But it also could be expressing that Laban, who we will soon learn is a cheat, feels that Jacob is a “kindred spirit.” It further seems possible that Laban is subtly taking a jab at Jacob’s behavior when he explains why he tricked him with the switch of daughters:[15] Radak is very bothered by this and suggests that Jacob wanted a beautiful woman not for sensual reasons but because attraction will increase his sex drive and ensure that he has more children. When evening came, Laban took Leah (along with her servant Zipah as an attendant) to Jacob’s tent and Jacob made love to her. We imagine Jacob and Rachel forming a close bond, and spending their seven years of “engagement” speaking to each other about their future together, their interests, etc. But as we will see tomorrow, God will give this cheater his just desserts. What are the results of jealously and competition in families today? • What did Jacob do for Rachel when he met her? Such perseverance is one mark of discipleship. Though it often expressed itself in deceit, Jacob’s tenacious nature was an asset to him.

Continually Laban changed the terms of their agreement (verse 8). You’re busy.

Question: "Did Jacob placing branches in front of his flock really result in the offspring being speckled and spotted?" When Laban brought her to Jacob’s tent, in her mind, it was her wedding night and Jacob had just worked seven years just to marry her. Leah had nice eyes, but Rachel was stunningly beautiful.

Post was not sent - check your email addresses! 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man.

Laban brought together all the people and gave Jacob a wedding feast. Oops! It is possible that Jacob saw a distinction that Laban did not.

After Jacob completed his commitment, he approached Laban telling him that his service was complete and he wished to consummate his marriage to Rachel.Laban brought together all the people and gave Jacob a wedding feast. Immediately after Laban asks Jacob what his wages should be, and right before Jacob answers that he will work seven years for Rachel, the text explains how Jacob made his choice:The word love (א-ה-ב) here has a large semantic field, extending from romantic love, to infatuation, to lust. Many people have wondered if Rebekah was playing favorites when she helped her son, Jacob, trick her husband, Isaac, into giving Esau’s blessing to Jacob in Genesis 27. • What problems will be inevitable in a polygamous (one man, multiple women) relationship? let me [L send me away that I might] go to my own home and country.

But how are we to envision this trick working?The text tells us that it was dark, and thus we can assume Jacob couldn’t see her properly.In fact, Radak (R. David Kimchi, ca. Why have you tricked me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. 26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Then we will give you the younger one too, in exchange for seven more years of work.”29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. script>Oops! Tell me what you want to be paid. Jacob comes to Laban in the morning in anger. Lessons abound whether we recognize them as opportunities or not. Nevertheless, from Leah’s comments later in the narrative, we can imagine her reaction.Leah is the despised (שְׂנוּאָה) wife (Gen 29:31). tell me, what shall thy wages be? At evening, though, he got his daughter Leah and brought her to the marriage bed, and Jacob slept with her. In ancient Israel, a birthright was the right of the firstborn son to inherit a double portion of Isaac’s belongings. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and Jacob had marital relations with her. Of course, even in that case Rebekah is only being asked about timing, she has no choice in the matter of the marriage itself, but she is certainly presented as being more involved in the process than Leah or Rachel.

Of course, even in that case Rebekah is only being asked about timing, she has no choice in the matter of the marriage itself, but she is certainly presented as being more involved in the process than Leah or Rachel. Laban, of course, could not marry off Rachel without endangering his plan to bilk Jacob for seven—and hopefully fourteen—years of work. With great apprehension, Jacob prepared for the worst. The next morning, he sees that she isn’t the beautiful Rachel he remembers, but her less attractive older sister Leah, and he is angry. When he’d completed the honeymoon week, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. In this way, Laban can be seen as "seeking to uproot all", by attempting to sever the The Book of Jasher reports Laban was also the father of Boer the father of Moreover, how far is this modesty supposed to extend? [1] See discussion in, Michael A. Fishbane, “Composition and Structure in the Jacob Cycle (Gen. 25:19-35:22),” [2] Add to this the possibility that she was covered when she entered the tent—though not fully covered—as we see with Rebekah when she meets Isaac (Gen 24:62). What about family meals, for instance? In order for Jacob to fool Isaac, the story offers several details to explain how the trick worked:Despite these extra elements Isaac is immediately suspicious when Jacob says he is Esau:The narrator realizes that it would take more than just blindness to make a father confuse one son for the other, and for the sake of verisimilitude adds in supporting details as well as a reflection on the father’s confusion and ambivalence.And yet, in the story of Laban’s trick, Jacob is presented as having no suspicion whatsoever that he is with the wrong woman. Finally, as a shepherd, the Bible pictures Jacob away for long stretches of time wandering through pasture lands with his flocks and sleeping outside with them (Gen 31:40), in places that were likely far from any city (31:19) as each flock needed its own space (Gen 30:36).