Part 13  Book of Genesis

 

 

Jacob marries twice

29.1-14 Jacob continues on his journey and arrives in the east. He sees a well with three flocks of sheep around it waiting to be watered. On top of the well is a large stone that would be rolled off of it when all the flocks were gathered around. Jacob asks the shepherds where they are from. They tell him they are from Haran and Jacob asks if they know Laban the son of Nahor. They say yes and he begins to question them on how Laban and his family are doing. They point out to Jacob that here comes Laban’s daughter Rachel now with her flock.

The men tell Jacob once all the flocks arrive they will move the heavy stone on the well. When Jacob sees Rachel coming with the flock he gets so excited he single handedly rolls the stone off the well. Jacob kisses Rachel and tells her he is her kinsman as he breaks into tears of joy. Rachel runs to tell her father the news and her father, Laban, runs out to embrace Jacob and welcome him into the home.

29.15-20 After a month passes Laban asks Jacob what his wages should be for serving him. Laban has two daughters, the oldest Leah was plain, but Rachel, the youngest, was very beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel and told Laban he would work for seven years in order to marry her. Laban agrees, Jacob stays with him, and the seven years just fly by because Jacob is so in love with Rachel.

29.21-30 After the seven years are fulfilled, Jacob asks for his wife. Laban has a wedding feast and in the evening before as they went into the tent Laban brings Leah to Jacob and he goes in unto her. In the morning he sees it is Leah and he is shocked. Laban tells him that the eldest always is married first, then the younger. He will give Rachel to Jacob after the bridal week is over provided Jacob serves him another seven years. Jacob agrees and waits out the week and than is married to Rachel. He loves Rachel more than Leah. Now, Leah has a maidservant named Zilpah, and Rachel has a maidservant named Bilhah. Jacob serves another seven years.

Jacob must have had quite a good time at the wedding drinking if he did not recognize that Leah was taking the place of Rachel. We see that deception is a family trait. Laban is just as tricky as his sister Rebekah. Jacob is getting a taste of his own medicine. Laban’s reply to Jacob about the older being married before the younger is an ironic reaffirmation of the principle Jacob violated in stealing his brother’s birthright.

The origins of the tribes of Israel

29.31-35 The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah names her firstborn Reuben, which means “See a son” saying, “the Lord has seen my affliction, now my husband will love me.” She conceives again and names the second son Simeon, meaning, “Hearing” saying, “because the Lord heard I was hated he has given me this one also.”
She has another son she names Levi which means, “Joined” saying, “My husband will now be joined with me because I have born him three sons.” Once more she conceives and calls this fourth son Judah which means, “Praise” saying, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Then she stopped having children.

Jacob is a busy man and he is going to get busier!

30.1-8 Now Rachel sees she has had no children, becomes envious of her sister, and says to Jacob, “Give me children or I will die!” Jacob angrily tells her its not his fault she doesn’t have children. Rachel then tells Jacob to go into her handmaid, Bilhah and consort with her so that through her she will have children. Jacob complies and Bilhah has a son. Rachel names him Dan which means; “vindication” or “judging”, saying that God has now vindicated her. Then Bilhah has another son and Rachel names him Naphtali which means; “My wrestling” as she feels she has waged a contest with her sister Leah and is now “in the game.”

30.9-13 Since Leah has now stopped having children she tells Jacob to take her handmaid, Zilpah, as a concubine and she bears Jacob a son. Leah names him Gad, which means; “A troop comes!” or “Luck has come.” Then Zilpah has another son and Leah names him Asher, which means; “Happy” as women will deem her blessed for having so many children.

We see very competitive sisters vying with each other to have the most children. They are running Jacob ragged! Both of these women have a very jealous nature in addition to being competitive.
30.14-15 Once at wheat harvest Leah’s son Reuben brings her mandrakes from the field. Rachel asks Leah for some of the mandrakes and Leah says, “Isn’t it enough for you to take away my husband, now you want my mandrakes?” Rachel promises Leah that she won’t sleep with Jacob that night, that Leah can have him in exchange for the mandrakes.

Leah has to bargain with her sister in order to get Jacob to sleep with her. Such a tragic position for her to be in. Mandrakes have purplish flowers and branching roots and were thought to have aphrodisiac properties. (Song of Solomon 7.14)

30.16-21 When Jacob arrives home Leah tells him she has hired him for the night with her son’s mandrakes. From this night Leah bears a fifth son and names him Issachar, which means; “A hire” since she paid mandrakes for that night with Jacob. Then Leah bears Jacob a sixth son and she names him Zebulon, which means; “Dwelling” as she hopes now her husband will stay with her. Then lastly she has a daughter whom she names Dinah, which means; “Judgment.” (The female version of Dan.)

No matter how many children Leah has, Jacob dearly loves Rachel. It should also be noted that Jacob has shown no interest in naming any of these children.

30.22-24 God remembers Rachel and God heeds her and opens her womb and she has a son she names Joseph, which means; “Adding” as she hopes he is the first of many more sons she will have.

God remembering Rachel underscores her favored status. On the basis of the word for remembering in Leviticus 23.24, the Talmud dates Rachel’s conceiving to Rosh Hashanna. The two matriarchs thus play an important role in the traditional Rosh Hashanna liturgy.

Jacob grows wealthy

30.25-37 After Rachel has Joseph Jacob asks Laban to permit him to return to his homeland with all his wives, children, and flocks. Laban understands that as God has blessed Jacob, he too has been blessed and become wealthy so he offers to increase Jacob’s wages. Jacob refuses, and tells Laban that he has been blessed and that now it is time for Laban to let him go. Laban wants to pay Jacob. Jacob tells Laban he will take payment in the form of flocks of animals. He will go through Laban’s flocks and take every spotted or speckled animal. Then in the future when Laban goes over Jacob’s wages if there are any animals that are not spotted or speckled he will know they were stolen. This will show Jacob’s honesty to Laban. That same day Laban took all the spotted and speckled animals and had his sons take them three days away from where Jacob was tending the rest of the now spotless and speckle less animals.

Now Jacob would have a difficult time breeding the animals with spots and speckles as their were none in the flock.

30.37-43 Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink. So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. Moreover, it came about whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, that Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods, but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

Explanation: The first method Jacob used (verses 37-39) was peeled poles, which were supposed to have some kind of prenatal influence on the flocks. Jacob supposed that if the flocks had a visual impression of stripes while they were mating and conceiving, the offspring would assume this same form. So all about the trenches, which served as watering troughs, Jacob placed these peeled poles; and every appearance would incline him to believe that his scheme was working, for the resulting offspring were striped, speckled, or spotted (verse 39).

The second phase of Jacob’s plan to predispose the outcome of his labors was to segregate the flocks. The striped, speckled, and spotted offspring (which belonged to Jacob) were put off by themselves. The rest of the flock was faced toward those animals which were either striped or all black (verse 40). While the peeled poles were artificial, the striped animals were the “real McCoy.” Surely by seeing these animals, the rest of the flock would get the idea.

The third phase was a stroke of genius (verses 41-42). It was a kind of selective breeding. We are told that lambing took place twice during the year, once in the fall and once in the spring. Those born in the fall were thought to be hardier, since they must endure the harsh winter. Jacob placed his peeled poles only in front of the superior animals and not before the weaker. In Jacob’s mind the result was that the strong animals went to him, while the weak went to Laban (verse 42). All these methods are today considered a folkloristic belief that what animals see when mating determines the appearance of their young. In fact it was God keeping his promise of blessing to Jacob!

Next: Part 14