29:21 Finally Jacob said 5 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 6 I want to have marital relations with her.” 7 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 8 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 9 to Jacob, 10 and Jacob 11 had marital relations with her. 12 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 13
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 14 So Jacob 15 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 16 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 17 me?”
1 tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
2 tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
3 sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.
4 tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
6 tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
7 tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).
8 tn Heb “men.”
9 tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”
10 tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
13 tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
14 tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
15 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
17 sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.