Genesis 29

       Jacob finally arrives at the land “…of the people of the east…” (v.1), a reference to his being near Haran. He comes upon a well in a field with three flocks of sheep lying around it. A great stone is on the well’s mouth. The men tending the sheep roll away the stone and water the sheep, then put the stone back into place. (v.3) Jacob introduces himself and then asks about his uncle Laban. The shepherds confirm that they know Laban, and they tell Jacob that Laban’s daughter, Rachel, will soon be present with her flock of sheep. Jacob responds that, since it is still early in the day, they should take their flocks out to pasture. According to my Moody Institute Bible commentary, this mild rebuke was probably because Jacob wanted to make it easier for Rachel to get to the well itself with her flock. The men respond that they have to wait to water the sheep until all the flocks are present.
    As they’re speaking, Rachel arrives, and Jacob does the chivalrous act of moving the stone from the well’s mouth and watering her sheep for her. In much the same way that Eliezer met Rebekah, so Jacob meets Rachel at a well, except in this instance he is the one to water the flock instead of the other way around. Verse 11 then states that “…Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.” This seems a bit strange, given that these two only just met, but the practice of kissing as a greeting, especially among family members of middle eastern cultures of this time, was very common. The kissing here is not romantic in the way we know it today. Notice that this verse does not say that Jacob also embraced Rachel. That’s how we know this was merely a familial greeting.
         But Jacob was also glad and relieved to have finally arrived at his destination, and we learn later that Rachel is “…beautiful and well favoured…”, so the additional mention of Jacob weeping here in verse 11 could mean that he was grateful to God for fulfilling His promise of taking care of Jacob. Not only did God bring Jacob safely to the land of mother’s family, but He also brought Rachel to Jacob whom Jacob became immediately smitten with. (This was, after all, one of the main reasons for Jacob’s making this long trek in the first place.)
      Jacob returns to Laban’s home with Rachel, and Laban is gracious and inviting to Jacob. (v.14) Jacob resides with Laban for a month, at which time Laban asks him what he wants in recompense for serving his uncle. Jacob tells Laban that he will work for him for seven years for the hand of Rachel in marriage. Laban heartily agrees. (v.19) The extent that Jacob had fallen for Rachel is revealed in verse 20. The seven years “…seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” At the end of this time, Jacob comes to Laban and asks his uncle to fulfill his part of the bargain. Laban throws a feast for all the men of his household, and then later that evening he deceives Jacob by bringing to his nephew his older daughter Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob doesn’t realize until the next morning that he’s been deceived.
        This part of the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel has always been a bit confusing for me. The passage doesn’t go into a lot of detail of just exactly how this ruse was carried out. The biggest mystery, of course, is how did Jacob not realize the woman he was having sex with was not Rachel? But, aside from that, I’ve also wondered why Laban was so deceitful with his nephew in the first place. Not only did he use his eldest daughter as a pawn in his scheme, but he also doesn’t seem very remorseful about the whole situation when confronted by Jacob the next morning. And, of course, the more we get to know Laban in the coming chapters, the more despicable he appears.
         The obvious answer, of course, is that God was using Laban to give Jacob a dose of his own medicine. Jacob had taken advantage of Esau’s hunger and physical weakness to obtain his birthright, and then deceived his father into giving him the blessing that should have gone to Esau. That’s the reason he’s now in Laban’s household to begin with. But, aside from that, we’re not really given any other explanation for Laban’s motivation for such underhanded trickery and deceit. And perhaps we don’t need one. This is Jacob’s story, after all, not Laban’s, and what’s important here is that Jacob is reaping the fruits of his own sin. For the first time in his life he gets a taste of what it’s like to be the victim of someone else’s selfish and manipulative scheming.
       Now, back to the mystery of the wedding night. I did some Googling, and what most scholars and Jewish tradition agree on is that, per the custom of the people of this time, the bride usually wore a veil over her face on her wedding night so that only her eyes could be seen, and then the act of consummation was also done in the dark. Websites such as TheTorah.com also suggest that there was no talking that night between Jacob and his bride, another ancient custom. Notice too, that the feast is only for the men. Verse 22 says nothing about the bride being present. It’s also very possible that Jacob was drunk by the time he and Leah retired to his tent.
         But even with all of those variables in play, wouldn’t Jacob have known pretty quickly that the shape and body of the woman in his bed was not Rachel’s? Verse 17 implies that Leah was not as young or beautiful as Rachel. My study Bible says that the phrase “tender eyed” in that verse means that Leah was “delicate or soft”. Rachel, however, is described as “…beautiful and well favoured.” This suggests to me that there was a noticeable difference in not only the physicality of the two sisters, but also in their demeanor and personality. Plus, Jacob had seven years of engagement to Rachel. In all that time, surely he would have come to know his future bride via all the usual courtship customs of that era? Even if there was no hand holding or lots of close conversations like there is today between Christian couples who are dating, seven years would be a pretty long time to get to know someone by simply just being in their presence nearly every day. One would think that, even in the dark, and even if he were drunk, and even if there was no conversation at all between him and Leah the entire night, that Jacob surely would have guessed something was amiss pretty early in the act as soon as he began to touch his bride.
        But that’s where a lot of the confusion and misconception about this whole situation lies. Courtship back then was nowhere near the same as it is today in modern western civilization. It’s very possible that Jacob and Rachel had never had a single “date” in all those years between their first meeting at the well and their intended wedding night. Per custom and tradition, Jacob’s dealings would have been only with Laban. Think back to chapter 24 and the introduction of Rebekah. Aside from their initial meeting at the well, Eliezer and Rebekah hardly spoke. Instead, Eliezer talked with Bethuel and Laban. Rebekah and the other women of the house are nowhere in that dinner scene. Only the next morning does it mention that Laban and Rebekah’s mother asked Rebekah if she would like to go with Eliezer. But even that seems little more than an afterthought, as if Rebekah was being asked only as a formality. Negotiations were already completed and the deal was struck. Rebekah had been arranged as Isaac’s bride, and that was that. Only out of respect and obedience to her father and brother as the head of the household – as well as her faith in God – did she comply with their wishes.
          And so it probably was for Rachel and Leah in this chapter. It’s very possible that neither sister was aware of their father’s scheme. Aside from their first meeting at the well, Rachel may not have even been aware of Jacob’s love for her. (Refer back to my comment on verse 11.) He probably only revealed that to Laban when Laban asked him what he wanted as wages for the work he was doing for Laban. And Laban, seeing an opportunity to marry off his older daughter instead, arranged an elaborate deception, keeping Jacob, Leah and Rachel in the dark until the morning after the wedding when Jacob discovered whom he had actually married.
        The details, however, are not important. What matters is that Jacob was deceived and Leah is now his wife. When Jacob confronts Laban, Laban responds in by saying it’s against custom to marry off the younger daughter before the older. (v.25-26) This too, suggests that Leah was not as beautiful or comely as her younger sister, and it was highly irregular in that era for a woman to reach a certain age and still be unmarried. Thus, Laban seized an opportunity to save face for himself and his family in his community by finally marrying off Leah, his oldest daughter. But then he seizes and additional opportunity by offering Jacob Rachel as well if Jacob will serve another seven years! (v.27) He asks Jacob to fulfill the wedding week with Leah, and then he can marry Rachel. Jacob, out of his love for Rachel, agrees to the bargain.
          Unfortunately, Jacob didn’t consult God in this matter. Rather than recognize God’s chastening and humbling by allowing him to be the victim of the same deceit he had practiced with others, Jacob was so consumed with his love for Rachel that he accepted his uncle’s offer of polygamy, something God would have never approved of. This is an example of what happens when we allow the lust of the flesh to dictate our actions and choices instead of practicing self-control through what we know to be right and wrong.
This is perhaps why God blesses Leah with four sons and Rachel remains barren for the first few years of their marriage to Jacob. Notice, again, while God may not approve of the sinful actions and choices that His children make, He does nonetheless bless them as He sees fit within His divine will and purpose. Through Leah and later, Rachel, Jacob is blessed with twelve sons through whom God would bring about His chosen nation of Israel.
         With her firstborn, (Psalm 127:3) Leah rejoices, praising God and thanking Him for his goodness. (v.32) God is especially kind, loving and merciful to the widows, children, orphans and, in Leah’s case, the unloved. (Exodus 22:22, Deuteronomy 14:29, 24:17, 27:19, Psalm 34:6, 68:4-6, 146:7-9, Proverbs 15:25, Jeremiah 22:3, Zechariah 7:9-10, James 1:27) The fourth son Leah names Judah, which means “celebrated” or “praised”, according to Strong’s Concordance. Each time she bares a son, Leah continues to praise and thank God, but she also prays that Jacob will love her more because of the sons she gives him in such a short time. Sadly, as we will see in the coming chapters, Jacob continues to show more favor and affection to Rachel than to Leah.