="cmt_word">place</span> (not the entire population, but the principal inhabitants), <span class="cmt_word">and made a feast</span> - a "mishteh, or drinking (cf. <a href="/genesis/19-3.htm">Genesis 19:3</a>), <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. a wedding banquet (cf. bride-ale - bridal), which commonly lasted seven days (<a href="/judges/14-10.htm">Judges 14:10</a>; Tobit 11:18), though it appears to have varied according to the circumstances of the bridegroom. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-23.htm">Genesis 29:23</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 23.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him.</span> The deception practiced on Jacob was rendered possible by the fact that the bride was usually conducted into the marriage chamber veiled; the veil being so long and close as to conceal not only the face, but much of the person (<span class="accented">vide</span> Genesis 14:65). <span class="cmt_word">And he went in unto her.</span> The conduct of Laban is perfectly intelligible as the outcome of his sordid avarice; but it is difficult to understand how Leah could acquiesce in a proposal so base as to wrong her sister by marrying one who neither sought nor loved her. She must herself have been attached to Jacob; and it is probable that Laban had explained to her his plan for bringing about a double wedding. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-24.htm">Genesis 29:24</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid <i>for</i> an handmaid.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 24.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah</span> - "the Dropping"? (Gesenius), "Myrrh-juice" (Furst) - his maid (according to Gesenius the word is closely connected with an unused root signifying to spread out, hence a maid-servant) <span class="cmt_word">for an handmaid</span>. This was in accordance with Oriental custom (<span class="accented">vide</span> Genesis 14:61). That Leah obtained only one damsel need not be ascribed to Laban's parsimonious character, but to his already-formed intention to bestow a second on Rachel. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-25.htm">Genesis 29:25</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it <i>was</i> Leah: and he said to Laban, What <i>is</i> this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 25.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And it came to pass, that in the morning, Behold, it was Leah.</span> If Jacob's deception, even with the veiled bride, may still be difficult to understand, it is easy to perceive in Leah's substitution for Rachel a clear instance of Divine retribution for the imposition he had practiced on his father. So the Lord oftentimes rewards evil-doers <span class="accented">according</span> to their wickedness (cf. <a href="/2_samuel/12-10.htm">2 Samuel 12:10-12</a>). <span class="cmt_word">And he said to Laban</span> (who, Calvin conjectures, had given Jacob a splendid entertainment the night before to make him say nothing about the fraud), <span class="cmt_word">What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?</span> It says much for Jacob that he did not seek to repudiate the marriage. Perhaps he saw the hand of God in what had happened, and probably considered that though he had chosen Rachel, God had selected Leah as his wife. If so, it must be set to Jacob's credit that at the call of God, thus providentially addressed to him, he was prepared to sacrifice his best affections to the claims of religion and duty. It is not Jacob, but Laban, who proposes that he should also marry Rachel. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-26.htm">Genesis 29:26</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 26.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban said, It must not be so done</span> - the future expresses the thought that the custom has grown into a strong moral obligation (Kalisch) - <span class="cmt_word">in our country</span> (Hebrew, <span class="accented">place</span>), <span class="cmt_word">to give the younger before the first-born</span>. The same custom exists among the Indians (Rosenmüller; cf. Roberts, 'Oriental Illustrations,' p. 34), Egyptians (Lane), and other Oriental countries (Delitzsch). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-27.htm">Genesis 29:27</a></div><div class="verse">Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 27.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Fulfill her week</span>, - literally, <span class="accented">make full the week of this otis</span>, <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. of Leah, if Leah was given to Jacob on the first night of the festivities (Calmer, Rosenmüller, Keil, Kalisch, Lange, Ainsworth); but id Leah was married at the close of the seven days, then it must refer to Rachel s week (Bush, Murphy) - <span class="cmt_word">and we</span> (including Laban's wife and eldest son, as in <a href="/genesis/24-50.htm">Genesis 24:50, 55</a>) <span class="cmt_word">will give thee this also</span> (<span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. Rachel) <span class="cmt_word">for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.</span> Almost every motive that is mean, base, and despicable appears in this behavior of Laban's; if he attached little value to his daughters' affections, he had a keen appreciation of Jacob's qualities as a shepherd. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-28.htm">Genesis 29:28</a></div><div class="verse">And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 28.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Jacob aid so, and fulfilled her week</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">the week of this one</span>, either of Leah or of Rachel, as above. Rosenmüller, assigning the first week (ver. 27) to Leah, refers this to Rachel; but the expression can scarcely have two different meanings within the compass of two verses. <span class="cmt_word">And he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also</span>. The polygamy of Jacob, though contrary to the law of nature (<a href="/genesis/2-21.htm">Genesis 2:21-25</a>), admits of some palliation, since Rachel was the choice of his affections The marriage of sisters was afterwards declared incestuous (<a href="/leviticus/18-18.htm">Leviticus 18:18</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-29.htm">Genesis 29:29</a></div><div class="verse">And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 29.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah</span> - "Bashful," "Modest" (Gesenius) - <span class="cmt_word">his handmaid to be her maid</span>. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-30.htm">Genesis 29:30</a></div><div class="verse">And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 30.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah</span> (implying, however, that Leah had a place in his affections), <span class="cmt_word">and served with him yet seven other years</span>. The seven years cunningly exacted for Leah was thus the second fraud practiced upon Jacob (<a href="/genesis/30-26.htm">Genesis 30:26</a>; <a href="/genesis/31-41.htm">Genesis 31:41</a>; <a href="/hosea/12-12.htm">Hosea 12:12</a>). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> CHAPTER 29:31-35 </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-31.htm">Genesis 29:31</a></div><div class="verse">And when the LORD saw that Leah <i>was</i> hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel <i>was</i> barren.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 31.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And when the Lord saw</span> - literally, <span class="accented">and Jehovah saw</span>. As Eve's son was obtained from Jehovah (<a href="/genesis/4-1.htm">Genesis 4:1</a>), and Jehovah visited Sarah (<a href="/genesis/21-1.htm">Genesis 21:1</a>), and was entreated for Rebekah (<a href="/genesis/25-21.htm">Genesis 25:21</a>), so here he again interposes in connection with the onward development of the holy seed by giving children to Jacob s wives. The present section (vers. 31-35) is by Davidson, Kalisch, and others assigned to the Jehovist, by Tuch left undetermined, and by Colenso in several parts ascribed to the Elohist. Kalisch thinks the contents of this section must have found a place in the earlier of the two documents - <span class="cmt_word">that Leah was hated</span>, - <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. less loved (cf. <a href="/malachi/1-3.htm">Malachi 1:3</a>) - <span class="cmt_word">he opened her womb</span> (cf. <a href="/1_samuel/1-5.htm">1 Samuel 1:5, 6</a>; <a href="/psalms/127-3.htm">Psalm 127:3</a>): <span class="cmt_word">but Rachel was barren</span> - as Sarai (<a href="/genesis/11-30.htm">Genesis 11:30</a>) and Rebekah (<a href="/genesis/25-21.htm">Genesis 25:21</a>) had been. The fruitfulness of Leah and the sterility of Rachel were designed not so much to equalize the conditions of the sisters, the one having beauty and the other children (Lange), or to punish Jacob for his partiality (Keil), or to discourage the admiration of mere beauty (Kalisch), but to prove that "the origin of Israel was to be a work not of nature, but of grace" (Keil). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-32.htm">Genesis 29:32</a></div><div class="verse">And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 32.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben</span> (literally, <span class="accented">reuben</span>, Behold a Son! an expression of joyful surprise at the Divine compassion): <span class="cmt_word">for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction</span>. Though not directly contained in the term Reuben, the sense of these words is implied (Kalisch). As Leah's child was an intimation that she had been an object of Jehovah's compassion, so did she expect it to be a means of drawing towards herself Jacob s affection. <span class="cmt_word">Now therefore</span> (literally, for <span class="accented">now</span>) <span class="cmt_word">my husband will love me</span>. She was confident in the first flush of maternal joy that Jacob's heart would turn towards her; she believed that God had sent her child to effect this conversion of her husband's affections; and she regarded the birth of Reuben as a signal proof of the Divine pity. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-33.htm">Genesis 29:33</a></div><div class="verse">And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I <i>was</i> hated, he hath therefore given me this <i>son</i> also: and she called his name Simeon.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 33.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And she conceived again, and bare a son</span> (probably the following year); <span class="cmt_word">and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated</span> (the birth of Reuben had obviously not answered Leah's expectations in increasing Jacob's love), <span class="cmt_word">he hath therefore given me this son also</span> (She faith and piety of Leah are as conspicuous as her affection for Jacob): <span class="cmt_word">and she called his name Simeon</span> - <span class="accented">i</span>.<span class="accented">e</span>. <span class="accented">Hearing</span>, because God had heard that she was hated (<span class="accented">ut supra</span>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-34.htm">Genesis 29:34</a></div><div class="verse">And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 34.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And she conceived again</span> (say, in the third year of her marriage), <span class="cmt_word">and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me</span>, - <span class="hebrew">לָוָה</span>, to join, is the root from which comes <span class="hebrew">לֵוִי</span>. (Levi), her son's name - <span class="cmt_word">because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi</span> - Associated, or Joined. </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/genesis/29-35.htm">Genesis 29:35</a></div><div class="verse">And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 35.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And she conceived again, and bare a son</span> (possibly in the fourth year of marriage, and in Jacob's eighty-eighth year of age, he having been seventy-seven when he arrived in Haran, and eighty-four when he was united to Laban's daughters): <span class="cmt_word">and she said, Now will I praise the Lord.</span> Well she might; for this was the ancestor of the promised seed (Murphy). There cannot be a doubt that her excellence of character as well as eminence of piety eventually wrought a change upon her husband (<span class="accented">vide</span> <a href="/genesis/31-4.htm">Genesis 31:4, 14</a>; <a href="/genesis/49-31.htm">Genesis 49:31</a>). <span class="cmt_word">Therefore she called his name Judah</span> (i.e. Praise); <span class="cmt_word">and left bearing</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">stood</span> still, i.e. ceased, <span class="accented">from bearing</span>. Not altogether (<a href="/genesis/30-16.htm">Genesis 30:16</a>); only for a time, "that she might not be unduly lifted up by her good fortune, or attribute to the fruitfulness of her own womb what the faithfulness of Jehovah, the covenant God, had bestowed upon her" (Keil.). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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