Genesis 29 Study Notes

29:1-6 Jacob arrived at Haran after an unspecified amount of time, stopping at a well just outside the town. The well was covered with a large stone to protect it from unauthorized use and wild animals.

29:7-12 Foreshadowing his exceptional shepherding skills (30:29-30), Jacob instructed the local shepherds on how to do their job properly. The apparent laziness of the shepherds—or weakness—is suggested by their unwillingness to remove the stone from the top of the well.

Jacob’s actions contrasted sharply with those of the local shepherds. Inspired by the appearance of Rachel, Jacob rolled the heavy stone from the well’s opening all by himself. His act of watering his uncle Laban’s sheep is reminiscent of his mother’s act of watering Abraham’s camels years earlier (24:20). Rachel is the first shepherdess of the Bible (cp. Ex 2:16); the task of shepherding flocks was usually given to men. The first mention in the Bible of a man kissing a woman occurs in Gn 29:11; such actions were not normally performed in public.

29:13-20 In the ancient Near East, a male kissing another male in greeting signified acceptance of and respect for the other person (27:27; 45:15; Ex 18:7; 1Sm 10:1). Laban called Jacob my own flesh and blood and gave him the right to stay in the home permanently. Jacob was neither a son nor a slave, so it was appropriate to work out a suitable arrangement that compensated Laban for his provisions and Jacob for his labor. It was not appropriate for Jacob to work for nothing, so it was agreed that Jacob would work for seven years for the right to marry Rachel.

This arrangement is reminiscent of a provision in the law of Moses that permitted certain slaves to work seven years for their freedom (Ex 21:2). Men did not “buy” wives in the strict sense of the word; however, they did customarily pay a bride-price (Gn 34:12; Ex 22:17; 1Sm 18:25) to their future wife’s family to compensate them for the care and protection provided to the woman prior to her marriage.

29:21-24 Jacob, now almost fifty years old (25:24-26; 26:34-35; 27:46) after working for Laban seven years, informed Laban that it was time for him to sleep with Rachel. Arranging a week-long wedding feast, Laban proceeded to cheat the family member who had cheated other people in the past (27:12-25,36). Instead of the expected younger daughter Rachel, Laban gave Leah to Jacob. In the darkness of the evening and with his bride concealed behind a veil (24:65), Jacob did not realize what had been done to him. Accordingly, he slept with Leah.

29:25-30 As Kenneth Mathews says, “Jacob’s indignation is a fitting answer to the crime he perpetrated against Esau.” Marriage to two sisters would later be forbidden by Mosaic law (Lev 18:18).

29:31-35 The Lord, who had seen and provided for Hagar previously in her time of need (16:13-14), now saw that Leah was unloved (lit “hated”) and opened her womb. In a society where a woman’s prestige depended almost entirely on her success in bearing sons, the Lord gave Leah four sons before she temporarily (31:17) stopped having children. Three themes are present in Leah’s remarks: her conviction that God provided these children in response to her affliction and unloved condition, her hope that the births would cause her husband to love her, and her praise to the Lord for what he had done. The explanations connected with each son’s name are not linguistic etymologies, but explanations of wordplays.