(Genesis 31:19 - 31:55)
When Laban was away from home shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father's idols.
Not disclosing to his father-in-law that he was leaving, Jacob departed in haste with all his possessions. Crossing the Euphrates River, he headed toward the hills of Gilead. It was three days before Laban learned of Jacob's flight, but, with a party of men, Laban took up pursuit and, in seven days time, caught up with Jacob at Gilead.
Jehovah visited Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, "Take care that you do not deal too harshly with Jacob."
Jacob had pitched his tent in the hills of Gilead and when Laban and his men arrived, they camped at the same place. Laban demanded of Jacob, "Why have you done this without informing me, absconding with my daughters as if they were captives of war? Why did you leave in secret, stealing away without telling me, when I might have celebrated your departure with music and mirth, with harp and timbrel? You did not even let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren farewell! You have acted most rashly. It's in my power to punish you for your actions, but the god of your father spoke to me in a dream last night and warned me against dealing too harshly with you. --- Even if you were homesick and longed to go back to your father's house, why did you have to steal my idols?"
Jacob replied, "I left without telling you because I was afraid you'd take your daughters away from me by force. As for the charge of theft, if you find your idols with anyone here, that person will pay for it with their life. Go ahead, search, and if you find anything belonging to you, take it." (Jacob said this not knowing it was Rachel who had stolen the idols).
Laban went into the tent of Jacob, then that of Leah and those of the two maidservants who were Jacob’s other wives. He found nothing. When he entered Rachel's tent, she adroitly hid the idols under the camel's saddle and sat on it, so while the tent was thoroughly searched, nothing could be found. She excused herself by saying "Don't be offended, sir, if I'm not able to rise and greet you, but -- well, for me it's that time of the month." And so Laban's search was in vain.
Jacob was peeved and chewed out Laban: "What is my crime? What is my offense, that you chase after me so hotly and rummage through my possessions? What stolen treasures have you found here? Bring them out and let’s see them. Let your people and my people judge between us. Have I not worked for you for twenty years? Your ewes and nanny goats weren’t barren, were they? I never ate the rams of your flock, did I? When stock was preyed upon by wild animals, I never told you, but bore the cost myself. And for animals that were stolen, either by day or night, you made me pay for them. I toiled through the scorching days and the frosty nights, often deprived of sleep. That's how it's been the past twenty years in your employ. I served you fourteen years for your daughters and another six for your flocks, and you changed my wages a dozen times. If it weren't for the god of my father Abraham and your fear of Isaac, you probably would have sent me away a pauper. But my god has witnessed my travails and the work I have done, and he rebuked you last night."
Laban responded, "The daughters and their children, the flocks, everything you see is mine. What more can I do for my daughters and grandchildren? --- Let's settle things between you and me and make an agreement. And let’s find something to commemorate it!"
Jacob found a stone to set up as a monument. He ordered his men, "Fetch some stones!" and they collected more stones and piled them up to make a cairn. They shared a meal beneath the cairn, which Laban called Jegar Sahadutha, but which Jacob called Gilead, each using the words of their own language.
Laban declared, "This stone cairn will stand from this day as a witness to our mutual agreement." (Therefore it was called Gilead, meaning "witness pile," and also Mizpah, meaning "watch tower.") "Jehovah will watch us and hold us accountable after we have parted. If you mistreat my daughters, or submit them to the authority of other wives, no man may witness it, but Jehovah will know what’s going on.” He continued, "Look at this stone, this cairn -- this will be reminder to us. I shall not pass by it to do harm to you, nor shall you pass by it to do harm to me. May the god of Abraham and Nahor and their forefathers see that justice is done!”
Jacob thus solemnly swore by the god of his father Isaac. He made a sacrifice in the hills and held a feast for his family and his household. They ate and stayed the night there.
Laban rose at daybreak, kissed his daughters and grandchildren, blessed them, and then returned home.
Notes
1. While Laban is away from the house, Rachel sneaks in and steals Laban's idols, that is, the statues, sculptures, images, or whatever of household gods. A belief in minor spirits or beings that protected and served a home and family was widespread in ancient times, if not in later times. The Romans had their lares and penates, who were accorded shrines in the house and offered sacrifices. (The later belief in patron saints, who, in fact, are minor gods save in name, is similar.) It is surprising that Laban, a Jehovist, would have kept and worshiped idols, but perhaps it should not be, given the near universality of the custom at the time. It is difficult to say exactly what the idols would have looked like, a human-like statue or bust of stone or wood, probably, although there is some opinion that the idols could have been actual human skulls or mummified heads. In any case, they were small enough to be concealed under a camel saddle. Household gods were presumed not only to have the power to protect the home and to bring good fortune to the family, but to function as oracles. Why Rachel stole the idols is an interesting question. Religious opinion is that she did so to cure Laban of his idolatry. There is no reason to assume this, and if that were the case, why wouldn't she destroy the idols instead? It is more likely that Rachel either wanted to get back at her father by taking something of great value away from him, or she felt that in journeying to a new home the family gods should accompany her, since the continuation of the family line she saw as resting with her.
2. True to form for a members of the Abraham clan, Rachel practices deceit, stealing the idols belonging to her father and effectively hiding them when he searches for them. Meanwhile, Laban and Jacob continue to play their competitive games with each other, even though they call a truce. Both men are disingenuous, insincere, and hypocritical. Jacob vents about how diligently he labored for Laban and how difficult he was to work for, but he neglects to mention how he tricked his boss out of his livestock.
3. Laban and Jacob have different names for the cairn that was erected, indicating that they must have used different languages. Laban would have spoken some Mesopotamian language, probably Akkadian, while Jacob would have adopted as a first language that of the Canaanites with whom he lived. It is also very likely that he, like Abraham and probably Isaac, spoke more than one language. In the text, Laban is speaking Aramaic and Jacob, Hebrew. Actually, Hebrew, a composite of the Semitic languages of Mesopotamia and Canaan with influences of Egyptian, considered a Hamitic tongue, was still developing. And Aramaic, later to be the language of Aram, where Laban lived, would not emerge as a separate language for hundreds of years. (It would be the predominant language of the Holy Land in New Testament times.) It is understandable that the 6th Century B.C. compilers of Genesis would not be conversant with this linguistic history.
4. In the agreement at Gilead we see the beginning of the concept of a god who observes man’s behavior, rewarding the good, punishing the bad, and administering divine justice. What man does in secret, unbeknownst to other men, is known to the deity, and this becomes a deterrent to immoral behavior.
5. Gilead is a mountainous area east of the River Jordan in the northwest part of the modern country of Jordan, north of the ancient regions of Moab and Ammon.
Showing posts with label Laban. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Laban. Show all posts
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The History of Jacob, Part Three
(Genesis 30:25 - 31:18)
At about the time that Joseph was born, Jacob spoke to his father-in-law Laban: "Let me go so I may return to my native country, my own land, along with my wives and children, for whose benefit I have toiled for you. Release me from your employ. You are surely aware of the good service I have done for you."
Laban replied, "Please remain with me -- if I am worthy of your loyalty -- for I have learned from divinations that I have been blessed by Jehovah because of you. Name the wages you want me to give you."
Jacob responded, "You know how hard I have worked for you, how well I have tended your flocks. You had very little before I came and now you have much, for Jehovah has blessed you since I came. But now I must start thinking about providing for my own family."
"What can I give you?" Laban asked.
"You needn't give me anything, if you will do this one thing for me, after which I will continue to manage your livestock. I will go through the flocks today and set aside the speckled, spotted, and mottled goats and all the black sheep: they will be my property in lieu of wages. When the time comes for an accounting of what you owe me, my good faith will be readily shown, for if you find me having in my possession any goat that is not spotted, speckled, or mottled or any sheep that is not black, then you may call me a thief.
"Very well," replied Laban, "let it be as you say."
On that very day, however, Laban removed from his flock all the billy goats and nanny goats that were of more than one color (any one that had white in its coat) and the ewes and rams that were dark in color. He had his sons take charge of them and graze them three days journey away from where his son-in-law herded the rest of his flocks.
Jacob took green branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and stripped some of the bark off them so that the white underneath would show, creating a two-toned pattern on the branches. He then placed them near the water trough where the flocks came to drink. In that way, the animals would see the partly stripped branches when they mated. It therefore happened that the females, after seeing the two-toned branches while in heat, gave birth to young that were two-toned. Jacob separated the young animals, keeping for himself the goat kids that were speckled, spotted, or mottled, and lambs that were black and segregating them from Laban's livestock.
Early in the mating season, Jacob set up the two-toned branches before the water trough so that the animals would mate in the presence of the branches. However, later in the season, he would remove the branches. Thus, the stronger animals, born early in the season, belonged to Jacob, while the feebler ones, born later, belonged to Laban.
Jacob grew very wealthy, possessing many servants, and flocks and herds of livestock, as well as donkeys and camels.
"Jacob has greatly enriched himself, but at the expense of our father," claimed Laban's sons.
Jacob heard these words and noticed that Laban was not as well disposed to him as he was formerly. And, more importantly, Jehovah was bidding him "Return to the land of your fathers and your family, and I will protect you." Therefore, Jacob called his wives Rachel and Leah into the fields where he was tending his flocks. He told them, "I see your father is not as well disposed to me of late as before. Also, the god of my father has communicated with me. --- You know that I have served your father to the utmost of my ability. But your father has played mind games with me, changing my wages a dozen times. Yet, Jehovah has not allowed him to do me any real harm. If he said, 'The speckled animals are your wages, then all the animals gave birth to speckled young.' But when he said, 'You may take for your wages all the white ones, then the flocks gave birth to young that were white.' Jehovah has taken the livestock away from your father and given them to me! When it was time for the livestock to conceive, I saw this vision in a dream: I saw males mounting females, and the males were all multi-colored, speckled, spotted, and mottled. The voice of Jehovah called to me in my sleep, "Jacob!," and I answered, 'Here I am.' The voice told me, 'Look, observe that the males mounting the females are all speckled, spotted, and mottled. --- I have seen everything Laban has done to you. I am the god who was present at Bethel, where you anointed the stone and made your vow. It is time for you to move on, to leave this land and return to your native country.'"
Rachel and Leah replied, "Is there any inheritance we can claim from our father? Are we not estranged from him? Did he not sell us and squander the money we brought him? All the wealth that Jehovah has taken from him, has been given to us and to our children. Therefore, whatever Jehovah asks you to do, do it!"
Without delay, Jacob put his wives and children on the backs of camels. He collected all the possessions he had, his flocks, and everything he had acquired in Aram, and set off to the land of Canaan where his father Isaac lived.
Notes
1. The concept of honesty and fair dealings does not seem to very prevalent during these times. Cheating one another is the order of the day. Jacob cheats his brother out of his inheritance and paternal blessing. Laban cheats Jacob out of his promised bride and now cheats him out of livestock. Jacob, in payment for his services, is entitled to claim all the goats of the herd that are speckled, spotted, or mottled (most goats of that time and place were of a single color) and sheep that are not uniformly white. It was a fair bargain, but Laban, a deceitful phony, is not satisfied unless he can bilk his son-in-law to the max. Before Jacob can take the livestock that belong to him, he removes the multi-colored animals and has his sons take them far away so Jacob can't find them. Jacob, in retaliation, not only finds a way to make the goats give birth to speckled, spotted, and mottled kids and the sheep, black lambs, but also a way of leaving Laban with the weakest animals. (Later he wonders why Laban and his sons no longer think he's a great guy.)
2. It should be mentioned that the text describing Jacob's deal with Laban and his trick with the branches is rather muddled, both in Hebrew and Latin, if not in most English translations. I have made some judicious paraphrasing for clarity's sake.
3. That nanny goats will produce spotted offspring after they have looked at a branch with the bark partly stripped off during mating sounds like an absurd and quaint piece of folklore. Genetics, of course, was unheard of at this time, but one would think a more sophisticated knowledge of animal husbandry would be possessed by so experienced and successful a herder as Jacob. Naturally, it is all explained as it being a miracle, by Jehovah's making it happen. But if Jehovah were God, why couldn't he just do it without the stupid rigmarole with the stripped branches?
At about the time that Joseph was born, Jacob spoke to his father-in-law Laban: "Let me go so I may return to my native country, my own land, along with my wives and children, for whose benefit I have toiled for you. Release me from your employ. You are surely aware of the good service I have done for you."
Laban replied, "Please remain with me -- if I am worthy of your loyalty -- for I have learned from divinations that I have been blessed by Jehovah because of you. Name the wages you want me to give you."
Jacob responded, "You know how hard I have worked for you, how well I have tended your flocks. You had very little before I came and now you have much, for Jehovah has blessed you since I came. But now I must start thinking about providing for my own family."
"What can I give you?" Laban asked.
"You needn't give me anything, if you will do this one thing for me, after which I will continue to manage your livestock. I will go through the flocks today and set aside the speckled, spotted, and mottled goats and all the black sheep: they will be my property in lieu of wages. When the time comes for an accounting of what you owe me, my good faith will be readily shown, for if you find me having in my possession any goat that is not spotted, speckled, or mottled or any sheep that is not black, then you may call me a thief.
"Very well," replied Laban, "let it be as you say."
On that very day, however, Laban removed from his flock all the billy goats and nanny goats that were of more than one color (any one that had white in its coat) and the ewes and rams that were dark in color. He had his sons take charge of them and graze them three days journey away from where his son-in-law herded the rest of his flocks.
Jacob took green branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and stripped some of the bark off them so that the white underneath would show, creating a two-toned pattern on the branches. He then placed them near the water trough where the flocks came to drink. In that way, the animals would see the partly stripped branches when they mated. It therefore happened that the females, after seeing the two-toned branches while in heat, gave birth to young that were two-toned. Jacob separated the young animals, keeping for himself the goat kids that were speckled, spotted, or mottled, and lambs that were black and segregating them from Laban's livestock.
Early in the mating season, Jacob set up the two-toned branches before the water trough so that the animals would mate in the presence of the branches. However, later in the season, he would remove the branches. Thus, the stronger animals, born early in the season, belonged to Jacob, while the feebler ones, born later, belonged to Laban.
Jacob grew very wealthy, possessing many servants, and flocks and herds of livestock, as well as donkeys and camels.
"Jacob has greatly enriched himself, but at the expense of our father," claimed Laban's sons.
Jacob heard these words and noticed that Laban was not as well disposed to him as he was formerly. And, more importantly, Jehovah was bidding him "Return to the land of your fathers and your family, and I will protect you." Therefore, Jacob called his wives Rachel and Leah into the fields where he was tending his flocks. He told them, "I see your father is not as well disposed to me of late as before. Also, the god of my father has communicated with me. --- You know that I have served your father to the utmost of my ability. But your father has played mind games with me, changing my wages a dozen times. Yet, Jehovah has not allowed him to do me any real harm. If he said, 'The speckled animals are your wages, then all the animals gave birth to speckled young.' But when he said, 'You may take for your wages all the white ones, then the flocks gave birth to young that were white.' Jehovah has taken the livestock away from your father and given them to me! When it was time for the livestock to conceive, I saw this vision in a dream: I saw males mounting females, and the males were all multi-colored, speckled, spotted, and mottled. The voice of Jehovah called to me in my sleep, "Jacob!," and I answered, 'Here I am.' The voice told me, 'Look, observe that the males mounting the females are all speckled, spotted, and mottled. --- I have seen everything Laban has done to you. I am the god who was present at Bethel, where you anointed the stone and made your vow. It is time for you to move on, to leave this land and return to your native country.'"
Rachel and Leah replied, "Is there any inheritance we can claim from our father? Are we not estranged from him? Did he not sell us and squander the money we brought him? All the wealth that Jehovah has taken from him, has been given to us and to our children. Therefore, whatever Jehovah asks you to do, do it!"
Without delay, Jacob put his wives and children on the backs of camels. He collected all the possessions he had, his flocks, and everything he had acquired in Aram, and set off to the land of Canaan where his father Isaac lived.
Notes
1. The concept of honesty and fair dealings does not seem to very prevalent during these times. Cheating one another is the order of the day. Jacob cheats his brother out of his inheritance and paternal blessing. Laban cheats Jacob out of his promised bride and now cheats him out of livestock. Jacob, in payment for his services, is entitled to claim all the goats of the herd that are speckled, spotted, or mottled (most goats of that time and place were of a single color) and sheep that are not uniformly white. It was a fair bargain, but Laban, a deceitful phony, is not satisfied unless he can bilk his son-in-law to the max. Before Jacob can take the livestock that belong to him, he removes the multi-colored animals and has his sons take them far away so Jacob can't find them. Jacob, in retaliation, not only finds a way to make the goats give birth to speckled, spotted, and mottled kids and the sheep, black lambs, but also a way of leaving Laban with the weakest animals. (Later he wonders why Laban and his sons no longer think he's a great guy.)
2. It should be mentioned that the text describing Jacob's deal with Laban and his trick with the branches is rather muddled, both in Hebrew and Latin, if not in most English translations. I have made some judicious paraphrasing for clarity's sake.
3. That nanny goats will produce spotted offspring after they have looked at a branch with the bark partly stripped off during mating sounds like an absurd and quaint piece of folklore. Genetics, of course, was unheard of at this time, but one would think a more sophisticated knowledge of animal husbandry would be possessed by so experienced and successful a herder as Jacob. Naturally, it is all explained as it being a miracle, by Jehovah's making it happen. But if Jehovah were God, why couldn't he just do it without the stupid rigmarole with the stripped branches?
Saturday, May 4, 2013
The History of Jacob, Part Two
(Genesis 29:01 - 30:24)
Jacob resumed his journey until he came into the land of his people who had settled in the east. Surveying the way ahead, he noticed a well in a field and three flocks of sheep resting around it, for this was the common well out of which they were watered. The mouth of the well was closed with a large stone, and it was the custom to roll away the stone when all the sheep had gathered there and to close it again after they had drunk.
Jacob asked the men he saw, "Where are you from, my friends?” and they answered, "We are from Haran." And Jacob asked of them "Do you know Laban, a descendant of Nahor?" to which they replied "Yes, we know him."
Jacob continued, "Is he well?"
"Yes," they replied “he’s quite well ... Oh, look, here's his daughter Rachel coming now with the sheep!"
Jacob observed, "There's still much of the day left. Surely it's too early to drive the flocks back to their pens. They should be given water and then led back to the pasture to graze.”
"But we can't water them until all the flocks are collected.” they answered, "Then the stone will be rolled away from the well's mouth so we can water them."
And while Jacob was conversing with them, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep -- for she was in charge of tending them. When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, approaching with Laban's sheep, he rushed up and single-handedly rolled away the large stone that sealed the well. After he had watered the flock, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss and, with his voice breaking with emotion, revealed that he was her father’s relative, a son of Rebecca.
Rachel ran home to tell her father the news. When Laban found out that Jacob, his sister's son, had come to visit, he hurried out to the field to greet him. Giving him a bear hug and kissing him, he brought him as a guest into his house. When he had heard the reason for Jacob's visit, he declared, "You are indeed my flesh and blood!"
When Jacob had stayed for a month, Laban said, “Just because you’re my relative, is it right that you should work for nothing? Tell me, what kind of wages may I pay you?"
Laban had two daughters: the oldest was named Leah, the younger, Rachel. Leah had no sparkle in her eyes, but Rachel was fair in form and face. It was Rachel that Jacob loved, and he proclaimed to Laban, "I will work for you for seven years, if I can have the hand of your younger daughter Rachel in marriage.”
Laban replied, "It's better that I give her to you, than to another. Stay then in my employ!”
Jacob, therefore, worked the seven years for Rachel, though the time seemed like a few days, so deep was his love for her. Jacob then said to Laban, “The time I have promised to serve you is over. Let me have Rachel, for I am eager to make her my wife!”
Laban invited all the men of the region to attend a marriage feast. At the end of the evening Laban presented Leah to Jacob as his bride. (As a wedding gift, he presented Leah with Zilpah, one of his slaves, to be her handmaid.) The marriage was consummated according to custom, but in the morning, Jacob discovered it was Leah who was his bride. He demanded of his father-in-law, "What have you done to me? I labored hard for you so I could marry Rachel? Why have you tricked me?"
Laban explained, "It is not the custom here to let the younger marry before the older daughter. However, after the week of wedding festivities have passed, I will let you marry Rachel as well, if, in return, you'll work for me another seven years."
Jacob accepted this, and at the end of the week, Laban gave him Rachel as his bride. (Laban presented her with his slave Bilhah to be her handmaid.) And Jacob consummated his marriage with Rachel. He loved her far more than Leah, and because of her, he worked for Laban the additional seven years.
Jehovah, when he saw that Leah, unlike Rachel, was unloved, he took pity on her and made her fruitful, while Rachel remained barren. Leah then became pregnant and gave birth to a son she called Reuben [which sounds like “seen my troubles” in Hebrew]. She declared, "Jehovah has seen my troubles: surely now my husband will truly love me!"
She conceived again and bore another son, whom she called Simeon [which sounds like “has heard” in Hebrew]. She said, "Jehovah has heard that I was despised and, therefore, has given me another son."
Again she became pregnant and gave birth to a son called Levi [which sounds like “be close to” in Hebrew]. She said, "Now, this time my husband will be really be close to me, for I have given him three sons."
She conceived a fourth time and bore a son, Judah [which sounds like “praise” in Hebrew]. "Now I will praise Jehovah!" she declared, giving off having further children.
Rachel, finding herself with no children, was jealous of her sister and complained to her husband, "If you don't give me some children, I'm going to perish!”
Jacob became angry at Rachel and told her off, “How can I do what only Jehovah is capable of doing? He’s the one who has kept you from having children.”
She suggested, "Look, I have a servant Bilhah. Why don't you have intercourse with her so that I can be the mother of her child and through her build up a family.”
Rachel gave Bilhah, her maid, as a wife to her husband Jacob, who had sexual intercourse with her. Bilhah thus became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
"Jehovah has listened to my plea and made a judgment in my favor," Rachel declared. "He has given me a son, who will, therefore, be called Dan” [which sounds like “he has judged” in Hebrew].
Bilhah conceived again and gave birth to a second son. Rachel declared, "I have struggled with my sister in a fierce competition, but I have won,” and so she called the son Naphtali [which sounds like “my struggle” in Hebrew].
Believing that she could no longer bear any more children, Leah gave her maid Zilpah as a wife to Jacob. Zilpah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She declared “I am lucky,” and, therefore, called him Gad [which sounds like “lucky” in Hebrew]. When Zilpah bore a second son, Leah said, "I am happy now and women will called me blessed.” And so she called her son Asher [which sounds like “blessed” in Hebrew].”
At the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben went out in the field and found some mandrakes, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel demanded, "Let me have some of your son's mandrakes."
Leah rejoined, "It was a small matter to you when you stole my husband from me; now you want to take my son's mandrakes, too."
"You can go to bed with Jacob tonight in exchange for the mandrakes," offered Rachel.
When Jacob was coming home from the fields that night, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must spend the night with me, for I have have traded your company in bed for my son's mandrakes."
Jacob lay with her that night. Jehovah answered Leah’s prayer; she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son by Jacob. Leah declared, "Jehovah has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband. Therefore, I will call my son Issachar” [which sounds like ‘paid for’ in Hebrew].
Leah conceived and gave birth to a sixth son as well. She then pronounced, "Jehovah has endowed me with a fine gift and now, because I have given my husband six sons, he will honor me.” She thus called him Zebulun [which sounds like “honor” in Hebrew].
Afterwards, she gave birth to a daughter, Dinah.
But Jehovah did not forget about Rachel. He favored her and allowed her to have children. And so she conceived and gave birth to a son. "Jehovah has wiped away my shame.” And she called him Joseph [which sounds like ‘he adds” in Hebrew], “because,” she said “I wished that Jehovah would add to me yet another son!"
Notes
1. Jacob arrives at his destination, Haran, which, though his family's ancestral home, is a strange country to him. Although he is not supposed to be an outdoor man like Esau, Jacob immediately begins telling the shepherds there how they should conduct their business. He also seems rather presumptuous and forward, to say the least, in kissing Rachel, even before he tells he is her cousin. (More than a kissing cousin, he was a first cousin.)
2. Laban would not allow his nephew to marry his daughter Rachel until he has labored for him for seven years. This arrangement does not seem unreasonable, save for the inordinate length of time, which is Jacob’s idea. (It seems odd that Laban does not wish to marry off his daughters as soon as possible.) The last-minute switch, the substitution of the older daughter Leah for Rachel is a detestable betrayal of his nephew and son-in-law. (It was probably the custom for the bride to be veiled and for the wedding chamber to be in darkness during the consummation of the marriage.) Laban, who is, at the very least, a total jerk, nevertheless allows Jacob to obtain the wife he wants if he will continuing working for him for another seven years. What a wonderful uncle and father-in-law! --- It should be mentioned that marrying off the oldest daughter first has been a common practice in many cultures, until fairly recent times. There are several well-known stories, most of a comedic nature, that have exploited this premise.
3. Again we have marriages between first cousins. It is interesting that the Catholic Church has always forbade marriages between participants sharing less close consanguinity, even if, through its long history, it made many exceptions among royal families. (In the 11th Century King Henry I of France despaired of finding a bride he was not related to and so sent an ambassador to Kiev to arrange a marriage with Anna Yaroslovna who was of Russian and Swedish descent.) Nevertheless, first cousin marriages have been common until recent history among all classes of society in the West and elsewhere. Unusual today, they are, at present, outlawed in fully half of U.S. states.
4. The two sisters, married to the same man, are rivals and seem to be engaged in a child-bearing contest. Their competitive teams include their handmaidens. The children born to Bilhah count as points for Rachel's team and those of Zilpah are credited to Leah's team. Both sides claim victory, with the result that Jacob ends up with 11 sons and a daughter. It gives the probably not too inaccurate impression that for a wife at that time producing children was all that mattered. The story (and petty argument) about the exchange of mandrakes for a night in Jacob's bed rather trivializes the husband-wife relationship, but it's not surprising that having four wives takes away something of the specialness of the marriage bed.
5. There is the impression given that Hebrews are incapable of having children except through the intervention of Jehovah. Every pregnancy or barren womb is the result of his personal wishes. Jacob specifically sites this belief as an explanation for Rachel’s inability to conceive.
6. In summary, Jacob's children are:
1. Reuben, son by Leah
2. Simeon, son by Leah
3. Levi, son by Leah
4. Judah, son by Leah
5. Dan, son by Rachels' maid Bilhah
6. Naphtali, son by Rachel's maid Bilhah
7. Gad, son by Leah's maid Zilpah
8. Asher, son by Leah's maid Zilpah
9. Issachar, son by Leah
10. Zebulun, son by Leah
11. Dinah, daughter by Leah
12. Joseph, son by Rachel
Jacob resumed his journey until he came into the land of his people who had settled in the east. Surveying the way ahead, he noticed a well in a field and three flocks of sheep resting around it, for this was the common well out of which they were watered. The mouth of the well was closed with a large stone, and it was the custom to roll away the stone when all the sheep had gathered there and to close it again after they had drunk.
Jacob asked the men he saw, "Where are you from, my friends?” and they answered, "We are from Haran." And Jacob asked of them "Do you know Laban, a descendant of Nahor?" to which they replied "Yes, we know him."
Jacob continued, "Is he well?"
"Yes," they replied “he’s quite well ... Oh, look, here's his daughter Rachel coming now with the sheep!"
Jacob observed, "There's still much of the day left. Surely it's too early to drive the flocks back to their pens. They should be given water and then led back to the pasture to graze.”
"But we can't water them until all the flocks are collected.” they answered, "Then the stone will be rolled away from the well's mouth so we can water them."
And while Jacob was conversing with them, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep -- for she was in charge of tending them. When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, approaching with Laban's sheep, he rushed up and single-handedly rolled away the large stone that sealed the well. After he had watered the flock, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss and, with his voice breaking with emotion, revealed that he was her father’s relative, a son of Rebecca.
Rachel ran home to tell her father the news. When Laban found out that Jacob, his sister's son, had come to visit, he hurried out to the field to greet him. Giving him a bear hug and kissing him, he brought him as a guest into his house. When he had heard the reason for Jacob's visit, he declared, "You are indeed my flesh and blood!"
When Jacob had stayed for a month, Laban said, “Just because you’re my relative, is it right that you should work for nothing? Tell me, what kind of wages may I pay you?"
Laban had two daughters: the oldest was named Leah, the younger, Rachel. Leah had no sparkle in her eyes, but Rachel was fair in form and face. It was Rachel that Jacob loved, and he proclaimed to Laban, "I will work for you for seven years, if I can have the hand of your younger daughter Rachel in marriage.”
Laban replied, "It's better that I give her to you, than to another. Stay then in my employ!”
Jacob, therefore, worked the seven years for Rachel, though the time seemed like a few days, so deep was his love for her. Jacob then said to Laban, “The time I have promised to serve you is over. Let me have Rachel, for I am eager to make her my wife!”
Laban invited all the men of the region to attend a marriage feast. At the end of the evening Laban presented Leah to Jacob as his bride. (As a wedding gift, he presented Leah with Zilpah, one of his slaves, to be her handmaid.) The marriage was consummated according to custom, but in the morning, Jacob discovered it was Leah who was his bride. He demanded of his father-in-law, "What have you done to me? I labored hard for you so I could marry Rachel? Why have you tricked me?"
Laban explained, "It is not the custom here to let the younger marry before the older daughter. However, after the week of wedding festivities have passed, I will let you marry Rachel as well, if, in return, you'll work for me another seven years."
Jacob accepted this, and at the end of the week, Laban gave him Rachel as his bride. (Laban presented her with his slave Bilhah to be her handmaid.) And Jacob consummated his marriage with Rachel. He loved her far more than Leah, and because of her, he worked for Laban the additional seven years.
Jehovah, when he saw that Leah, unlike Rachel, was unloved, he took pity on her and made her fruitful, while Rachel remained barren. Leah then became pregnant and gave birth to a son she called Reuben [which sounds like “seen my troubles” in Hebrew]. She declared, "Jehovah has seen my troubles: surely now my husband will truly love me!"
She conceived again and bore another son, whom she called Simeon [which sounds like “has heard” in Hebrew]. She said, "Jehovah has heard that I was despised and, therefore, has given me another son."
Again she became pregnant and gave birth to a son called Levi [which sounds like “be close to” in Hebrew]. She said, "Now, this time my husband will be really be close to me, for I have given him three sons."
She conceived a fourth time and bore a son, Judah [which sounds like “praise” in Hebrew]. "Now I will praise Jehovah!" she declared, giving off having further children.
Rachel, finding herself with no children, was jealous of her sister and complained to her husband, "If you don't give me some children, I'm going to perish!”
Jacob became angry at Rachel and told her off, “How can I do what only Jehovah is capable of doing? He’s the one who has kept you from having children.”
She suggested, "Look, I have a servant Bilhah. Why don't you have intercourse with her so that I can be the mother of her child and through her build up a family.”
Rachel gave Bilhah, her maid, as a wife to her husband Jacob, who had sexual intercourse with her. Bilhah thus became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
"Jehovah has listened to my plea and made a judgment in my favor," Rachel declared. "He has given me a son, who will, therefore, be called Dan” [which sounds like “he has judged” in Hebrew].
Bilhah conceived again and gave birth to a second son. Rachel declared, "I have struggled with my sister in a fierce competition, but I have won,” and so she called the son Naphtali [which sounds like “my struggle” in Hebrew].
Believing that she could no longer bear any more children, Leah gave her maid Zilpah as a wife to Jacob. Zilpah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She declared “I am lucky,” and, therefore, called him Gad [which sounds like “lucky” in Hebrew]. When Zilpah bore a second son, Leah said, "I am happy now and women will called me blessed.” And so she called her son Asher [which sounds like “blessed” in Hebrew].”
At the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben went out in the field and found some mandrakes, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel demanded, "Let me have some of your son's mandrakes."
Leah rejoined, "It was a small matter to you when you stole my husband from me; now you want to take my son's mandrakes, too."
"You can go to bed with Jacob tonight in exchange for the mandrakes," offered Rachel.
When Jacob was coming home from the fields that night, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must spend the night with me, for I have have traded your company in bed for my son's mandrakes."
Jacob lay with her that night. Jehovah answered Leah’s prayer; she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son by Jacob. Leah declared, "Jehovah has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband. Therefore, I will call my son Issachar” [which sounds like ‘paid for’ in Hebrew].
Leah conceived and gave birth to a sixth son as well. She then pronounced, "Jehovah has endowed me with a fine gift and now, because I have given my husband six sons, he will honor me.” She thus called him Zebulun [which sounds like “honor” in Hebrew].
Afterwards, she gave birth to a daughter, Dinah.
But Jehovah did not forget about Rachel. He favored her and allowed her to have children. And so she conceived and gave birth to a son. "Jehovah has wiped away my shame.” And she called him Joseph [which sounds like ‘he adds” in Hebrew], “because,” she said “I wished that Jehovah would add to me yet another son!"
Notes
1. Jacob arrives at his destination, Haran, which, though his family's ancestral home, is a strange country to him. Although he is not supposed to be an outdoor man like Esau, Jacob immediately begins telling the shepherds there how they should conduct their business. He also seems rather presumptuous and forward, to say the least, in kissing Rachel, even before he tells he is her cousin. (More than a kissing cousin, he was a first cousin.)
2. Laban would not allow his nephew to marry his daughter Rachel until he has labored for him for seven years. This arrangement does not seem unreasonable, save for the inordinate length of time, which is Jacob’s idea. (It seems odd that Laban does not wish to marry off his daughters as soon as possible.) The last-minute switch, the substitution of the older daughter Leah for Rachel is a detestable betrayal of his nephew and son-in-law. (It was probably the custom for the bride to be veiled and for the wedding chamber to be in darkness during the consummation of the marriage.) Laban, who is, at the very least, a total jerk, nevertheless allows Jacob to obtain the wife he wants if he will continuing working for him for another seven years. What a wonderful uncle and father-in-law! --- It should be mentioned that marrying off the oldest daughter first has been a common practice in many cultures, until fairly recent times. There are several well-known stories, most of a comedic nature, that have exploited this premise.
3. Again we have marriages between first cousins. It is interesting that the Catholic Church has always forbade marriages between participants sharing less close consanguinity, even if, through its long history, it made many exceptions among royal families. (In the 11th Century King Henry I of France despaired of finding a bride he was not related to and so sent an ambassador to Kiev to arrange a marriage with Anna Yaroslovna who was of Russian and Swedish descent.) Nevertheless, first cousin marriages have been common until recent history among all classes of society in the West and elsewhere. Unusual today, they are, at present, outlawed in fully half of U.S. states.
4. The two sisters, married to the same man, are rivals and seem to be engaged in a child-bearing contest. Their competitive teams include their handmaidens. The children born to Bilhah count as points for Rachel's team and those of Zilpah are credited to Leah's team. Both sides claim victory, with the result that Jacob ends up with 11 sons and a daughter. It gives the probably not too inaccurate impression that for a wife at that time producing children was all that mattered. The story (and petty argument) about the exchange of mandrakes for a night in Jacob's bed rather trivializes the husband-wife relationship, but it's not surprising that having four wives takes away something of the specialness of the marriage bed.
5. There is the impression given that Hebrews are incapable of having children except through the intervention of Jehovah. Every pregnancy or barren womb is the result of his personal wishes. Jacob specifically sites this belief as an explanation for Rachel’s inability to conceive.
6. In summary, Jacob's children are:
1. Reuben, son by Leah
2. Simeon, son by Leah
3. Levi, son by Leah
4. Judah, son by Leah
5. Dan, son by Rachels' maid Bilhah
6. Naphtali, son by Rachel's maid Bilhah
7. Gad, son by Leah's maid Zilpah
8. Asher, son by Leah's maid Zilpah
9. Issachar, son by Leah
10. Zebulun, son by Leah
11. Dinah, daughter by Leah
12. Joseph, son by Rachel
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