Genesis 29

Genesis 29:1

It all begins with God An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book of Genesis www.easyenglish.info Marie Wetherill and Keith Simons This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 29 Jacob marries v1 Then Jacob went on his journey. He came to that country where the people in the east lived. v2 He looked about and he saw a well in a field. Three *flocks of sheep were lying near the well. The stone that covered the well was very large. v3 The *shepherds used to gather all the *flocks there. Then they rolled the stone from the well and they gave water to the sheep. After that, they put the stone back to cover the well.

v4 Jacob said to the *shepherds, ‘My brothers, where do you come from?’

They said, ‘We are from Haran.’

v5 Then Jacob said to them, ‘Do you know Laban, Nahor’s son?’

They replied, ‘Yes, we know him.’

v6 Jacob then asked whether Laban was well.

The *shepherds said, ‘Yes. Look! Rachel, Laban’s daughter, is coming with the sheep!’

v7 Jacob said, ‘Look! It is still midday. It is not time to gather the *flocks together. Give water to your sheep and take them away to grass.’

v8 But the *shepherds said, ‘We cannot do that until all the sheep are here. Then we roll away the stone from the well and we give water to the sheep.’

v9 While Jacob was speaking to the *shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. Rachel looked after the sheep. v10 Jacob saw Rachel with Laban’s sheep. Jacob went up to the well. He rolled away the stone that was covering the well. And he gave water to Laban’s *flock. Laban was the brother of Jacob’s mother, and Rachel was Laban’s daughter. v11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and he wept aloud. v12 Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s nephew. Jacob told her that he was Rebekah’s son. Rachel ran and she told her father about it.

v13 So Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, had come. And so then Laban ran to meet Jacob. Laban hugged Jacob and he kissed Jacob. And he took Jacob to Laban’s home. Jacob told Laban what had happened. v14 Laban said to Jacob, ‘Truly you are my relative.’

Jacob stayed with Laban for a month. v15 After that time, Laban said this to Jacob. ‘You work for me. But you have no wages. That is not right, although you are my nephew. What shall I pay you?’

v16 Laban had two daughters. The older one was called Leah, and the younger one was called Rachel. v17 Leah had weak eyes. But Rachel was beautiful and she was lovely to look at. v18 Jacob loved Rachel. He said this to Laban. ‘I will work for you for 7 years. So then I can marry Rachel, your younger daughter.’

v19 Laban replied, ‘I would rather give her to you than to any other man. Stay with me.’ v20 So Jacob worked for 7 years for Rachel. But they only seemed like a few days because he loved her so much.

v21 Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give my wife to me, so that I can have sex with her. I have finished the 7 years of work.’

v22 So Laban gathered together all the local men and he made a *feast. v23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and he brought her to Jacob. And Jacob had sex with Leah. v24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be Leah’s maid.)

v25 In the morning, Jacob saw that it was Leah. He said to Laban, ‘You have cheated me. I worked for you so that I could marry Rachel. Why have you cheated me?’

v26 Laban said, ‘Here, in our country, the younger daughter should not marry before the daughter that was born first. That is not our custom. v27 Finish the *feast for the wedding. The *feast lasts for a week. Then we will give the other daughter to you. But you must work for me for 7 more years.’

v28 Jacob did that. He finished the *feast for Leah’s wedding. Then Laban gave Rachel to Jacob as his wife. v29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be Rachel’s maid.) v30 So Jacob had sex with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And he worked for Laban for 7 more years.

v31 The *Lord saw that Jacob did not love Leah. So then he made Leah able to have children. But Rachel was *barren. v32 Leah became *pregnant and she had a baby son. She called him Reuben. She said, ‘The *Lord has seen that I was unhappy. Now therefore my husband will love me.’

v33 Leah became *pregnant again and she had a baby son. She said, ‘The *Lord has heard that Jacob did not love me. And so the *Lord has given me another son.’ She called that son Simeon.

v34 Leah became *pregnant again and she had a baby son. And she said, ‘Now my husband will want me because I have had three sons for him.’ So Leah called that son Levi.

v35 Leah became *pregnant again and she had another baby son. She said, ‘This time I will praise the *Lord.’ Therefore she called that son Judah. Then she stopped. She did not have any more children.

It was God’s plan that Jacob would have a large family. God had already promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that they would have many *descendants. But perhaps Jacob did not realise that God wanted him (Jacob) to have many children. It was the custom at that time for an important man to have many wives. But Jacob’s father, Isaac, married only one wife.

Jacob’s intention was to marry Rachel. He loved her as soon as he saw her. And he tried to impress her. He moved a large stone so that he could give water to her sheep. Soon afterwards, Jacob offered to work for 7 years so that he could marry Rachel.

At the end of the 7 years, Laban (Rachel’s father) cheated Jacob. It was the custom that the bride would cover her face at the wedding. The morning afterwards, Jacob discovered that he had married Leah (Rachel’s sister). Jacob never really loved Leah. But he did not refuse to accept her as his wife.

Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too. But Laban insisted that Jacob must work for another 7 years for Rachel.

All this time, Jacob was learning to be humble. At home, Jacob used schemes to get whatever he wanted. But on the journey, Jacob had decided to serve God (Genesis 28:20-21). And now Jacob was learning to accept whatever God wanted to give him. In the end, God would give Jacob 12 sons. And their families would become the great nation that God had promised. Notes on the verses Verses 1-3 Jacob arrived near the home of Nahor’s family, who were Rebekah’s relatives. The *shepherds had brought some sheep near the well. But they were waiting for other *shepherds to arrive. Then they would remove the stone that covered the well.

Verse 4 Like Abraham’s servant (chapter 24), Jacob quickly found the people that he was looking for.

Verse 5 Laban was actually Nahor’s grandson. The *Hebrew word for ‘son’ can also mean ‘*descendant’. This is what it means here.

Verse 6 To look after the sheep seems to have been a woman’s job too. So, Rachel brought Laban’s sheep. Rachel was the first member of Laban’s family that Jacob met. Jacob was very excited to see her. It seems that he loved her at once.

Verses 7-8 Perhaps there were very many sheep that used water from the same well. So it might have been difficult to wait until the cooler evening to give water to them all. The stone that covered the well was very heavy. It was fairly difficult for one man to move it alone. It was easier when more than one man moved it. Also, it was safer to take the cover off the well less often. It was safer because then the well had a cover over it for a longer time.

Verses 9-10 Jacob wanted to impress Rachel. So, he moved the stone himself in order to provide water for her sheep. By this action, Jacob was showing Rachel that he would look after her.

Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, had used a well in that area in chapter 24. She provided water for Abraham’s servant and his camels. Soon afterwards, Rebekah married Isaac. Perhaps Jacob was already hoping that he could marry Rachel.

Verse 11 Jacob and Rachel were relatives. So, perhaps it was the custom to kiss. But we shall soon see how much he really loved her.

Verses 12-13 Laban and Rachel may have thought that Jacob would have valuable presents. Abraham’s servant had brought presents when he was arranging a wife for Isaac. But Jacob had nothing.

Verses 14-17 It was the custom to be friendly to all visitors. And Laban was especially pleased with Jacob, who was a relative. Laban invited Jacob to stay in Laban’s home. Laban was probably hoping that Jacob would marry Leah or Rachel.

Jacob was not lazy. He worked hard while he stayed with Laban.

Verse 18 Jacob had no ‘bride price’ to offer. (In other words, he had no money to ‘pay for’ his bride.) 7 years of work was a lot to give for a bride. But Jacob loved Rachel and he needed a home. Probably Jacob and Rachel were engaged, but they were not living together. That is like Joseph and Mary in the *New Testament.

Verse 20 Jacob really loved Rachel. He was happy as he worked. So he did not feel as if he was waiting for her.

Verse 21 Jacob had to go to Laban to claim his wife. Perhaps Laban did not want Jacob and Rachel to marry at once. Laban could remember how quickly Rebekah left home (Genesis 24:54-56). Both Jacob and Rachel were good workers. Laban did not want them to leave.

Verse 22 Laban arranged the wedding for his daughter and Jacob. But Laban was not an honest man.

It seems that Laban and his family knew about the real God (Genesis 24:31; 24:50). But perhaps they were not still serving God. They had images of false gods in their home (Genesis 31:30-35).

Verse 23 Laban cheated Jacob. Laban gave his older daughter, Leah, to Jacob instead of Rachel. The bride wore a *veil for the wedding, and the place was very dark. Also, Jacob had drunk wine.

Verse 25 In the morning, Jacob discovered that he had married the wrong woman. He complained to Laban. Rachel was the woman whom Jacob loved.

Verse 26 Among Jacob’s relatives the oldest son (the son that was born first in the family) had special rights. (In fact, Jacob bought those rights from Esau.) Here, Laban mentioned the idea that in his country the oldest daughter had special rights. But this excuse was not fair. Jacob believed that he was marrying Rachel. And Laban had not been honest.

Verse 27 When there was a wedding, people organised a *feast for it. The *feast lasted for one week. Jacob could have left afterwards, with his two brides. But Laban trusted that Jacob would stay. Jacob could not trust Laban. But Laban knew that he could trust Jacob.

Later, God’s law did not allow a man to marry two sisters.

Verses 28-30 So, Jacob had two wives. And each wife had a maid.

Verse 31 God was carrying out his promise. God was watching Jacob and his family, so that God could look after them.

Jacob never really loved Leah. But he accepted her as his wife. And God was kind to her. He helped her to have several children.

Rachel was the wife whom Jacob really loved. But, like Sarah and Rebekah, it was difficult for Rachel to have children.

Verse 32 Reuben meant ‘Look, a son!’ God was making Leah into the mother of many *tribes. The *tribes would belong to the nation called Israel. In that way, Leah was a part of God’s plan. But she could not force Jacob to love her.

Verse 33 ‘Simeon’ is like a *Hebrew word. The word means that someone ‘has heard’.

Verse 34 ‘Levi’ is like the word for ‘love’.

Verse 35 ‘Judah’ is like the word for ‘praise’. Leah was grateful to God for her children. Perhaps she was not still trying to persuade Jacob to love her. Perhaps now she was content that God cared about her. So she praised God.

© 2006, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

May 2006

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