Genesis 29:15 Commentary and Bible Study

During the first month Jacob has already started working for Laban, and has made himself so useful that Laban realises that he can take advantage of this situation. Jacob is a skilled shepherd and Laban has sheep, so there is an obvious reason to persuade him to stay. It would not be reasonable for Jacob to work for nothing more than his keep just because he is a relative, and so Laban lets Jacob name his wages. He sounds like a good fellow so far. It is not clear whether Jacob has said anything yet about the reason for his journey, though it would be hard to explain his coming so far without a good reason. He has been attracted to Rachel from the moment he first saw her, but he does not seem to have raised the matter of taking her as his wife before this point. He has however probably been working with her, for he has been serving Laban in some capacity and shepherding is his skill, and Rachel is her father’s shepherdess. He has probably relieved her from some of the work and he is an expert at his work.The eldest of Laban’s two daughters was Leah. She was not the one Jacob wanted to marry but we are told about her because of what is to follow. Leah was ‘tender eyed’, which most people think means she had very weak eyes, poor sight. Some think Leah was unattractive, with round eyes, poor sight, or dull eyes. ‘But Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. ¹⁸ And Jacob loved Rachel’, and he undertook to serve Laban for seven years for Rachel. ‘And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man’ – that is not saying very much. ‘Abide with me.’ Now we begin to see another side of Laban. Calvin notes that the wages have now disappeared. Bishop Hall comments, ‘No doubt, when Laban heard of his sister's son, he looked for the camels and attendance that came to fetch his sister Rebekah; not thinking that Abraham's servant could come better furnished than Isaac's son: but now, when he saw nothing but a staff, he looks upon him, not as an uncle, but a master; and while he pretends to offer him a wife as the reward of his service, he craftily requires his service as the dowry of his wife.’‘Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.’ So the heir of a fortune, who has been compelled to leave home, sent by Isaac to find a wife, and with the death threats of Esau ringing in his ears; Jacob finds himself serving as a shepherd for the unscrupulous Laban for seven years for his wife, and he is prepared to do it. So let us pile up the good things about Jacob. He is a humble man. He is a man who knows he has sinned and he is so grateful to God for his forgiveness, and is ready to absorb these knocks and take on this hard service. He is not resentful at all, and is filled with faith and patience. There is so much to be said for Jacob. He is a gem in so many ways, and I say all these things because we have got to prepare ourselves for a big mistake, which doesn't eradicate those qualities, but is a shame that ever happened. ‘And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me’, which sounds pretty a weak reason for assigning his daughter to Jacob of all people. ‘Maybe you are better than anybody else.’ At any rate, Laban agrees at this point to the arrangement between them and is in no doubt about what Jacob has asked for, so that he is without excuse for what follows. If he was ever going to say that Jacob should marry the oldest, not the youngest, now would have been the time to say it. It is Jacob that has come up with the period of seven years’ service, not Laban, and it is a measure of Jacob’s love for Rachel that he should volunteer this without been asked. He has no dowry to give, so he gives his labour and he sets a high price on her.