Genesis 29:31-35

2008.Dec.12 14:10

It Ain’t Gonna Happen

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When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me." She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.
(Genesis 29:31-35, ESV)

Leah and Rachel, sisters and fellow-wives to their cousin, Jacob, exiled from Palenstine, returned to old family homestead. Leah is the first wife and eldest, but it is Rachel who receives Jacob’s love, admiration and desires. Leah is the wife he didn’t want, but accepted in order to marry her sister–and that only after some deception. Leah’s life is proving less than wonderful.

Yahweh is not unaware of such slights or hardships. In this case, aware of her treatment, Yahweh allows (causes?) Leah to conceive and, in succession, bear four sons while her sister remains without children. It’s not clear here what God’s goals are. Obviously, in a culture that places a great deal of value of the children–particularly the sons–of a woman, and sees the worth of the woman at least to some degree in that light, her having four sons will help Leah be considered more…successful?…within this society. It strikes me as unlikely that this would be Yahweh’s primary reason, but I really have no way of knowing.

It’s clear what Leah hopes this will accomplish: “for now my husband will love me,” “Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also,” “Now this time my husband will be attached to me.” She sees her sons as the means for gaining some measure of the love that Jacob gives Rachel. But I’ve not noticed any indication that such ever happens. Even later, Jacob will value the sons of Rachel more than these first four (I might note at this point that two of these tribes, Judah and Levi, ultimately have particularly significant roles in the Biblical history of Israel). Unfortunately, Jacob is a jerk, at least at times, and this is one of those times.

But then something quite astounding happens. Leah has the forth son, whom she names Judah. She says, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Wow. Three times she sought love from her husband. This time she gives love to Yahweh. Now, just this little snippet no doubt leaves out a lot of details. There’s no indication that Leah had ignored God prior to the birth of Judah. But this final statement represents a radical shift in attitude from those prior.

Genesis 29:27-30

2008.Dec.05 14:10

Another Seven

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Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
(Genesis 29:27-30, KJV)

Thought I’d toss in some old King James here. Always good times. Actually, if I ever manage to get into Psalms, I probably will quote KJV more, because it’s so much prettier than the modern translations.

This is the last piece of an introduction of sorts. We have several chapters hereafter dealing with Jacob’s wives, wives’ handmaids, children, and his relationship with Laban. So far, the narrative since Jacob’s exile has been mostly concerned with his courtship (sort of) of his cousin Rachel. His work and conversations with Laban have all been concerned to that point. Since Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his older daughter first, they’re now debating the price for his second daughter. It’s like a wonderful string of nomadic WTFs. I am not impressed with either of these men.

Anyway, Jacob agrees to another seven years of labor. Why he just didn’t give Laban the bird and let Rachel decide is not clear; while I’m normally inclined to assume “culture” in these situations, I’m rather inclined here to assume Jacob’s just a wimp. Fortunately, as God told Paul, " "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." " (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV) . Anyway, Jacob and Rachel finally marry, a week (I think) after he’d married Leah. As had Leah, Rachel receives a handmaid from her father (is that a nice turn of phrase or what?). And Jacob continues serving his father-and-law.

So, now we’re set up for the fun sisterly rivalry–something which Jacob doesn’t seem to even try to handle well–handmaids having kids, Jacob’s continued struggles with his father-in-law trying to cheat him. What fun. Surely, a bit of honest communication (or just honesty in general) would have helped this situation.

Genesis 29:21-26

2008.Nov.28 14:00

Things To Which Attention Was Not Paid

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Finally, Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my time is completed, so that I may take her to me. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast [with drinking]. But when night came, he took Leah his daughter and brought her to [Jacob], who had intercourse with her. And Laban gave Zilpah his maid to his daughter Leah to be her maid. But in the morning [Jacob saw his wife, and] behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, What is this you have done to me? Did I not work for you [all those seven years] for Rachel? Why then have you deceived and cheated and thrown me down [like this]? And Laban said, It is not permitted in our country to give the younger [in marriage] before the elder.
(Genesis 29:21-26, AMP)

1. That it is Leah with whom Jacob is sleeping.
2. That Laban is not always forthright.
3. The apparent custom that an older daughter must be married first (which could be false information).
4. Apparently anything about Rachel.

These are things which Jacob might have been paying attention to. He is too accustomed perhaps, to his challenge in cunning coming from Esau. But Laban is just as capable of playing tricks as Jacob is. Indeed, this could be read as justice for the deceptions Jacob worked against his brother. How is it on this side, boy?

Perhaps more to the point is the question of why Jacob did not guess earlier that it was Leah, not Rachel, with whom he was having sex. Certainly, there may have been customs that helped disguise Leah, but for a man so infatuated with Rachel, one would think Jacob could have managed to notice at least some clue. This raises two possibilities: that Jacob really hadn’t paid that much attention to Rachel; or, that he was quite drunk. My guess is #2. But the first does play into this notion that Jacob has been very attentive to his surroundings.

So, what about Leah? It’s hard to say for certain that she was a willing participant. If she was, it leaves one to wonder about her reasons. Probably the central reason was that in a partiarchal society and possibly past “marriagable age”, she didn’t have much choice. Her father said “You’re marrying this guy.” You might try to disagree, but to what gain? And, if your picking a husband based on future finances, Jacob’s a decent pick. On the other hand, this situation may have been entirely (instead of perhaps just mostly) out of Leah’s hands. As will become apparent later, her husband may provide for her, but he leaves a lot for Leah to have desired.

Genesis 29:15-20

2008.Nov.21 14:24

Young and In Love

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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.
(Genesis 29:15-20, NASB)

I think this is the first example in the Bible of the “in love” phenomenon. Jacob is clearly infatuated with his attractive cousin. Enough that he’s willing to work without pay for seven years in order to marry her. But, of course, there’s more than just that going on here.

In Genesis 3:17, God tells Adam, " And so, the ground will be under a curse because of what you did. As long as you live, you will have to struggle to grow enough food" (Genesis 3:17, CEV) . To Eve, He says, " You will suffer terribly when you give birth. But you will still desire your husband, and he will rule over you." (Genesis 3:16, CEV) . While you don’t see either of these curses exactly in this narrative, they do feel at least relevant. I’ll leave the difficulties experienced by Jacob’s wives for later; I do want to look a little at Jacob here.

He’s working for his uncle without pay. On the other hand, he probably receives food, lodging, etc, so it’s not like he’s getting a raw deal. Nor does he seem intent on changing this. His one concern appears to be marrying Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel, and Jacob proposes that the “price” be seven years. I’m surprised that he didn’t say, for example “one year” and negotiate up. Seven years would be a long time to wait to be married, and working for only room and board would not help. Other the other hand, he may figure that seven years will be needed for Esau to calm down regardless.

Much of the interaction between Laban and Jacob will regard Jacob’s work for his uncle. For Laban, ensuring that the skilled labor sticks around seems to be a motivating factor in all his dealings with Jacob. That’s where I see the curse of toil come in. Certainly, much good comes of all this for Jacob, but I can’t imagine that he doesn’t spend a lot of time frustrated.

Before I leave this section, I want to go back to the “in love” bit. This does strike me as a college age guy sees a woman and “falls in love with her” and is willing to do whatever for her, or at least write badly rhyming songs about it. Yes, Jacob does make a commitment, showing that his desire to marry Rachel has at least some depth, but I think it’s telling that the commitment he makes is not to her. Then, there’s almost no mention of their courtship, so I am clearly guessing.

Genesis 29:9-14

2008.Nov.14 05:00

Reunion

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While Jacob was still talking with the men, his cousin Rachel came up with her father's sheep. When Jacob saw her and his uncle's sheep, he rolled the rock away and watered the sheep. He then kissed Rachel and started crying because he was so happy. He told her that he was the son of her aunt Rebekah, and she ran and told her father about him. As soon as Laban heard the news, he ran out to meet Jacob. He hugged and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him everything that had happened. Laban said, "You are my nephew, and you are like one of my own family." After Jacob had been there for a month…
(Genesis 29:9-14, CEV)

In a lot of ways, this is just a very happy moment. Jacob has made it back to his relatives. And is still alive, too. He gets to meet his uncle, Laban and cousin, Rachel, and they receive him gladly. Jacob even has an opportunity to show off his usefulness, by watering Laban’s flock.

It’s almost a little daunting when there’s just a purely happy moment in the Bible. So much of it is evidencing humanity’s failures, and while God’s grace and love follows, there’s that inherent feeling of conflict. Even here, I’m thinking about the coming difficulties between Jacob and his uncle. Indeed, this may be the last time Laban is presented in a largely positive light. Also, upcoming is the anger and jealousy between his wives.

Is conflict inevitable in the face of such happiness. Some probably is, because we are after all human, but I don’t think these major life-long conflicts are. Behind this happiness, there is too much scheming. The seeds for disagreement are not happiness nor are they “just because we’re human”. Rather, a lot of it will come from Laban’s deceptions, his intent on doing things his own way. And Jacob’s similar intent for that matter.

The problem is not them being happy, but that the happiness seems false. Or, at least, Laban in particular seems to value his outward appearance and profits more than the quality of his relationships.