Genesis 29

Deceit runs rampant in this family. Jacob arrives in Paddan Aram, and quickly meets Rachel, daughter of Laban, who is the brother of Rebekah. Jacob falls in love with her (we don’t know at this point if it is mutal or not), and Laban says he can marry Rachel after working under him for seven years.

However, after a long seven years, Laban pulls a bait and switch on Jacob.

Genesis 29:22-24, NIV “So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and Jacob lay with her. And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter as her maidservant. When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”

When Jacob was deceitful to his brother Esau, at least he had a strong motive for doing so. What is Laban’s reason for deceiving Jacob? He claims that it is their custom to marry the older daughter first. But, it would have been quite simple for him to just tell Jacob this, not switch the daughter’s on his wedding night! To make up for it, Laban allows Jacob to marry Rachel as well in return for another seven year’s hard labor.

The end result? Jacob has two wives, only one of which he loves. And then the story gets even worse. God sees that Leah is lonely and sad, and punishes….not Laban or Jacob….but Rachel. He leaves Rachel barren, but for Leah he “opens her womb” and she bears many sons: Rueben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah.

Each of these son’s names has a meaning relevant to the story. Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for “he has seen my misery”, and the name means “a son”. Simeon means “one who hears” and Levi means “attached”. Levi’s naming shows Leah’s confidence that bearing three sons will assure Jacob’s attachment to her. Judah may have been derived from the Hebrew for “praise”.

To me, it seems like karma paid a visit in this chapter. Laban tricked Jacob into marrying the wrong daughter, just like Jacob duped his father into blessing the wrong brother. What goes around comes around!

When looking at some commentary on this chapter online, I came across this gem of wisdom on a popular Christian bible study website, in regards to Laban’s deceit: 

“This was what Laban did, as he said, “It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born.” But, then, if that were the prevailing custom of society at Haran, he should have apprised his nephew of it at an early period in an honorable manner. This, however, is too much the way with the people of the East still. The duty of marrying an elder daughter before a younger, the tricks which parents take to get off an elder daughter this is plain or deformed and in which they are favored by the long bridal veil that entirely conceals her features all the wedding day…are accordant with the habits of the people in Arabia and Armenia in the present day."

I would venture to guess the reader of this commentary has never been to, or met, that many Arabic people. And, the last time I checked, Jacob, Laban, Rachel and Leah were supposed to be ancient Israelites, not Arabs. Either way, what a prejudicial statement! 

Reading the story of the descendants of Abraham is starting to become very tedious.