Genesis 29
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 29
The Wedding for Which Jacob Slaved.[a] 1 Jacob set out on his journey and traveled to the lands of the east. 2 He saw a well in the countryside and three flocks of sheep lying beside it. The flocks would drink at this well, but the stone over the mouth of the well was very large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and the sheep would drink there. They would then replace the stone over the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”
5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?”
They said, “We know him.”
6 He said to them, “Is he well?”
They answered, “Yes, and here comes his daughter Rachel with his flock.”
7 He continued, “It is still early; it is not yet the time to gather the sheep together. Give the sheep something to drink and then go and pasture them.”
8 They said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together. Then we will roll the stone away from the mouth of the well and have the flocks drink.”
9 He was still speaking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, together with the sheep of his uncle Laban, he got up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and gave water to the sheep of his uncle Laban. 11 Jacob then kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 He revealed to Rachel that he was a relative of her father, for he was the son of Rebekah. So she ran to tell her father.
13 When Laban heard about Jacob, the son of his sister, he ran to meet him. He embraced him, kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all about what had happened to him. 14 Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”
Jacob lived with him for a month. 15 Then Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you be working for me without a salary? Tell me what you want as your salary.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older was named Leah and the younger was named Rachel. 17 Leah had sad[b] eyes, while Rachel was very beautiful and lovely. 18 Because of this, Jacob loved Rachel. He therefore said, “I will serve you for seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.”
19 Laban answered, “I prefer to give her to you rather than to a stranger. Stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served him for seven years for Rachel. He was so in love with her that it seemed only a few days.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is completed and I wish to marry her.”
22 Laban gathered all the men of that place and threw a banquet. 23 When it was the evening, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him and he married her. 24 Laban gave his own slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a slave.
25 When morning came, behold, it was Leah! Jacob said to Laban, “What have you done! Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why have you tricked me?”
26 Laban answered, “It is not the custom in our land to give the younger one before the older one. 27 Finish the bridal week with this one; then I will give you the other as well if you will serve me for another seven years.”
28 Jacob did this. He finished the bridal week with Leah, and then Laban gave him Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban gave his own slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a slave. 30 Jacob slept with Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he served his uncle for another seven years.
31 The Children of Jacob.[c] Now the Lord, seeing that Leah was being overlooked, opened her womb while Rachel remained barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son whom she named Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my humiliation; surely my husband will love me now.”
33 Then she conceived another son and said, “The Lord has heard that I was ignored and he has given me this one as well.” She named him Simeon.
34 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time my husband will show me affection, for I have borne three sons for him.” Because of this she named him Levi.
35 She conceived once again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” For this she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.
Footnotes
- Genesis 29:1 The bride was veiled throughout the entire wedding ceremony, which ended only in the darkness of the night—thus the possibility of deception. In this case, again, the substitution of one person for another is not to be judged by our standards, especially since the intentional presence of many people (v. 22) must have compelled Jacob to accept what had been done. Polygamy was not a difficulty for him, since he was following the practice of nomads, whereas Abraham had been monogamous in accord with the spirit of his native Babylonian environment. Marriage with two sisters would later be prohibited by Israelite law (Lev 18:18); this is an indication of the historicity of the story.
- Genesis 29:17 Sad: the word can also mean “delicate.”
- Genesis 29:31 Jacob had many sons, but Israelite tradition counts only twelve of them, including the last born, Benjamin (Gen 35:18), and regards them as the ancestors of the twelve tribes that make up the chosen people.
