Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 29:13-20”
Categories: Genesis“So when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things. Laban said to him, 'Surely you are my bone and my flesh.' And he stayed with him a month. Then Laban said to Jacob, 'Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?' Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face. Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, 'I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel. 'Laban said, 'It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.' So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.”
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“So when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house.” (verse 13) Okay so there's a whole lot of kissing going on here. When Jacob saw Rachel he kissed her (verse 11), and when Laban saw Jacob he grabbed him and hugged and kissed him. “This was the customary greeting among Hebrew families in those days and even down until the present time. It is a mistake to view Jacob's kiss of Rachel as the type of osculation seen in romantic movies. The early church itself manifested the same type of greeting seen here in the actions of Jacob and Laban.” (James Burton Coffman)
“Laban said to him, 'Surely you are my bone and my flesh.'” (verse 14) Laban fully received and embraced Jacob and his claim to be his own sister's son when his newly found nephew related “all these things” to him. While it was good and appropriate for Laban to warmly welcome his beloved relative, you can't help but wander if his “bone and flesh” kinsman looked a whole lot like fresh meat to him. But hey, if you can't scam your family who can you scam?! “And he stayed with him a month.” When his mother sent him away to live with her brother, she was convinced that Jacob would only need to stay with Laban for a few days until Esau's fury blew over (Genesis 27:44). Maybe a month was what she had in mind, but Jacob's love for Rachel prompted him to enlist for seven years (verse 20). It only “seemed to him but a few days,” but to Rebekah it must have been an eternity!
“Then Laban said to Jacob, 'Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” (verse 15) Laban feigns concern for Jacob and his own, personal prosperity, and essentially says, “No relative of mine is working here for free!” He no doubt had witnessed his nephew's expert handling of his flocks, and how the Lord had brought him success in all he did, and he didn't want to lose such a golden goose as Jacob. I think it is safe to assume as well that Laban had observed over the course of that month that Jacob was quite visibly smitten with his beautiful younger daughter, and dad was more than willing to use his own flesh and blood to play an angle and gain the upper hand in any negotiations. So Laban said to Jacob: “Tell me, what shall your wages be?” Just name your price!
“Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, 'I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” (verse 18) Nahum Sarna observed the following about the frequently used word, “serve”: “This is a key word, occurring seven times in the narrative. What bitter irony! This is precisely the term that conveyed the essence of the blessing that Jacob fought for so desperately to obtain. The original oracle to the pregnant Rebekah forecast that 'the older shall serve the younger'; the purloined blessing contained the phrase, 'Let peoples serve you,' which Isaac confirmed, saying to Esau, 'I have given him all his brothers for servants,' 'You shall serve your brother.' Now it is Jacob who must do the serving.”
“Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face.” (verse 17) Jacob's two daughters had very interesting names. The name “Leah” “may mean 'cow' or 'strong woman,' or 'mistress'” (Nahum Sarna) “Leah was defined by Beeching as meaning 'wild cow.' However, we prefer the meaning of 'gazelle,' as affirmed by Dummelow.” (James Burton Coffman) The name “Rachel” as mentioned before means “ewe”. While “Rachel was beautiful in form and face,” Leah's features and figure must not have been overly appealing to the eyes. It is said of Leah's eyes that they “were weak”. Looking at this from a negative perspective, it could indicate that her eyes were “lacking in luster” (Nahum Sarna) Putting a positive spin on things, maybe the “softness” of Leah's eyes was her most attractive and endearing feature. While Rachel had the total physical package, Leah sported tender and lovely eyes. But, needless to say, the eyes didn't do the trick for Jacob, and his eyes and heart were drawn to the robust beauty of Rachel.
Laban said, 'It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.'” (verse 19) So Rachel is depicted as little more than a piece of property to be bartered away. Such was the way of Laban. While it was in Rachel's best interest to marry within the safety of the family clan and to keep bloodlines pure, Laban's motives were less that pure and altruistic. He saw a perfect opportunity to make the very most of a fortuitous situation, and he pounced all over it. In Jacob's infatuated rapture, he didn't mind in the slightest. At least not immediately.
“Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.” (verse 20) Okay this is the stuff of storybook romances and echo the lyrics of countless love songs. When you love somebody so much, you would do just about anything imaginable. “When a man loves a woman, he'd spend his very last dime, trying to hold on to what he needs. He'd give up all of his comfort, sleep out in the rain, if she said that's the way it ought to be.” (Percy Sledge) "Many waters cannot quench love, nor will rivers overflow it; if a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would be utterly despised." (Song of Solomon 8:7) But beware the prophet's words of warning: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) When you really love somebody, you really put yourself at their mercy. Some people would truly do anything for love, and someone like Laban is going to be ready and willing to make the most of it.
Please read Genesis 29:21-30 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Taylor
