1 Then Jacob [a]went on his journey, and came to the land of the children of the east.
2 And he looked, and found a well in the field, and found three flocks of sheep lying there by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks; and saw there was a massive stone upon the mouth of the well.
3 And there were all the flocks gathered; so they rolled the stone from the well-mouth, and watered the sheep, and returned the stone again to it’s place upon the mouth of the well.
4 And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where do you come from?” And they said, “We come from Haran.”
5 And he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”
6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well; and behold, Rachel his daughter comes with the sheep.”
7 And he said, “Soon it will be mid-day, not yet time for the cattle to be gathered together; go now and water the sheep, and feed them.”
8 And they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.”
9 While he was speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she kept them.
10 And when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.
11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.
13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things.
14 And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.
15 And Laban said unto Jacob, “Because you are my brother, you shouldn’t serve me for nothing. Tell me, what shall your wages be?”
16 And Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17 And Leah’s eyes were tender; but Rachel was beautiful and well-favored.
18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to another man; abide with me.”
20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed to him but a few days, for the love he had for her.
21 And Jacob said unto Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.”
22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
24 And Laban gave Zilpah his handmaid unto his daughter Leah for a handmaid.
25 And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did not I serve you for Rachel? Why then have you beguiled me?”
26 And Laban said, “It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the first-born.
27 Fulfil the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you shall serve with me yet another seven years.”
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her handmaid.
30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven more years.
31 And the LORD saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
32 And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name [b]Reuben: for she said, “Because the LORD has seen my suffering; for now my husband will love me.”
33 And she conceived again, and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD [c]has heard that I am hated, he has given me another son also.” and she called his name [d]Simeon.
34 And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, “Now this time will my husband be [e]joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons; therefore was his name called Levi.”
35 And she conceived again, and bore a son, and she said, “This time will I [f]praise the LORD!” therefore she called his name [g]Judah; and she left off bearing.
[1] Hebrew lifted up his feet.
[32] That is, See, a son.
[33] Hebrew shama.
[33] Hebrew Shimeon.
[34] From the root lavah.
[35] From the Hebrew hodah.
[35] Hebrew Jehudah.
Selected commentary.
h.וישא יעקב רגליו THEN JACOB LIFTED UP HIS FEET — As soon as he received the good tidings that he was assured of God’s protection his heart lifted up his feet and he walked swiftly. Thus is it explained in (Genesis Rabbah 70:8).
h.ישקו העדרים THEY GAVE THE DROVES DRINK — the shepherds used to water the flocks: this verse uses an elliptical phrase (omitting the subject “the shepherds”).
h.ונאספו [AND THITHER WERE ALL THE DROVES] GATHERED — they regularly gathered there because the stone was a heavy one
h.וגללו AND THEY ROLLED THE STONE — it means and they used to roll. In the Targum it is therefore translated by ומגנדרין (a participle). The idea of frequentative action is expressed indifferently by the imperfect (future) or the perfect (past) because every action that occurs continually, has already happened and will again happen,
h.והשיבו AND RESTORED [THE STONE] — In the Targum it is translated by ומתיבין(a participle) — and they were always putting back.
h.באה עם הצאן IS COMING WITH THE FLOCK — The accent in the word באה is on the א, and the Targum is אתיא (a participle), “she is coming”; but in (v. 9) “And Rachel came (באה)”, the accent is on the first syllable, on the ב, and the Targum is אתת, “she came”. The former expresses the meaning “she is doing something” (a participle), the latter expresses the meaning “she has done something’ (a past tense).
h.הן עוד היום גדול LO, IT IS YET HIGH DAY — Because he saw them lying down he thought that they wished to take the cattle home, and that they should not graze any longer. He, therefore, said to them, “Lo, it is yet high day” — meaning, if you are hired men you have not yet finished your day’s task, and if these are your own cattle, nevertheless — 'לא עת האסף המקנה וגו IT IS NOT YET TIME FOR THE CATTLET TO BE GATHERED TOGETHER TO TAKE THEM HOME (Genesis Rabbah 70:11).
h.לא נוכל WE CANNOT — give them water because the stone is a heavy one.
h.וגללו AND THEY ROLL AWAY — This word is rendered in the Targum by ויגנדרון “and they will roll away” (whilst in Genesis 5:3 it is rendered by an Aramaic participle) because the verb has here a future meaning.
h.ויגש יעקב ויגל JACOB STEPPED NEAR AND ROLLED [THE STONE] - as easily as one draws the stopper from the mouth of a bottle — thus showing you how strong he was. (Bereishit Rabbah 70:12)
h.ויבך AND HE WEPT - because he foresaw by the Holy Spirit that she would not be buried with him in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis Rabbah 70:12). Another explanation is: he wept because he came with empty hands. He thought: Eliezer, my grandfather’s servant, had with him rings, bracelets and all good things, whilst I have nothing with me (Genesis Rabbah 70:12). This was because Eliphaz Esau’s son pursued Jacob by his father’s order to kill him, and overtook him. But because Eliphaz had been brought up on Isaac’s lap, (cp. Deuteronomy Rabbah 2:13) he withheld his hand. He said to him (Jacob), “But what shall I do as regards my father’s order?” Jacob replied, “Take all I have and you can say that I am dead for a poor man may be accounted as dead“ (Nedarim 64b).
h.כי אחי אביה הוא HE WAS HER FATHER’S BROTHER — near kin to her father, as (Genesis 13:8) “for we are men, brothers (אחים)” (i. e. near kin). A Midrashic explanation is that he meant: if he (Laban) intends to practice deceit upon me then I am his brother (a match for him) in deception; if, however, he is an honest man then I, too, am the son of his sister, the pious Rebekah (Genesis Rabbah 70:13).
h.ותגד לאביה AND SHE TOLD HER FATHER, because her mother was dead and she had no one to tell except him (Bereishit Rabbah 70:13).
h.וירץ לקראתו HE RAN TOWARDS HIM — thinking that he was laden with money, for the servant of that household (Eliezer) had come there with ten camels fully laden (Bereishit Rabbah 70:13).
h.ויחבק AND EMBRACED HIM — When he saw that he had nothing with him, he thought, “Perhaps he has brought gold coins and they are hidden away in his bosom!”
h.וינשק לו HE KISSED HIM — he thought, “Perhaps he has brought pearls (or precious stones, in general) and they are in his mouth!” (Genesis Rabbah 70:13)
h.ויספר ללבן HE TOLD LABAN that he had come only because he was forced to do so by his brother, and that all his money had been taken from him.
h.אך עצמי ובשרי SURELY THOU ART MY BONE AND MY FLESH — Really, I have no reason to take you into my house, since you have brought nothing with you; but because of our relationship I will put up with you for “the space of a month”. Thus, indeed, he did, but even this was not for nothing, for he tended Laban’s sheep.
h.הכי אחי אתה This is a question: — IS IT BECAUSE THOU ART MY BROTHER THAT THOU SHOULDST SERVE ME FOR NOUGHT?
h.ועבדתני is the same in sense as ותעבדני THAT THOU SHOULDST SERVE ME. So, too, in the case of every verb in the past tense, if one adds as prefix a ו it may change the verb to the future.
h.רכות TENDER — She thought she would have to fall to the lot of Esau and she therefore wept continually, because everyone said, “Rebekah has two sons, Laban has two daughters — the elder daughter for the elder son, the younger daughter for the younger son” (Genesis Rabbah 70:16).
h.תאר FORM — this denotes the shape (outline) of the face, just as the verb formed from the same root in (Isaiah 44:13) “he marks it out (יתארחו) with a pencil” old French compas.
h.מראה OF BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE — this denotes the beauty of her features (a good complexion).
h.אעבדך שבע שנים I WILL SERVE THEE SEVEN YEARS — These are the “few days” of which his mother had spoken to him (27:44)): “And thou shalt tarry with him a few days”. You can see that this is so, for it is written (v. 20) “And they (the seven years) were in his eyes (i.e. according to his view) the few days” of which his mother had spoken (Genesis Rabbah 70:17).
h.ברחל בתך הקטנה (literally, for Rachel, thy daughter, the younger one) — What reason was there for mentioning all these detailed descriptions of Rachel? Because he (Jacob) knew that he (Laban) was a deceiver. He said to him, “I will serve thee for Rachel”: and should you say that I mean any other Rachel out of the street, therefore I say “your daughter”. Should you say, “I will change Leah’s name and call her Rachel”, I say “your younger one”. In spite of this, however, all these precautions did not avail, for he did actually deceive him (Genesis Rabbah 70:17).
h.מלאו ימי MY DAYS ARE FULFILLED — which my mother told me to remain with you. And another explanation is: MY DAYS ARE FULFILLED for I am now eighty-four years old and when shall I beget twelve tribes? That is what he meant by adding “that I may go in unto her”; for surely even the commonest of people would not use such an expression. But he said this because his mind was intent upon having issue (to fulfil his mission of rearing children who would carry on the religious traditions of his fathers) (Genesis Rabbah 70:18).
h.ויהי בבקר והנה הוא לאה AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT IN THE MORNING, BEHOLD, IT WAS LEAH — But at night it was not Leah (i. e. he failed to recognise that it was Leah) because Jacob had given Rachel certain secret signs by which they could at all times recognise one another, and when Rachel saw that they were about to bring Leah to him for the marriage ceremony, she thought, “My sister may now be put to shame”, and she therefore readily transmitted these signs to her (Megillah 13b).
h.מלא שבע זאת FULFIL THE WEEK OF THIS ONE — The word is in the construct state for it is punctuated with Sheva, so that the meaning is “the seven days of this woman”, referring to the seven days of the marriage feast. Such is the statement in the Talmud Yerushalmi Moed Katan 1:7. It is impossible to say that it means an actual week, (i. e. a calendar week), so that it would mean “finish this week” in the sense “wait until this week be ended”) — for, if so, the ש should be punctuated with Patach (Rashi terms our Kametz a Patach) for the noun must be in the absolute state. Then, again, the word שָׁבֻעַ is masculine — as it is written (Deuteronomy 16:9) “Seven (שבעה) weeks shalt thou number unto thyself” (and here we should have had שָׁבֻעַ זֶה). Consequently the word שבוע can only mean “a period of seven days” old French septaine (cf. Rashi on Exodus 10:22).
h.ונתנה לך AND WE WILL GIVE THEE — The verb is plural 1st pers. like (נרדה) (Genesis 11:7) “let us go down”, ונבלה “and let us confuse and (Genesis 11:3) ונשרפה “and let us burn”: so, also here, it is a form of וְנִתֵּן “and we will give”.
h.גם את זאת THIS ONE ALSO we shall give to you immediately after the seven days of the marriage-feast and you may serve for her after marriage with her.
h.עוד שבע שנים אחרות YET SEVEN OTHER YEARS — Scripture adds the apparently redundant word אחרות another seven years, for the purpose of comparing them to the preceding seven years. — Even as he had worked faithfully during the earlier period (not anticipating any deception on Laban’s part), so he worked faithfully during the latter period, although he (Laban) had practised this deception on him (Genesis Rabbah 70:20).
h.ותקרא שמו ראובן AND SHE CALLED HIS NAME REUBEN — Our Rabbis explained it thus: she said, “See (ראו) the difference between (בין) my son and my father-in-law’s son who himself sold the birthright to Jacob and yet wished to kill him afterwards. This (my son) did not sell it (his birthright) to Joseph (it must be remembered that Joseph being the founder of two tribes was regarded as the first-born of Jacob’s sons since the eldest son took a double portion in the father’s property), yet he did not raise any protest to him being regarded as the first-born and not only did he not raise a protest but he even wished to take him out of the pit and so rescue him from death (Berakhot 7b).
h.הפעם ילוה אישי THIS TIME WILL MY HUSBAND BECOME ATTACHED TO ME — Because the Matriarchs were prophetesses and knew that twelve tribes would issue from Jacob and that he would have four wives, she said, “From now he will have no fault to find with me, for I have assumed my full share in giving him children” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayetzei 9).
h.על כן THEREFORE — Wherever in the case of the names given to Jacob’s sons the word “therefore” is used, that tribe had a numerous population (Genesis Rabbah 71:4), Levi forming an exception, because the Ark decimated them.
h.קרא שמו לוי [THEREFORE] WAS HIS NAME CALLED LEVI (literally, he called his name) — Of all of them (the sons) it is written “And she called”, but of this one Scripture writes “he called!” There is a Midrashic statement in Deuteronomy Rabbah that the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Gabriel who brought him (Levi) into His presence. He called him by this name and gave him the twenty-four perquisites with which the priesthood was favoured, and because He gave him these perquisites as an accompaniment (לוהו) He called him Levi (accompanied).
h.הפעם אודה NOW WILL I PRAISE [THE LORD] — because I have assumed more than my share, from now on I should praise God (Genesis Rabbah 71:4).