Genesis 29:1-35

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ¹  and came to the land of the eastern people. ²  29:2 He saw ³  in the field a well with ⁴  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ⁵  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ⁶  would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.

29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson ⁷  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ⁸  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ⁹  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ¹⁰  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ¹¹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ¹²  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ¹³  29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ¹⁴  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ¹⁵  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ¹⁶  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ¹⁷  went over ¹⁸  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ¹⁹  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ²⁰  29:12 When Jacob explained ²¹  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ²²  and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob ²³  told Laban how he was related to him. ²⁴  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ²⁵  So Jacob ²⁶  stayed with him for a month. ²⁷ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ²⁸  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ²⁹  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ³⁰  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ³¹  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ³²  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ³³  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. ³⁴  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ³⁵  But they seemed like only a few days to him ³⁶  because his love for her was so great. ³⁷ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ³⁸  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ³⁹  I want to have marital relations with her.” ⁴⁰  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ⁴¹  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ⁴²  to Jacob, ⁴³  and Jacob ⁴⁴  had marital relations with her. ⁴⁵  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ⁴⁶ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ⁴⁷  So Jacob ⁴⁸  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ⁴⁹  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ⁵⁰  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ⁵¹  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ⁵²  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ⁵³  Then we will give you the younger one ⁵⁴  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ⁵⁵ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ⁵⁶  When Jacob ⁵⁷  completed Leah’s bridal week, ⁵⁸  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ⁵⁹  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ⁶⁰  29:30 Jacob ⁶¹  had marital relations ⁶²  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ⁶³  for seven more years. ⁶⁴ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ⁶⁵  he enabled her to become pregnant ⁶⁶  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ⁶⁷  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ⁶⁸  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ⁶⁹  Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ⁷⁰  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁷¹ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ⁷²  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ⁷³ 

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ⁷⁴  Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 7:6

7:6 Noah ⁷⁵  was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed ⁷⁶  the earth.

Genesis 30:3

30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ⁷⁷  her so that she can bear ⁷⁸  children ⁷⁹  for me ⁸⁰  and I can have a family through her.” ⁸¹ 

Genesis 35:5

35:5 and they started on their journey. ⁸²  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ⁸³  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Psalms 7:9

7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked ⁸⁴  come to an end! ⁸⁵ 

But make the innocent ⁸⁶  secure, ⁸⁷ 

O righteous God,

you who examine ⁸⁸  inner thoughts and motives! ⁸⁹ 

Psalms 9:5-6

9:5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry; ⁹⁰ 

you destroyed the wicked; ⁹¹ 

you permanently wiped out all memory of them. ⁹² 

9:6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins; ⁹³ 

you destroyed their cities; ⁹⁴ 

all memory of the enemies has perished. ⁹⁵ 

Jeremiah 51:13

51:13 “You who live along the rivers of Babylon, ⁹⁶ 

the time of your end has come.

You who are rich in plundered treasure,

it is time for your lives to be cut off. ⁹⁷ 

[29:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.

[29:1]  ² tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ³ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.

[29:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.

[29:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ¹² tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.

[29:8]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).

[29:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.

[29:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ²² tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).

[29:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).

[29:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ²⁸ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.

[29:17]  ³¹ tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.

[29:17]  ³² tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ³³ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ³⁶ 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.

[29:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ⁴⁰ 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).

[29:22]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ⁴² tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  ⁴³ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁴⁵ 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.

[29:24]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[29:25]  ⁴⁷ 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.

[29:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ⁴⁹ 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?”

[29:25]  ⁵⁰ 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.

[29:26]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:26]  ⁵² tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[29:27]  ⁵³ tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.

[29:27]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”

[29:28]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.

[29:28]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:29]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁶² tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:30]  ⁶³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.

[29:31]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ⁶⁸ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁷¹ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[29:34]  ⁷² tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ⁷³ sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.

[29:35]  ⁷⁴ sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.

[7:6]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “Now Noah was.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + predicate nominative after implied “to be” verb) provides background information. The age of Noah receives prominence.

[7:6]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and the flood was water upon.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is circumstantial/temporal in relation to the preceding clause. The verb הָיָה (hayah) here carries the nuance “to come” (BDB 225 s.v. הָיָה). In this context the phrase “come upon” means “to engulf.”

[30:3]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

[30:3]  ⁷⁸ tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.

[30:3]  ⁷⁹ tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:3]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.

[30:3]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).

[35:5]  ⁸² tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

[35:5]  ⁸³ tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

[7:9]  ⁸⁴ tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.

[7:9]  ⁸⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.

[7:9]  ⁸⁶ tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.

[7:9]  ⁸⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.

[7:9]  ⁸⁸ tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.

[7:9]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.

[9:5]  ⁹⁰ tn The verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke” and in this context taken to refer to the Lord’s “rebuke” of the nations. In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[9:5]  ⁹¹ tn The singular form is collective (note “nations” and “their name”). In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). In this context the hostile nations who threaten Israel/Judah are in view.

[9:5]  ⁹² tn Heb “their name you wiped out forever and ever.” The three perfect verbal forms in v. 5 probably refer to a recent victory (definite past or present perfect use), although they might express what is typical (characteristic use).

[9:6]  ⁹³ tn Heb “the enemy – they have come to an end [in] ruins permanently.” The singular form אוֹיֵב (’oyev, “enemy”) is collective. It is placed at the beginning of the verse to heighten the contrast with יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) in v. 7.

[9:6]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “you uprooted cities.”

[9:6]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “it has perished, their remembrance, they.” The independent pronoun at the end of the line is in apposition to the preceding pronominal suffix and lends emphasis (see IBHS 299 §16.3.4). The referent of the masculine pronoun is the nations/enemies (cf. v. 5), not the cities (the Hebrew noun עָרִים [’arim, “cities”] is grammatically feminine). This has been specified in the present translation for clarity; many modern translations retain the pronoun “them,” resulting in ambiguity (cf. NRSV “their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished”).

[51:13]  ⁹⁶ sn Babylon was situated on the Euphrates River and was surrounded by canals (also called “rivers”).

[51:13]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “You who live upon [or beside] many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come, the cubit of your cutting off.” The sentence has been restructured and paraphrased to provide clarity for the average reader. The meaning of the last phrase is debated. For a discussion of the two options see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 2:423. Most modern commentaries and English versions see an allusion to the figure in Isa 38:12 where the reference is to the end of life compared to a tapestry which is suddenly cut off from the loom. Hence, NRSV renders the last line as “the thread of your life is cut” and TEV renders “its thread of life is cut.” That idea is accepted also in HALOT 141 s.v. בצע Qal.1.