Jacob: The Swindler is Swindled

• Review:
  • Jacob is on the run because of his brother’s rage – Esau is after his head
  • Jacob’s dad has proven to be a little disappointing in his parenting skills
  • Jacob’s mom has changed over the years also
  • She began as a great woman of promise – a go-getter
  • She now has participated in deceit to clinch the final possession of the birthright for the younger brother
  • Jacob has just seen a vision of a ladder and angels – a confirmation of his calling
  • Jacob’s lack of correct rearing seems apparent in the way he worships the LORD
  • He builds an alter out of one stone and anoints that stone
  • He identifies with pagan ritual of worship in his attempts to thank God
  • God, who is merciful, accepts this sacrifice (pagan as it was)
  • Jacob goes forward with the blessing and protection of God
  • The final clincher: Jacob makes a “deal” with God for His continued blessing

2Jacob’s Encounter at the Well

• The reader seems to be invited into the state of Jacob in verse 1
• “Jacob picked up his feet” – this is the first occurrence in the Bible of this phrase
• Calvin suggests this means that Jacob goes on his way cheerfully after his encounter with God at Bethel
• The reader seems to also be invited to see the of Jacob
• The weight / mass of the stone over the well is mentioned several times
• The shepherds were waiting for the flocks to gather before they began the watering ritual
• Jacob seems to be anxious to get to his destination – notice how many times Laban and/or their relationship is mentioned v.10
  • Verse 8 gives the reader insight as to the practice of watering in this area of the world
  • It seems as though the flocks gathered with their shepherds early
  • The latecomers would have to wait for the early arrivals to finish watering before they began
  • Jacob seems to disregard cultural norms in his impatience to see Laban

3Jacob’s First Encounter with Rachel

• Jacob sees Rachel and immediately acts (11-12)
• Sounds familiar with how treated the servant of Abraham at the well
• Jacob moves the which normally would have taken several shepherds to move
• Jacob seems overwhelmed at meeting his cousin – he

• Is this relief at finding a relation in a foreign country?

• Is this “at first ” that sweeps him off his feet?
  • NOTE: The narrative keeps insisting that Jacob watered the sheep – not because they were Rachel’s, but because they were Laban’s (“his mothers’ brother”)

• Is this emotion at realizing his journey that Isaac sent him on was soon coming to an end?

• “There is…no comment yet about Rachel’s beauty (contrast 24:16). This suggests that Jacob’s prime motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with his uncle.” – G. Wenham

4Jacob’s First Encounter with Laban

• Laban’s reaction to the news that Abraham’s relatives were back in town was to be expected v.13
  • Laban to the site
  • Laban greets Jacob with open arms (probably looking around for the sacks of gold)
  • Poor Laban had no idea this was an outcast that wandered to his house
  • Jacob carried no money, no wealth; only and
  • Jacob tells Laban of his past
  • The reader is not given insight as to how thorough the story was that Jacob shared with Laban

  • Did Jacob tell Laban of his tricks to possess the birthright and blessing?

  • Did Jacob only tell Laban of his brother’s hate in searching for him?

  • Did Jacob tell Laban that he was there on his parent’s quest to marry one of his daughters?

  • Laban must have guessed that there was not much financially at stake here and that Jacob was pretty much his
  • Laban invites Jacob to stay with him (14)
  • “You are truly my flesh…”
  • This could be simply a statement of warm welcome
  • This could be a - statement
  • Jacob stays a month…and the reader waits to turn the page

5Jacob “Deals” for the Younger Sister

• Laban has observed Jacob around his daughter for weeks and finds a way to him v.15
• There is an interruption in the story that will give the reader some necessary information to proceed v.16-17
  • The meaning of their names
  • “Leah” = “ ”
  • “Rachel” = “ ”
  • Leah’s eyes were “soft”
  • This could mean she was
  • This could simply mean that her eyes held no fire or “sparkle” – this is a quality highly regarded in the East
  • The final information: Rachel had a “beautiful figure and a lovely face”
  • This description comparing Leah and her sister was meant to simply let the reader know that Rachel outshone her sister in many ways.
  • Jacob makes a deal for the prize sister
  • Dowry background
• The Old Testament fixes a marriage gift at shekels Deut.22:29
  • Typically, gifts were much than 50 shekels
  • Jacob could not ask his family to pay – so he bargained with what he had…
  • Laban agrees to the negotiation – but notice his answer (v.19) – “better for me to give her to you than to someone else” (this is noticeably ambiguous)

6Laban Swindles the Swindler

• The time passes and Jacob is 7 years smarter v.20
  • His response to Laban seems to indicate that he knows Laban a little more intimately than a few verses previous
  • Jacob his wife and looks as if he is planning on departing immediately
  • Jacob is “taken” at the marriage ceremony
  • Notes: marriage ceremonies in ANE (from Oxford Companion to the Bible, ed. B.M. Metzger & Coogan)
  • With the feasting at the ceremony, Jacob doesn’t realize that Leah has been substituted
• Laban pulls through on the dowry v.23-24
  • Dowries were given in the ANE as a nest egg for the wife in case of death or divorce
  • As mean as Laban was, he still did the commendable thing with the dowry

7Jacob Discovers the Scheme

• Jacob’s surprise can be seen in the wording: “and she Leah”
• Laban’s excuse has a certain poetic justice
• Laban explained that it is not right to put the younger before the older
• Jacob had put himself before the firstborn, Esau

• Could Laban have been “ribbing” Jacob for his sordid past?

• Was Laban simply making an to get more out of the deal?
• Either way, his excuse is weak – he should have said this 7 years earlier!
• Jacob is enraged at Laban’s deceit – Jacob’s has come to him
• Jacob had no choice but to continue in the marriage ceremony for the rest of the week (v.27) – he had no family support to vouch for his case
• Jacob realizes that he must stay with his deceitful father-in-law for another 7 years (v.28-29) – his trip home had to wait
• Conclusion
• The reader is never given a glimpse into the mind of Jacob – we can only speculate the emotions cursing through his veins
• The links between this scenario and the scenario that Jacob had pulled off at home are too to overlook
• Although Jacob is Chosen, he does not escape from Yahweh
• God is faithful to those he is conforming to his image
• The Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives”
• (Heb.12:5-6; Prov.3:12)