And Jacob said unto Laban, Give [me] my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
Gen 29:21-28
He took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him
Labans fraud on Jacob
I.
THE CHARACTER OF THE FRAUD.
1. Deliberate.
2. Bold.
3. Selfish.
II. THE FRAUD CONSIDERED AS A RETRIBUTION. There are sins which in this world are often punished in kind. (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons
1. The day revealeth that evil usually which the night covereth, sin may hide itself a little while till the morning.
2. Seeming Rachel over night is found Leah in the morning. Fair offers to be deceits.
3. Honest souls, though drawn into error, are full of indignation against it, and the cursors of it when discovered.
4. Plain covenant work is sufficient to convince deceivers that forsake 2:5. Service for Rachel should have Rachel for its reward.
6. It is gross falsehood and deceit to deny covenant reward, and adulterate it with worse (Gen 2:25). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Labans deceit
This discloses a baseness in Labans character, arousing contempt and aversion; but it ought not to blind us against the redeeming qualities of his heart. In the human mind, fragrant flowers often blossom surprisingly by the side of noxious weeds. The deceit of Laban was practicable, on account of the custom by which the bride is, on the day of marriage, conducted veiled to her future husband. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
Evil result of Labans fraud
But the fraud of Laban was not only a moral offence in itself; it was the more deplorable, as it destroyed the principle of monogamy to which the patriarchs on the whole adhered. Jacob had intended to marry Rachel alone; and when he found himself, against his will, allied with Leah, his heart could not renounce her from whom he expected the best part of his happiness; he took her to wife besides Leah; nor was he permitted to dismiss the latter after the solemnization of the marriage. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 21. My days are fulfilled] My seven years are now completed, let me have my wife, for whom I have given this service as a dowry.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
[1753]
Give me my wife; so she was by promise and contract; persons betrothed or espoused being oft called wives in Scripture, as Mt 1:18,20; Lu 2:5.
My days are fulfilled, the seven years of service agreed upon, Ge 29:18.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. Jacob said, Give me my wifeAtthe expiry of the stipulated term the marriage festivities were held.But an infamous fraud was practised on Jacob, and on his showing arighteous indignation, the usage of the country was pleaded inexcuse. No plea of kindred should ever be allowed to come inopposition to the claim of justice. But this is often overlooked bythe selfish mind of man, and fashion or custom rules instead of thewill of God. This was what Laban did, as he said, “It must notbe so done in our country, to give the younger before thefirst-born.” But, then, if that were the prevailing custom ofsociety at Haran, he should have apprized his nephew of it at anearly period in an honorable manner. This, however, is too much theway with the people of the East still. The duty of marrying an elderdaughter before a younger, the tricks which parents take to get offan elder daughter that is plain or deformed and in which they arefavored by the long bridal veil that entirely conceals her featuresall the wedding day, and the prolongation for a week of the marriagefestivities among the greater sheiks, are accordant with the habitsof the people in Arabia and Armenia in the present day.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Jacob said unto Laban, give [me] my wife,…. Meaning Rachel, who was his wife by contract; the conditions of her being his wife were now fulfilled by him, and therefore he might challenge her as his wife:
for my days are now fulfilled; the seven years were up he agreed to serve him for his daughter; and therefore it was but just and right she should be given him:
that I may go in unto her; as his lawful wife, and it was high time Jacob had her; for he was now, as the Jewish writers generally say n, and that very rightly, eighty four years of age; and from him were to spring twelve princes, the heads of twelve tribes, which should inhabit the land of Canaan.
n Bereshit Rabba, sect. 70. fol. 63. 1. Jarchi in loc. and others.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But when Jacob asked for his reward at the expiration of this period, and according to the usual custom a great marriage feast had been prepared, instead of Rachel, Laban took his elder daughter Leah into the bride-chamber, and Jacob went in unto her, without discovering in the dark the deception that had been practised. Thus the overreacher of Esau was overreached himself, and sin was punished by sin.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 21-30:
At the end of seven years, Jacob demanded of Laban the agreed-upon wages: Rachel as his wife. Laban made a grand wedding feast, and invited the “men” or principal dignitaries of the place. The wedding banquet ordinarily lasted seven days, but the custom varied from place to place.
Now the deception which Jacob had perpetrated upon .his brother Esau came home to him (Ga 6:7,8). The language implies a conspiracy between Laban and Leah. The wily Syrian draped Leah in the heavy bridal veil, which by custom covered the head, fact, and much of the body. He then brought her to Jacob in the marriage ceremony. It was not until the following morning that Jacob discovered the deception. In modern times, such deception would be difficult if not impossible.
The implication is that Leah was a willing conspirator. Perhaps she was smitten with love for Jacob. As subsequent events indicate, she was God’s choice for Jacob’s wife, for to her was born Judah, the forerunner of Christ.
It is in Jacob’s favor that he did not seek to repudiate the marriage to Leah. He did demand, however, an explanation from Laban. Likely Laban’s explanation was the first Jacob had heard of the “requirement” that the younger could not marry until the older had wed. Or he may have chosen simply to ignore this custom due to his love for Rachel and the agreement with Laban.
Laban asked that Jacob “fulfill the week” of Leah, then he would give Rachel to him as his second wife – provided that Jacob would work yet another seven years for her! Laban’s conduct in the entire matter betrays his lack of concern for his daughters and what they might want. But at the same time it shows his appreciation for the talents of Jacob as a shepherd.
Leah’s name means “pining, or yearning.” She was “tender-eyed,” literally “weak-eyed or dull-eyed.” This does not imply that she was ugly or stupid; only that her eyes did not sparkle, as did those of her younger sister. She was loyal to Jacob, and bore him sons and at least one daughter. Two of her sons (Levi and Judah) became progenitors of important tribes in Israel.
Rachel’s name means “ewe.” She was a beautiful woman, but she shared her father’s traits of scheming and duplicity. She bore Jacob only two sons: Joseph and Benjamin.
Laban gave to each of his daughters a slave girl as a wedding gift. To Leah he gave Zilpah, whose name means “myrrh tree.” To Rachel he gave Bilhah, whose name means “bashful or modest.”
Both these slave girls later became secondary wives and bore children to Jacob.
God did not direct Jacob to take more than one wife. He has never repealed His provision of one wife for one man (Mt 19:8). Jacob’s polygamy became a source of trouble to him in later years. God may permit men to do things He does not approve. And He may bless in spite of man’s determination to have his own way. But the blessing will not be the best God has for one to enjoy.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Gen. 29:23. He took Leah, his daughter, and brought her to him.] The fraud was rendered possible by the Eastern custom of the bride being veiled, aided by the darkness of the night. (Alford.)
Gen. 29:27. Fulfil her week.] Attach thyself to her during the accustomed days of the wedding-feast (Jdg. 14:12; Tob. 11:18.) Alford.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 29:21-28
LABANS FRAUD ON JACOB
I. The character of the fraud. Jacob had served for his wife, and now demands her as his just right. When the time came for the bride to be conducted to the marriage chamber, Laban substitutes Leah for Rachel. It was not difficult to carry out this deception, as it was evening and the bride was conducted to the chamber of the husband closely veiled. In the morning Jacob discovered the fraud, and complained, Did not I serve with thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? (Gen. 29:25.) This fraud was,
1. Deliberate. It was not the result of sudden temptation by which a man is overtaken in a fault, but was quite in accordance with the settled habits and principles of Labans character. He was a covetous and scheming man, and had little scruple in demanding the services of a helpless relative under plausible professions of disinterestedness.
2. Bold. Laban attempts to justify his conduct by a reference to the custom of the country. (Gen. 29:26.) But, why did he not mention this objection before, and why did he promise that which he considered he ought not to perform? He is bold and daring in the defence of his conduct as he was crafty in designing it.
3. Selfish. He proposes to give him Rachel when another week is fulfilled. (Gen. 29:27.) Jacobs labours were very valuable to him, and this was a shrewd device to bind Jacob for a longer term of service.
II. The fraud considered as a retribution. Jacob had deceived his own father, and now he is himself deceived. The measure which he meted is measured to him again. The sheep of Gods pasture may be found and restored, but they are often brought back wounded and lacerated, and smarting from the effects of their own folly and sin. Jacob who had deceived is now, in turn, overreached. Leah also deceived her husband, and as a natural consequence lost his affections. There are sins which in this world are often punished in kind. Be sure your sin will find you out. (Num. 32:23).
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen. 29:21-22. Laban, like some in their gifts to God, is not wanting in ceremony. He made a feast, gave his daughter a hand-maid, and went through all the forms; but the gift was a deception.(Fuller).
Gen. 29:23. According to the custom of those eastern nations, the bride was conducted to the bed of her husband, with silence, in darkness, and covered from head to foot with a veil; circumstances all of them favourable to the wicked, selfish plan which Laban had formed to detain his son-in-law longer in his service. He who employed undue advantage to arrive at the right of the first-born has undue advantage taken of him in having the first-born put in place of the younger. He who could practise on a fathers blindness, though to obtain a laudable end, is, in his turn, practised upon by a father, employing the cover of the night to accomplish a very unwarrantable purpose.(Hunter.)
God pays us often in our own coin, Herod mocked the wise men, and is mocked of them. (Mat. 2:16.) And how oft do we see those that would beguile others, punished with illusion? God usually retaliates, and proportions jealousy to jealousy, provocation to provocation (Deu. 32:21,) number to number (Isa. 65:11-12,) choice to choice (Isa. 66:3-4,) device to device (Mic. 2:1; Mic. 2:3,) frowardness to frowardness (Psa. 18:26,) contrariety to contrariety (Lev. 26:21.) Even the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth (Pro. 11:31,) as was Jacob.(Trapp.)
Gen. 29:24. It is still customary in the East for a father, who can afford it, to transfer to his daughter, on her marriage, some female slave of the household, who becomes her confidential domestic and humble friend. This slave forms a link between the old and new households, which often proves irksome, but he has little, if any, control over the female slaves in his establishment.(Bush.)
Gen. 29:25-26. A foul disappointment, but so the world ever serves us. The Hebrews have taken up this passage for a proverb, when a mans hopes are deceived in a wife, or anything else, wherein he looked for content or comfort.(Trapp.)
But he received, notwithstanding his ignorance as to Leah, the wife designed for him by God, who was to become the mother of the Messiah, just as Isaac blessed him unwittingly as the rightful heir of the promise. Ah, in how many errors and follies of man, here and everywhere, do we find Gods inevitable grace and faithfulness intertwined.(Ross.)
Gen. 29:27-28. And now he must begin a new hope, where he made account of fruition. To raise up an expectation, once frustrate, is more difficult than to continue a long hope drawn on with likelihoods of performance; yet thus dear is Jacob content to pay for Rachel fourteen years servitude. Commonly, Gods children come not easily by their pleasures. What miseries will not love digest and overcome? And if Jacob were willingly consumed with heat in the day, and frost in the night, to become the son-in-law to Laban, what should we refuse to be the sons of God?(Bishop Hall).
Jacobs service for Rachel presents us a picture of bridal love equalled only in the same development and its poetic beauty in the Song of Solomon. It is particularly to be noticed that Jacob, however, was not indifferent to Rachels infirmities (Gen. 30:2), and even treated Leah with patience and indulgence, through having suffered from her the most mortifying deception.(Lange).
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(21) My days are fulfilled.That is, the appointed time of service is completed. It was undeniably at the end of the seven years that the marriage took place.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
v. 21. And Jacob said unto Laban, v. 22. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. v. 23. And it came to pass in the evening that he took Leah, his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. v. 24. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah, his maid, for an handmaid. v. 25. And it came to pass that, in the morning, behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? Did not I serve with thee for Rachel? Wherefore, then, hast thou beguiled me? v. 26. And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger-afore the first-born. v. 27. Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. v. 28. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week; and he gave him Rachel, his daughter, to wife also. v. 29. And Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, Bilhah, his handmaid, to be her maid. v. 30. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Gen 29:21. Give me my wife, for my days, &c. He might call her his wife with propriety, as he had fulfilled the terms of the contract.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 29:21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give [me] my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
Ver. 21. Give me my wife, for my days, &c. ] Jacob had served out his time, and now demands his due. David also is said to have “served the will of God, for his own age”; Act 13:36 and John Baptist to have “fulfilled his course”. Act 13:25 “Moses also was faithful in all God’s house, as a servant”. Heb 3:2 Yet these could not call for heaven as their wages, because they were (as the best are, at their best) but “unprofitable servants,” Luk 17:10 and did not, in any measure, what their duty was to do. We have not a bit of bread of our own earning; and are therefore taught to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”: we get our living by begging. Our best plea is, Domine, non sum dignus, nihi – lominus tamen sum indigens :Lord, I am not worthy, but I am needy, as Pomeran said. Then will God, of his free grace, supply all our necessities, and “afterwards receive us to glory.” He will bring us into the bride chamber of heaven, and there will he give us his loves. He will let out himself into us, to our infinite delight. Of all natural delights, that of marriage is the greatest, because there is the greatest communication of one creature to another; and according to the degrees of communication are the degrees of delight. Think the same in the mystical marriage.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 29:21-30
21Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her.” 22Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. 23Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. 24Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived me?” 26But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years.” 28Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid. 30So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.
Gen 29:21 “Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her'” Obviously, Laban was in no hurry even at the end of seven years, to give Jacob his daughter. This shows something of the tendency that will be seen throughout these verses concerning the manipulative techniques of Laban. He was looking out for his immediate family’s interests.
Gen 29:23 “Jacob went in to her” There has been much discussion about why Jacob, after all this time, did not know that this was Leah. Some of the theories are: (1) it was dark (i.e., Gen 29:23, “in the evening”); (2) she was veiled (cf. Gen 24:65); (3) he was drunk (the term “feast” [BDB 1059] in Gen 29:22 is from the root “to drink” [BDB 1059], implying a wild party)! It seems to me that #3 fits the social context the best.
Gen 29:24 “Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid” We learn from the Nuzi Tablets, which describe the Hurrian culture of the same period (2nd millennium B.C.), that this was a common practice. In case the daughter was barren, the servant could bear a child in her behalf (cf. Gen 29:28-29; Gen 30:3). Gen 29:24; Gen 29:29 are a narrator’s parenthesis preparing us for chapter 30.
Gen 29:25 “behold, it was Leah” Although it was obvious from Laban’s character that this kind of behavior was to be expected, it is surprising that Leah did not say something or that Rachel did not say something. But, we must judge this day in light of its own culture and not in ours, and because of the lack of specific textual information modern interpreters must not speculate.
Gen 29:27 “complete the bridal week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me for another seven years” This bridal week was common to this culture (cf. Jdg 14:12; Jdg 14:17). It is also reflected in the extra-canonical book of Tob 11:18. The concept of the month being broken into weeks is uniquely biblical (cf. Gen 2:1-2). The fact that Laban could make the unbelievable request that Jacob serve him seven more years shows the exploitive attitude of this man. Jacob has met his match and now knows how it feels to be tricked (cf. Gen 27:35).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
Gen 29:21-35
The chief lesson of this paragraph is its illustration of the awful nemesis which accompanies wrongdoing. No thoughtful person can watch the events of history or experience without realizing that we are already standing before the judgment-seat of God, and that His sentences are in process of being executed. Jacob deceived his father, and was himself deceived. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. What disappointments there are in life! We think that we are to be dowered with Rachel, and lo! Leah is substituted; but in after-days Jacob spoke of Reuben as his might, the beginning of his dignity and excellency. The names of Leahs sons suggest the blessings that accrue through heartbreak. For the Leahs of the world there are great compensations. God remembers and hears them. Brokenhearted and forsaken, they live again in the lives of those whom they have borne either naturally or spiritually.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Give me: Mat 1:18
my days: Gen 29:18, Gen 29:20, Gen 31:41
go in: Gen 4:1, Gen 38:16, Jdg 15:1
Reciprocal: Gen 32:22 – his two wives Deu 22:13 – General Deu 22:24 – he hath humbled Jdg 14:8 – to take her Pro 18:22 – findeth a wife
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
"This was about one of the meanest pranks ever played on a man." [Note: Leupold, 2:795.]
Jacob had pretended to be his older brother, and now Leah pretended to be her younger sister. Laban and Leah deceived Jacob as Jacob and Rebekah had deceived Isaac. Perhaps Jacob’s eating and drinking at the feast had clouded his mind (Gen 29:22). The darkness of his tent at night may have made it hard for him to see, too. [Note: Josephus, 1:19:6-7.] Furthermore, in that culture a bride customarily entered her husband’s presence veiled. [Note: S. R. Driver, Genesis, p. 271.] Von Rad wrote "heavily veiled," and Aalders "completely veiled." [Note: Von Rad, p. 291; Aalders, p. 115.] One year an Indian student of mine told me that his father did not see his mother’s face for three days after their wedding. It is still customary among some Indians for the bride to remain veiled even after the consummation of the marriage. [Note: See also J. A. Diamond, "The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem," Vetus Testamentum 34:2 (April 1984):211-13.]
It was customary for the bride’s father to give her a large present when she got married: a dowry. In the ancient world the gift normally consisted of clothing, furniture, and money, and it served as a nest egg for the wife in case her husband died or divorced her. Some dowries were exceptionally valuable, such as slave-girls (Gen 24:61; Gen 29:29) or a city (1Ki 9:16). Laban was being generous. [Note: Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 236. Cf. West, p. 70.]
As Jacob had deceived Isaac by taking advantage of his inability to see due to poor eyesight (Gen 27:36), so Laban deceived Jacob by taking advantage of his inability to see in the dark tent (Gen 29:25). Earlier Jacob had deceptively pretended to be the older brother (ch. 27), and now Laban tricked him by replacing the younger with the older sister. Laban was just as deceitful as Jacob (Gen 29:26).
"For despicability Laban takes the prize in the Old Testament." [Note: Leupold, 2:798.]
He should have told Jacob of this custom beforehand if indeed it was a custom, which seems questionable.
The "bridal week" was the week of feasting that followed a marriage (Gen 29:27; cf. Jdg 14:12; Jdg 14:17). Jacob received Rachel seven days after he had consummated his marriage to Leah (cf. Gen 29:28; Gen 29:30). The Hebrew name "Rachel" means "ewe," and "Leah" means "cow." Ironically, Laban treated them as cattle and used them for bargaining and trading. "Zilpah" means "small nose," and "Bilhah" means "carefree." Jacob married two women in eight days. Notice that Jacob was behaving like his parents, who each favored one son above the other, by favoring one of his wives above the other. In both cases serious family problems followed. The Mosaic Law later prohibited marrying two sisters at the same time (Lev 18:18). Bigamy and polygamy were never God’s will, however (Gen 2:24). [Note: See Wenham, Genesis 16-50, p. 249.]
"Jacob had planned to take Rachel as his wife, but God intended him to have Leah." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 195.]
Evidence will follow that Leah was the more "spiritual" of the two sisters.
God remains faithful to His promises to bless His people, but in the process He may discipline them for their previous unresolved sins and often does so in kind (i.e., with talionic judgment; cf. Pro 3:12; Gal 6:7; Heb 12:5-6). [Note: For a fascinating narration of this story in expanded form, see Thomas Mann, "Jacob Takes a Bride," Bible Review (Spring 1986):53-59, which is an excerpt from Mann’s Joseph and His Brothers.]
"Jacob was getting what he deserved. In this light the seven extra years that Jacob had to serve Laban appear as a repayment for his treatment of Esau. By calling such situations to the attention of the reader, the writer begins to draw an important lesson from these narratives. Jacob’s deceptive schemes for obtaining the blessing did not meet with divine approval. Through Jacob’s plans God’s will had been accomplished; but the writer is intent on pointing out, as well, that the schemes and tricks were not of God’s design." [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 199.]