Genesis 29& 30
We finished Genesis 24 with the marriage of Rebekah and Isaac. Rebekah and Isaac end up having twin boys, with Esau coming out first and Jacob coming out holding Esau’s heel. Genesis 25-27 goes into more detail of the brother’s quarrel, but Jacob ends up deceiving Esau and their father into giving him the birthright (even though he was born second). Now that Jacob has received his father’s blessing as the “first born”, it is time for Jacob to find a wife. In Genesis 28, Jacob is sent to Laban (Rebekah’s brother) to find a wife.
Genesis 29 begins with Jacob arriving in Mesopotamia. He spotted Laban’s daughter, Rachel, and it was love at first sight. Jacob identified himself as her father’s kinsman and Rachel ran to tell her father. Let me address that Rachel and Jacob are cousins, but in the historical and cultural context of this text, we must remember that this was normal to keep the family line “intact.” Anyway, Laban heard the news that his sister’s son was here, and he welcomed and embraced Jacob. Jacob stayed with them a month and did his share of the work. Laban asks what he would like as a wage for his work. Before Jacob gives his answer, Genesis 29:16-17 gives us important information: “Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were weak [Hebrew word: Rak (רַךְ), also meaning soft, tender, delicate], but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.” This comparison of the daughters and their beauty alludes to a life of conflict and competition between the two sisters. Jacob loved Rachel and he said to Laban “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel” (v. 18). From our modern perspective, we may be taken aback that Jacob wants Rachel as his wage. So, let us look at it through an ancient Middle-Eastern lens: It was customary for a groom to pay a bride-price, not because the bride is property, but because she plays an important role in her home and the loss of her could be devastating for her family. Jacob came from money, but did not have any. Seven years of labor is considered to be an honorable way to gain a wife, as he worked for her to prove his love and simply did not “buy” her.
Laban knew how badly Jacob wanted Rachel and knew he could take advantage of him. He replies in verse 19 saying, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” Verse 20 tells us, “So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.” Jacob loved Rachel so much that 7 years of labor only felt like a few days to him! Jacob’s patience and ability to wait shows us how much he cared about Rachel and reminds us that true love is patient, and it waits. When Jacob’s seven years were finished, he asked for Rachel. Laban then deceives Jacob, as Jacob deceived his father and brother (we reap what we sow), and brought Leah to Jacob. Then, Jacob went into her. The next morning, he discovers that he was deceived. “We can imagine how Jacob felt, and how Leah felt, and of course how poor Rachel felt. All this was because of Laban’s sin; or, perhaps one should say it was because of Jacob’s sin- now the deceiver was deceived” (David Guzik, BLB Commentary). In Genesis 29:26-30, Laban agrees to give Rachel to Jacob if he agrees to work for another seven years. Jacob and Rachel marry and the Bible makes it clear that “[Jacob] loved Rachel more than Leah” (v 30).
Yet “the LORD saw that Leah was hated [Hebrew word: śānē’ (שָׂנֵא), meaning not loved]” (v. 31). Leah was innocent in all of this. Her father used his patriarchal authority to use Leah to deceive Jacob, and she had to be the “unloved” wife. When no one was good to Leah, the LORD was good to her: “He opened her womb” (v. 31). In this culture, a woman’s worth was tied with bearing children. Leah conceives and gives birth to a son and names him Reuben, for she said, “Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now, my husband will love me.” It is quite sad that she thinks because her husband is having sex with her that he was in love with her, yet, he still loved Rachel more. Even though her husband was acting in an ungodly manner, the LORD continued to show her love and be faithful to her. She conceived again. “Because the LORD heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also” (v. 33). She named him Simeon. She went onto have two more sons: Levi, meaning attached, “now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Leah went onto have a fourth son: Judah, meaning praise. “Leah, though she was neglected by Jacob and despised by Rachel, had a great purpose in God’s plan. The two greatest tribes came from Leah, not Rachel: Levi (the priestly tribe) and Judah (the royal tribe). And most importantly, the Messiah came from Leah, the less-attractive sister who was neglected and despised but learned to look to the LORD and praise Him.” (David Guzik, BLB Commentary).
While Leah was giving birth to her 4 sons, Rachel had given birth to none for she was barren. We see in Genesis 30 that she begins to grow jealous of her sister and says to Jacob “Give me children, or I shall die!” We see how both sisters have their problems. We can infer that Leah often wished, “If I had my sister’s beauty, I would be happy” and Rachel probably wished, “if I had sons like my sister, I would be happy.” Instead of looking to others and what they have, we must look to the LORD! Jacob saw the LORD’s hand in it all, yet spoke cruelly to Rachel: “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” (Genesis 30:2). Rachel gives Jacob her servant Bilhah, so that she may bear children for Rachel (just like Sarah and Hagar in Genesis 16). Bilhah conceived two sons: Dan and Naphtali. Leah had stopped conceiving after the birth of her 4 sons and felt she could also use her servant via this “surrogate” method. Leah’s servant, Zilpah conceived two sons as well: Gad and Asher.
Leah’s son, Reuben, went into the harvest and found mandrakes in the field. In Hebrew, the word mandrake is called love apple, and it was believed to bring fertility. Rachel asked Leah for some of her son’s mandrakes. Leah replies in verse 15, “is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my sons’ mandrakes also?” Their pain and conflict between each other is evident in this exchange. Rachel said to Leah, “then [Jacob] may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” That evening, Jacob laid with Leah and she gave birth to a fifth son, Issachar. She conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son, Zebulun. She bore another child, a daughter, and named her Dinah. But despite her jealousy and desire to take things into her own hands, God remembered Rachel. “God listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach.’ And She called his name Joseph, saying, ‘May the LORD add to me another son” (Genesis 30: 22-24). This the famous Joseph that we all know because of his amazing technicolor Dreamcoat (Joseph’s story is Genesis 37-50). Rachel does bear Jacob another son in Genesis 35, and names him Benjamin.
Because we were created by a God who loves us and has given us free will, we experience the repercussions of the sins of those in our life. Rachel and Leah both reaped the consequences of Laban and Jacob’s deception and sin, as well as each other’s. Yet, even amidst the sin in their lives, the LORD was still faithful to Leah and Rachel. The LORD saw both of their misery and granted them sons. Between Leah and Rachel, as well as Bilhah and Zilpah, they gave birth to 12 sons, who became the 12 tribes of Israel. While yes, God gave Rachel and Leah the gift of children, the greatest gift God gave them was a new sense of purpose. Both were seeking purpose in a man and sought out his love. God shifted both of their focuses from the love of their husband to finding identity in the LORD. The were both able to acknowledge that their children were gifts from God and were able to praise Him! May we shift our eyes from others and bring our eyes to God, the Ultimate Gift-Giver, who hears the desires of our hearts and gives them to us in His timing!
