Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.

Transcription

1 Genesis Lesson 21 Genesis 29:1-30:43 In Lesson 20, we read of the account or Isaac planning to give away a blessing that was not his to give to his favorite son Esau, and the plan of Rebekah and her favorite son Jacob to needlessly try and thwart him, thinking that they needed to pinch hit for the LORD's sovereignty which the LORD had revealed to Rebekah at the birth of the twins. As a consequence Jacob had to flee for his life, and Rebekah never saw him again. The LORD still managed to work it together to accomplish his plan. Genesis 29:1 Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. The "land of the eastern peoples" means, the land of Haran which lay along and east of the Euphrates River. We don't know exactly what route Jacob took in those days, but later the established route went through ancient Palmyra. If Jacob followed this route, he would have had to travel almost a hundred miles across the Syrian desert with only the water and food that he could carry on his back (remember he had no camel). Genesis 29:2 There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. 1 / 27

2 This well probably lay on the desert margins, just west of the Euphrates. It was probably the first water source Jacob had seen for several days. The stone covering the well was so large that it could not be easily moved by one person. The question is "Why did they have such a stone covering the mouth of the well? The answer is obvious. In that country water was so scarce it was a valuable commodity. They didn't want anyone to steal it. Jacob had no assurance that they would give him any water. Genesis 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. Only during the set time of day when all the herds were gathered were there enough men to remove the stone. Until that stone was removed Jacob could not get to the water. Genesis 29:4-5 Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are you from?" "We're from Haran," [a] they replied. He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?" "Yes, we know him," they answered. 2 / 27

3 Having travelled across 500 miles of unknown and dangerous territory Jacob was anxious to know were he was. Would he be welcomed or would he be denied water and turned away, or worse? Remember, all he had with him was his staff (Genesis 32:10). He had probably avoided human habitations as much as possible. As it turned out, the LORD had led him to the right place. These were the people of Haran. He asked about his uncle Laban, who was also the grandson of Abraham's brother Nahor. Genesis 29:6 Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?" "Yes, he is," they said, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep." Just as Jacob asked the question Rachel came up with her sheep. Although Laban had sons (Genesis 31:1), for some reason, they were not in charge of the sheep. They could have been too young to help or supervising other herds. That may be the key reason that Laban was so eager to have a male relative in Jacob, to supervise his herds. It could be that Rachel was in charge of the sheep, not Leah, because Leah had poor eyesight, which would have been a disastrous weakness for a shepherdess. Genesis 29:7 "Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture." Notice that Jacob immediately spotted an inefficiency in the way they were tending their 3 / 27

4 sheep. The sheep were waiting to be watered in the overgrazed area of the well while they could have been out in the fields eating. This was inefficient. This tells us two things about Jacob; he was very smart, and he wasn't shy about letting people know it. Vernon McGee suggests there is not a little arrogance in telling people he has just met how to run their business. Genesis 29:8 "We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep." They informed Jacob that it took several men to roll away the stone. More than were available. Genesis 29:9-10 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. Notice, Jacob was obviously a very powerful man. Furthermore, he had just spotted the beautiful Rachel. Here he seemed to be showing off both his physical strength and his skill in managing herds. Jacob's physical strength, and his pride in it, is an important character trait of Jacob. He was also proud of his skill as a shepherd. Remember, he was "a man of the camp." 4 / 27

5 Genesis 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. 5 / 27

6 This reaction probably indicated the well of emotion that Jacob released when he realized his lonely and dangerous trip across the desert was concluded safely. He may have begun to realize he could depend on the LORD's promise: Genesis 28:15 "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 29:12 He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father. Evidently, Laban's camp was not far off. He was Jacob's uncle, and Rachel was Jacob's 1 st cousin. Genesis 29:13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. "All these things" would be probably include the details related in chapter 28 and 29, the circumstances of his flight and the purpose of his journey. 6 / 27

7 Genesis 29:14a Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood." Laban extended to him the hospitality and security of being regarded as a member of his own family. Genesis 29:14b-15 After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month, Laban said to him, "Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be." Laban recognized quickly how skilled with managing flocks Jacob was. He wanted to ensure that Jacob would continue to manage his flocks. Genesis 29:16-17 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, [b] and the name of the younger was Rachel. [c] Leah had weak [d] eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful. 7 / 27

8 Jacob had decided who was the bride he would take back with him. Genesis 29:18-19 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me." Jacob offered to trade seven years of service for the right to marry Rachel. If Laban had not been so greedy to secure Jacob's services he would have given Rachel to Jacob, plus a dowry. That was the usual practice in the marriage between families. After all, marriage to Jacob was no come down. However, this was Jacob's offer not Laban's. At this point, Jacob did not seem to be anxious to return home to his parents, or the land God had promised him. Perhaps he was savoring his independence. He was also in love, which might have made Haran seem like a good place to be. Also, he was still afraid of the vengeance of Esau. Genesis 29:20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. You have to say that in this case at least Jacob showed a lot more patience than most people. Remember, he was 70 and had never been married. 8 / 27

9 Genesis 29:21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to lie with her." The arrangement having been in place and known by one and all for seven years, it was time for its consummation. Genesis 29:22-24 So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, [e] and Jacob lay with her. [f] And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah [g] to his daughter as her maidservant. Evidently, as in the case of Rebekah with Isaac (Genesis 24:65), the bride to be was veiled in front of the bridegroom. It was by this means that Isaac was deceived during the ceremony. 9 / 27

10 Genesis 29:25a When morning came, there was Leah! However, now we have the question of how Leah managed to maintain the deception all night. I would conjecture that on that first night Jacob was not into pillow talk or cuddling. Even so, it must have been a very dark night following innumerable toasts led by Laban! Genesis 29:25b-26 So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?" Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. When confronted, Laban offered no excuse, but rather said that Jacob was at fault for not understanding their customs. Genesis 29:27 Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work." 10 / 27

11 However, Laban offered a proposal. If first, Jacob would finish the "bridal week" of seven days with Leah, then he could marry Rachel immediately, if he promised to serve another seven years after that. Here we see what was the genesis of Laban's deception. Jacob's management of his herds had prospered him so greatly, that he was afraid that after he had gotten married, he would depart for home. This way, he would ensure another seven years of service from Jacob. Genesis 29:28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Jacob was so anxious to marry Rachel that he agreed. He finished the week with Leah, and then married Rachel. However, as a result of his week, Leah got pregnant, as we shall see. Note that this kind of arrangement would later be illegal under the Mosaic Law: Leviticus 18:18 " Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living." Genesis 29:29-30 Laban gave his servant girl Bilhah [h] to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. Jacob lay with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years. 11 / 27

12 Now Jacob had two wives, who both had maidservants, but he loved Rachel more than Leah. That seems obvious. Both had to have known what Laban was going to do at the wedding and hadn't warned Jacob about it. We have to conclude from the rest of the story that both of them had been in love with Jacob. Perhaps Laban, seeing that they both were in love with Jacob, had threatened them that if they didn't go along with his plan, he would send Jacob away and neither of them would get to marry him. Genesis 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. It seems like Leah must have gotten pregnant immediately, probably during the bridal week. Genesis 29:32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, [i] for she said, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." Leah longed for Jacob to love her. She hoped that bearing him a son would gain that for her. However, as long as Rachel was alive, she would always have second place. 12 / 27

13 Genesis 29:33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. [j] Jacob was pleased enough with her to sleep with her again, and she immediately conceived another son. Genesis 29:34-35 Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi. [k] She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah. [l] Then she stopped having children. Twice more the same thing happened. During all this time, Rachel remained barren, although obviously she had many more opportunities to conceive than her sister. It is worth noting that the line of the Kings (Judah) and the line of the Priests (Levi) both came from these four sons of Leah. 13 / 27

14 Genesis 30:1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!" Rachel became jealous. That is never a good frame of mind to make life decisions. Genesis 30:2-3 Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. [m] Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and that through her I too can build a family." There was a precedent in Jacob's family for what Rachel proposed. You may remember Sarah's giving Hagar to Abraham. That had not really turned out well, but it seems we tend to repeat history rather than learn from it. Genesis 30:4-6 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him 14 / 27

15 [n] Dan. [o] From this union came a son, and later a tribe. The tribe of Dan is mainly notable for being the tribe that gave up on the land the LORD gave it and moved to easier ground, to the northern extreme of Israel (Judges 18). They also established their own Temple there. They are also the only tribe that is not included in the 144,000 of the Tribulation. Genesis 30:7-8 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali. [p] Clearly, Jacob's household had become a place of rivalry. Genesis 30:9-11 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. [q] Then Leah said, "What good fortune! A troop has come." [r] So she named him [s] Gad. 15 / 27

16 Leah thought, if Rachel can give her maid to Jacob, why not me? In this whole thing Jacob seems to have gone along, not grudgingly. Genesis 30:12-13 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher. [t] The name seems to belie the truth. Leah was not happy. Now Leah was sharing Jacob with three other women, and Jacob still loved Rachel best. Genesis 30:14-15 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes." 16 / 27

17 Evidently, Jacob still slept with Rachel most nights when he wasn't performing stud service. Leah hired his services for the night with some mandrakes. Mandrakes were thought to be good for fertility, hence Rachel's willingness to deal. Genesis 30:16-18 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband." So she named him Issachar. [u] The name she gave Issachar reflects how much it pained her to see Jacob sleep with her maidservant. It doesn't reflect that God was pleased with the action. Genesis 30:19-20 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor exalt me, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. [v] Leah was still second in Jacob's eyes, and would remain so until Jacob's death. We learn that from Genesis 33:2, when more than six years later, he ordered the women and 17 / 27

18 their children in their importance to him. Genesis 30:21 Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. [w] The name Dinah means "judgment." It is interesting to note that this made seven children for Leah. Seven is the number of grace or completion. Genesis 30:22-23 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." She named him Joseph, [x] and said, "May the LORD add to me another son." Finally, the LORD gave Rachel what she had wanted. Having one son, she asked for another, little knowing that in giving birth to her next, fifteen years later, she would die in childbirth. Genesis 30:25-26 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you." 18 / 27

19 Having fulfilled his obligation, Jacob want to be off to home. He had made Laban rich, but had nothing for himself. He not only knew that his destiny was back in Canaan (Genesis 28:15), but he knew his father would do better by him than Laban. Genesis 30:27-28 But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination divined [y] that the LORD has blessed me because of you." He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." Laban knew he would lose a lot if he lost Jacob's services, so he decided he would offer him a wage. Genesis 30:29-30 Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?" 19 / 27

20 Jacob points out what Laban knows, that Laban's wealth had increased dramatically under Jacob's care. Genesis 30:31-32 "What shall I give you?" he asked. "Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. Jacob proposed that he get a "share of the profits." In that economy, that meant a share of the newborn lambs and goats. He would start with a flock of all the multicolored sheep and goats. To begin with, these sheep would be considered less desirable because the wool from these would be less desirable than white which could be easily dyed to any color. Genesis 30:33 And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen." Furthermore, their could be no stealing of Laban's sheep. Laban's sheep and Jacob's sheep would be differentiated from birth. 20 / 27

21 Genesis 30:34-35 "Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said." That same day he (Laban) removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. Although Laban had agreed to let Jacob separate the spotted and streaked animals that day, he seems to have delayed long enough to have separated more than half of those animals for himself and given them to the charge of his sons. By the time Jacob took charge of the newly constituted herd, more than half of his expected wages were missing. This left behind only the male speckled goats, and the female streaked goats. Thus he has cheated Jacob of more than half of his beginning herd, but also reduced his future pay by reducing the odds of offspring which were speckled or spotted or colored. This is in character with Laban's behavior as reported later by Jacob when he complained that Laban had changed his wages ten times. Genesis 30:36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks. This was not a promising start to their agreement. Jacob could be excused for feeling he was entitled to use any legitimate stratagem within the wording of their agreement. What Jacob came up with was ingenious. 21 / 27

22 Genesis 30:37-38a Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. This is a difficult passage to interpret for a non-shepherd 4000 years after the fact. I presume, that the sight of stripes in the water made the males sexually excited. Perhaps it was the visual similarity of the stripes to the female sex organ that did it or perhaps some chemical or aroma in the bark that did it. Whatever it was, it gave Jacob a degree of control of when the males and females were likely to mate, and he could thus create better odds that more speckled, spotted, and colored offspring would be born. For example, he could make sure that the male goats that were spotted or speckled and were likely to have spotted or speckled offspring, mated with many female goats in heat, while the plain ones who were not likely to have such offspring, didn't have as many opportunities to mate. Jacob explained how this worked in the next chapter. Thus Jacob kept increasing the percentage of speckled, spotted, and colored in the herd. Of course, God also increased and prospered him. Genesis 30:38b-39 When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 22 / 27

23 Using Jacob's tactic, they would bring forth mostly off colored young. Genesis 30:40a Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, Out of these new sheep and goats Jacob created a flock of off colored sheep and goats. These he could breed in the normal way. Off colored males mating with off colored females would produce mostly off colored young. Genesis 30:40b but made the rest face [z] the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. However, Laban's original herd he continued to breed the same way, producing young year after year that were off colored. Genesis 30:40c Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals. 23 / 27

24 He kept his herd, and the original herd apart. Genesis 30:41-42 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. However, Jacob was smart enough not to mate all the female sheep this way. Laban would become suspicious if all the young were off colored. He allowed the mating of plain colored males with the weak females. However, the plain young were the offspring of weak females, and mostly weak themselves Genesis 30:43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. In this way Jacob's herds would come to be as large as Laban's in a few years. 24 / 27

25 [a] Named after the brother of Abram and the father of Lot. [b] The name "Leah" is of uncertain meaning. One suggestion is that it means "wild cow" which would match the theme of Rachel's name (ewe). Perhaps this reflects the materialism of Laban. [c] Rachel means "ewe" or a female sheep. [d] The Hebrew word here is Ër" which is variously translated "tender" or "weak." The translations are divided about evenly between "tender eyed" and "weak eyed." I tend to favor "weak" as the correct translation. In the majority of the cases the word is not used in a positive connotation, but in a neutral or negative one. [e] We know from the story of Rebekah coming to Isaac in Genesis 24:65 that it was customary among her people that the bride was veiled in the presence of her intended. [f] One can only wonder if Laban knew of Jacob's disguising himself as Esau. At any rate he turned the tables on Jacob. [g] Zilpah means "short nosed person." [h] Bilhah means "[perhaps] simplicity or modesty or to be without concern" [i] Reuben is from Reu- "see" and Ben- "son" or "see a son." 25 / 27

26 [j] Simeon means - "God hears." [k] Levi means "joined to." [l] It was only when Leah learned to praise the Lord for his blessing, instead of using the Lord to get what she wanted that she gave birth to the line of Christ, Judah which means "praise." [m] Notice that there is nothing here to indicate when this took place, only that it happened some time during the period that Leah was having four sons, and Rachel was not. [n] Notice that it was Rachel, not Bilhah who had the privilege of naming him. [o] Dan means "judge" or "vindicator." [p] Naphtali means "wrestling" or "struggling." [q] Again, here there is no indication when this happened except that it was after Leah had given birth to Judah. These two sons could have been born during about the same two years that the two sons of Bilhah were born. [r] This is literally per Strong's, "A troop has come." Although some have translated it "Good fortune has come." Whichever, it means, it no doubt derives from the fact that Gad made five sons from Leah and her servant as compared to the two from Rachel and her servant. 26 / 27

27 [s] Like Rachel with Bilhah's children, Leah also had the privilege of naming Zilpah's children. [t] Asher means "happy" or "blessed." [u] Issachar means "there is recompense." [v] Zebulun means "exalted." [w] During the seven years after Jacob married Leah and Rachel, Leah had seven children. The first four were evidently born in little more than three years. There was then a break of about a year and three quarters, after which she had the other three (including Dinah). [x] Joseph means "Jehovah has added." [y] The Hebrew word  (1 {naw-khash'} translated "divination" here, in the times after the Law of Moses referred to something evil, consulting evil spirits. However, in the time before the Law, it was used to speak of the way Joseph understood mysteries. In that context it did not seem to mean evil, only deduction based on evident facts. [z] The Hebrew could be translated, "give presentation." I believe this means that the plain colored animals were encouraged to have sex with only the spotted, streaked, speckled or colored ones. This led to a high percentage of the offspring that were Jacob's. 27 / 27