NIV, Faithlife Study Bible | Page 109

Genesis 29:34 | 59 and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and wa tered his un cle ’ s sheep . 11 Then Ja cob kissed Ra chel and be gan to weep aloud . 12 He had told Ra chel that he was a rel a tive of her fa ther and a son of Re bek ah . So she ran and told her fa ther .
13
As soon as La ban heard the news about Jacob , his sis ter ’ s son , he hur ried to meet him . He em braced him and kissed him and brought him to his home , and there Ja cob told him all these things . 14 Then La ban said to him , “ You are my own flesh and blood .” cob , and Ja cob made love to her . 24 And La ban gave his ser vant Zil pah to his daugh ter as her at ten dant .
25
When morn ing came , there was Leah ! So Jacob said to La ban , “ What is this you have done to me ? I served you for Ra chel , didn ’ t I ? Why have you de ceived me ?”
26
La ban re plied , “ It is not our cus tom here to give the youn ger daugh ter in mar riage be fore the old er one . 27 Fin ish this daugh ter ’ s brid al week ; then we will give you the youn ger one also , in re turn for an oth er sev en years of work .”
28
And Ja cob did so . He fin ished the week with Leah , and then La ban gave him his daugh ter Rachel to be his wife . 29 La ban gave his ser vant Bil hah to his daugh ter Ra chel as her at ten dant . 30 Ja cob made love to Ra chel also , and his love for Ra chel was great er than his love for Leah . And he worked for La ban an oth er sev en years .
Jacob ’ s Children
31
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved , he en abled her to con ceive , but Ra chel re mained child less . 32 Leah be came preg nant and gave birth to a son . She named him Reu ben , b for she said , “ It is be cause the Lord has seen my mis ery . Sure ly my hus band will love me now .”
33
She con ceived again , and when she gave birth to a son she said , “ Be cause the Lord heard that I am not loved , he gave me this one too .” So she named him Sim e on . c
34
Again she con ceived , and when she gave birth
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
Af ter Ja cob had stayed with him for a whole month , 15 La ban said to him , “ Just be cause you are a rel a tive of mine , should you work for me for noth ing ? Tell me what your wag es should be .”
16
Now La ban had two daugh ters ; the name of the old er was Leah , and the name of the youn ger was Ra chel . 17 Leah had weak a eyes , but Ra chel had a love ly fig ure and was beau ti ful . 18 Ja cob was in love with Ra chel and said , “ I ’ ll work for you sev en years in re turn for your youn ger daugh ter Ra chel .”
19
La ban said , “ It ’ s bet ter that I give her to you than to some oth er man . Stay here with me .” 20 So Ja cob served sev en years to get Ra chel , but they seemed like only a few days to him be cause of his love for her .
21
Then Ja cob said to La ban , “ Give me my wife . My time is com plet ed , and I want to make love to her .” 22
So La ban brought to geth er all the peo ple of the place and gave a feast . 23 But when eve ning came , he took his daugh ter Leah and brought her to Jaa
17 Or delicate b
32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery ; the name means see , a son . c
33 Simeon probably means one who hears .
29:11 Jacob kissed Rachel Though Jacob falls in love with Rachel , this is a normal greeting in the ancient Near East . 29:16 Leah The etymology of the Hebrew name le ’ ah is unknown . 29:17 weak eyes It is unclear whether this description is positive or negative . If the Hebrew word used here , rakh , is translated “ weak ” or “ dull ,” it may indicate a lack of brightness in her eyes ; lustrous or sparkling eyes were considered a striking sign of beauty ( 1Sa 16:12 ; SS 4:1,9 ). On the other hand , if rakh is translated “ delicate ,” “ tender ” or “ lovely ,” it may indicate that she had one striking feature , while Rachel had many . 29:18 I ’ ll work for Jacob ’ s ser vice is in exchange for the normally expected bride payment price , elsewhere called in Hebrew mohar ( see note on Ex 22:16 ). Though the ensuing narrative could hint at Laban expecting the arrangement to involve Jacob ’ s adoption into Laban ’ s household , Jacob had no intention or desire to stay with Laban in Harran . He was a normal day laborer , paying his debt of a bride price ( Ge 31:38 – 42 ). 29:21 my wife This language is consistent with the ancient Near Eastern cultural view that a betrothed woman had the status of a wife . 29:25 Leah As Jacob had disguised himself to deceive his father ( 27:1 – 29 ), Laban presented the veiled Leah at the wedding instead of Rachel . Ancient Near Eastern evidence indicates that brides were veiled . However , as there is no evidence that Leah was veiled during intercourse that night , Jacob ’ s surprise may be explained by darkness ( the wedding occurred in the evening ; see v . 23 ) or severely inebriated , although the text itself does not say this . 29:27 Finish this daughter ’ s bridal week This refers to a seven-day marriage celebration .
29:31 — ​30:24 This extended account of the birth of Jacob ’ s children is framed by references to God opening wombs — ​first Leah ’ s ( 29:31 ) and then Rachel ’ s ( 30:22 ). In between , Rachel and Leah compete for their husband ’ s favor by providing offspring for him ( 29:34 ; 30:1,15 ). The 12 sons born to them and their maidservants , Bilhah and Zilpah ( 11 in this section , plus Benjamin in 35:16 – 18 ), eventually become the eponymous ( or name-giving ) ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel ( 49:28 ).
29:31 remained childless Barrenness was viewed as a divine judgment ( see 16:2 and note ). 29:32 Reuben This name is a combination of two Hebrew words , meaning “ See ! A son !” See the table “ Symbolic Names of People in Hebrew ” on p . 1388 . 29:33 Simeon The Hebrew name Shim ’ on derives from the Hebrew for “ heard ,” shama ’, as Leah indicates . 29:34 Levi The origin of this name is uncertain . It derives from the Hebrew word lawah , meaning “ to attach .”