Gen_29:1-35; Gen_30:1-43; Gen_31:1-55
Pgs.96- 108
Ch.28-31
SECTION VII.
VAYETSE YAAKOV. AND Jakob went forth from Beersheva, and went to Haran; and hearrived at a place, and lodged there, because the sun had gone. And he took ofthe stones of the place, and set his pillow, and lay down in that place. And hedreamed: and, behold, a ladder was planted in the earth, and the head of itreached unto the height of heaven; and, behold, the angels of the Lord ascendedand descended upon it; and, behold, the Glory of the Lord stood above it, andHe said, I am the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Izhak. The landwhere thou sleepest, unto thee will I give it, and unto thy sons. And thy sonsshall be many as the dust of the earth, and shall prevail to the west and tothe east, and to the north and to the south; and through thee shall all thekindreds of the earth be blessed, and through thy sons. And, behold, My Wordshall be for thy help, and I will keep thee in every place whither thou goest,and I will bring thee again to this land; for I will not leave thee until Ihave done what I say to thee. And Jakob awoke from his sleep, and said, Verilythe Glory of the Lord dwelleth in this place, and I knew it not. And he fearedand said, How awful is this place! This place is not common (ground), but aplace where there is pleasantness before the Lord; and this is nigh the gate ofheaven. And Jakob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone which he hadset for his pillow, and set it up, a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.And he called the name of that place The House of God (Beth-el). But Luzwas the name of the city at the first. And Jakob vowed a vow, saying, If theWord of the Lord will be my help, and will keep me in that way in which I go,and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to wear, and bring me again in peaceto the Lord shall be my God. And at this stone which I have set up (as) apillar, will I worship before the Lord; and of all that Thou shalt give me, thetenth will I separate before Thee.
XXIX. AndJakob lifted up his feet, and came to the land of the children of the East. Andhe looked, and saw a well in a field; and, behold, three flocks of sheep lyingnear it, because from that well they watered the flocks; and a great stone wasupon the mouth of the well. And thither all the flocks were gathered together;and they withdrew the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock,and returned the stone upon the mouth of the well unto its place. And Jakobsaid to them, My brethren, whence are you? And they said, We are from Haran.And Jakob said to them, Know you Laban bar Nachor? And they said, We know. Andhe said, Hath he peace? And they said, Peace; and, behold, Rahel his daughtercometh with the flock. And he said, Behold, the day is yet great, it is nottime to gather the cattle; water the sheep, and go to the pasture. And theysaid, We cannot till all the flocks are gathered, and we remove the stone fromthe mouth of the well, and water the flock. While he spake with them, Rahelcame, with the flock of her father; for she was a shepherdess. And it was, whenJakob saw Rahel the daughter of Laban, the brother of his mother, and the flockof Laban the brother of his mother, that Jakob went near, and withdrew thestone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother’sbrother. And Jakob kissed Rahel, and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jakobshowed Rahel that he was the son of her father’s sister, and that he was theson of Revekah. And she ran and showed to her father. And it was when Labanheard the hearing of Jakob the son of his sister, that he ran to meet him, andembraced him, and kissed him, and brought him into his house; and he narratedto Laban all these words. And Laban said to him, Thou art, however, my near(kinsman), and thou art my flesh. And he abode with him a month of days. AndLaban said to Jakob, Because thou art my brother, shalt thou serve me fornothing? Tell me, what shall be thy wages? And Laban had two daughters, thename of the elder Leah, and the name of the younger Rahel. And the eyes of Leahwere beautiful;[1] <l > but Rahel was admirable in form, andbeautiful in aspect. And Jakob loved Rahel, and he said, I will serve theeseven years for Rahel thy younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better that Igive her to thee than give her to another man; reside with me. And Jakob servedfor Rahel seven years; and they were in his eyes as a few days, inasmuch as heloved her. And Jakob said to Laban, Give me my wife; for the days of my serviceare fulfilled, and I will go to her. And Laban assembled all the men of theplace, and made a feast. And it was in the evening, that he took Leah hisdaughter, and introduced her to him, and he entered to her. And Laban gave herZilpha his handmaid unto Leah his daughter, to attend on her. And it was in themorning, and, behold, she was Leah! And he said to Laban, What is this thatthou hast done to me? Was it not for Rahel that I served thee? and why hastthou been false with me? And Laban said, It is not so done in our place, togive the younger before the elder. Fulfil this week, and I will give thee alsothat, for the service that thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. AndJakob did so, and fulfilled the week of this; and he gave him Rahel hisdaughter to be his wife. And Laban gave to Rahel his daughter Bilhah herhandmaid to wait upon her. And he went in also to Rahel, and he loved Rahelmore than Leah. And he served yet with him seven other years. And the Lord sawthat Leah was hated, and He gave her to conceive, but Rahel was barren. AndLeah conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben;[2] <l > forshe said, Because my affiiction was manifest before the Lord; for now will myhusband love me. And she conceived again and bare a son, and she said, Becauseit was heard before the Lord that I had hatred, and He gave me this also; andshe called his name Shemeon.[3] <l > And she conceived again and bare ason: and she said, This time will my husband adhere to me; for I have born himthree sons: therefore she called his name Levi.[4] <l > And she conceivedagain and bare a son; and she said, This time will I give praise before theLord: therefore she called his nameJehudah.[5] <l > And she ceased (stood) from bearing.
XXX. AndRahel saw that she did not bear unto Jakob; and Rahel envied her sister, andshe said to Jakob, Give me children; and if not, I die. And the anger of Jakobwas incensed against Rahel, and he said, Why ask of me? Is it not before theLord that thou shouldest ask, who hath denied thee the generation of the womb?And she said, Behold my handmaid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she shall bear,and I also shall nourish (children), and be builded up from her. And she gave himBilhah her handmaid to wife; and Jakob went in unto her, and Bilhah conceived,and bare to Jakob a son. And Rahel said, The Lord hath judged me, and hath alsoreceived my prayer, and given me a son: therefore she called his name Dan.[6] <l >And Bilhah the handmaid of Rahel conceived again, and bare a second son toJakob. And Rahel said, The Lord hath received my request: when I entreated inmy prayer, I desired that I might have offspring as my sister, and also it isgiven me. And she called his name Naphtali.[7] <l > And Leah saw that shehad ceased from bearing, and she took Zilpha her handmaid, and gave her toJakob to wife. And Zilpha the handmaid of Leah bare a son to Jakob, and Leahsaid, There cometh prosperity; and she called his name Gad.[8] <l > AndZilpha the handmaid of Leah bare a second son to Jakob; and Leah said, Praiseshall be mine; now will women praise me; and she called his name Asher.[9] <l >And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes[10] <l >in the field, and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rahel said to Leah,Give me now of thy son’s mandrakes. And she said to her, Is it a little thatthou hast taken my husband, and thou wilt take also my son’s mandrakes? AndRahel said, Therefore shall he lie with thee at night for thy son’s mandrakes.And Jakob came in from the field at evening, and Leah went out to anticipatehim, and said, With me thou wilt go in, because with hire have I hired thee,with the mandrakes of my son; and he lay with her that night. And the Lordreceived the prayer of Leah, and she conceived, and bare to Jakob a fifth son.And Leah said, The Lord hath given me my reward, because I gave my handmaid tomy husband. And she called his name Issakar.[11] <l > And Leah conceivedagain, and bare a sixth son to Jakob. And Leah said, The Lord hath given me agood portion.[12] <l > This time will the habitation of myhusband be with me, because I have born him six sons: therefore she called hisname Zebulon.[13] <l > And afterward she bare a daughter,and called her name Dinah.[14] <l > And the remembrance of Rahel camebefore the Lord, and the Lord received her prayer, and gave her to conceive.And she conceived and bare a son, and she said, The Lord hath taken up[15] <l >my reproach. And she called his name Joseph,[16] <l > saying, The Lordshall add to me another son. And it was when Rahel had born Joseph, that Jakob said to Laban, Send meaway, that I may go to my place, and to my land. Give me my wives and mychildren, for whom I have served thee, that I may go: for thou knowest theservice with which I have served thee. And Laban said to him, If now I havefound grace in thine eyes, I have proved that the Lord hath blessed me for thysake. And he said, Certify[17] <l > thy wages with me, and I will give.And he said to him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and what thy flocks havebeen with me; for thou hadst few before me, and they have increased into amultitude: and the Lord hath blessed thee for my sake.[18] <l > Butnow, what shall I do also for my (own) house? And he said, What shall I givethee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me anything; but if thou wilt do withme this matter, I will return, and, pasturing thy flocks, will keep (them). Iwill pass through all thy flocks to-day, and set apart from them everylamb streaked and speckled, and every black lamb among the lambs, and thestreaked and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. And myrighteousness shall be testified in the day following, when thou wilt come uponmy reward that shall be before thee: every one which is not streaked orspeckled among the goats, and black among the lambs, that shall be (as if)stolen by me. And Laban said, Let it be according to thy word. And he set apartthat day the he-goats of various colour, and all the goats which werespeckled or spotted, every one which had (some) white in him, and all that wereblack among the lambs: and he gave them into the hand of his sons. And he set awalk of three days between them and Jakob; and Jakob pastured the flock ofLaban which remained. And Jakob took to him rods of white poplars, and of almond,(or hazel,) and of plane tree, and peeled in them white peelings, (so that,where) peeled, the white which was in the rods appeared. And he fixed the rodsthat he had peeled in the canals, in the place of the watering of waters, theplace to which they brought the flocks to drink, to be over against the flocks, that they might be incited whenthey came to drink. And the sheep were incited before the rods, and the sheepbrought forth with chequered feet and streaked. And Jakob separated the lambs,and set before the sheep which were various-coloured and all that wereblack among the sheep of Laban; and placed them for himself a flock apart, notmixing them with the sheep of Laban. And it was that whenever the early (prime)sheep conceived, Jakob placed the rods before the eyes of the sheep in thecanals, that they might conceive before the rods: but before the late sheep hedid not place them. And (so) the late ones were Laban’s, and the prime onesJacob’s. And the man increased very greatly, and had a multitude of flocks, andhandmaids, and servants, and camels, and asses.
XXXI. Andhe heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken all that was ourfather’s; and of that which was our father’s he hath gotten all thesepossessions. And Jakob saw the looks of Laban,[19] <l > and, behold, theywere not with him as yesterday, and the time before. And the Lord said toJacob, Return to thy country and to thy native (place): and My Word shall befor thy help. And Jacob sent and called Rahel and Leah to the field with hisflocks: and he said to them, I see the looks of your father, that they are notwith me as yesterday and the time before; and the God of my father hath been tomy help. And you know that with all my strength I have served your father; butyour father hath lied to me, and hath changed my wages ten times; but the Lordhath not permitted him to hurt me. If now he said, The streaked shall be thywages; then all the flock bare streaked: and if now he said, The chequeredshall be thy wages; all the flock bare chequered. And the Lord hath separatedthem from the cattle of your father, and hath given (them) to me. And it was atthe time when the flocks conceived, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream,and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the flock were chequered, streaked, andspeckled. And the angel of the Lord said to me in a dream, Jacob. And I said,Behold, I am. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams whichleap upon the flock are chequered, streaked, and speckled: because all thatLaban hath done to thee is manifest before Me. I am Eloha,[20] <l > whoappeared to thee at Bethel, where thou didst anoint the pillar, and wherebefore Me thou didst swear the oath: arise now, go from this land, and returnto the land of thy birth. And Rahel and Leah answered and said to him, Have weyet a portion or inheritance in our father’s house? Are we not accounted asstrangers by him? for he hath sold us, and hath devoured our money also.Therefore, all the wealth that the Lord hath separated from our father is oursand our children’s: and now all that the Lord hath said to thee, do. And Jakobarose, and lifted up his sons and his wives upon camels; and led all his herdsand all his substance which he had obtained, his herds and his substance whichhe had obtained in Padan Aram, to go unto Izhak his father in the land ofKenaan. And Laban had gone to shear his flock: and Rahel took the images[21] <l >that were her father’s. And Jakob concealed from Laban the Aramite, and showedhim not that he went. And he went, he and all that were his; and he arose andpassed the Phrat, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead. And it wasshown to Laban on the third day that Jakob had gone. And he took his brethrenwith him, and Pursued after him; going seven days; and he overtook him in theMountain of Gilead. And a word came from before the Lord to Laban the Aramitein a dream of the night, and He said to him, Beware, lest thou speak with Jakobfrom good to evil. And Laban overtook Jakob; and Jakob had spread his tent inthe mountain; and Laban made his brethren abide in the mountain of Gilead. AndLaban said to Jacob; What hast thou done, that thou hast hidden from me, andtaken away my daughters, as captives of the sword? Why didst thou conceal thygoing, (or conceal thyseIf to go,) and didst hide it from me, and not show me,that I might then have sent thee away with mirth, and with hymns,[22] <l >and with tambourines, and with harps? Nor didst thou suffer me[23] <l > tokiss my sons and my daughters. Now hast thou done foolishly. It is in the powerof my bands to do evil with thee: but the God of thy father spake to me in theevening, saying, Beware lest thou speak to Jakob from good to evil. And now,(though) going thou wouldest go, because desiring thou bast desired the houseof thy father, why hast thou taken my religion?[24] <l > AndJakob answered and said to Laban, Because I feared; for I said, Lest thoushouldst take away thy daughters from me. The place where thou shalt find thyreligious things shall not abide: before our brethren ascertain thou what ofthine is with me, and take to thee. But Jakob knew not that Rahel had carriedthem away. And Laban entered into the tent of Leah,[25] <l > andinto the tent of the two concubines, but found not; and he went forth from thetent of Leah, and entered the tent of Rahel. But Rahel had taken the images,and laid them in the panniers[26] <l > of the camels, and sat upon them.And Laban searched all the tent, but found not. And she said to her father, Letit not be displeasing in the eyes of my lord, that I am not able to rise beforethee; for the way of women is upon me. And he scrutinized, but found not theimages. And Jakob was angry, and contended with Laban. And Jakob answered andsaid to Laban, What is my guilt my crime, that thou hast pursued after me?Now that thou hast searched all my things,[27] <l > what hast thou found,of all the things of thy house? Set it here before my brethren and thybrethren, and they shall decide between us both. These twenty years have I beenwith thee; thy ewes and thy goats have not failed, and the rams of thy flock Ihave not eaten. The wounded I have not brought to thee; what was deficient innumber, from my hand hast thou required it. I have watched by day, and I havewatched by night. (Thus) have I been; in the day the heat devoured me, and thefrost came down upon me at night, and sleep passed away from my eyes. Thesetwenty years have I served in thy house; fourteen years for thy two daughters;and six years for thy sheep; and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Unlessthe God of my fathers, the God of Abraham, and He whom Izhak hath feared,[28] <l >had been my helper, even now thou hadst sent me away empty: but my labour, andthe travail of my hands, have been manifest before the Lord, and He rebukedthee in the evening. And Laban answered and said to Jakob, The daughters are mydaughters, and the sons my sons, and the sheep are my sheep, and all whatsoeverthou seest is mine; and to these, my daughters, what can I do this day, or unto their children which they haveborn? And now come, let us enter into a covenant, I and thou, and it shall befor a witness between me and thee. And Jakob took a stone, and set it up as apillar. And Jakob said to his brethren, Collect stones; and they took stones,and made a mound,[29] <l > and ate there upon the mound. AndLaban called it Yegar Sahadutha,[30] <l > but Jakob called it Gal-Ed.[31] <l >And Laban said, This mound testifieth between me and thee to-day.Therefore he called the name of it The Heap of Witness, and The Observatory;[32] <l >for he said, The Word of the Lord will observe between me and thee, when we arehidden (each) man from his neighbour. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or ifthou shalt take wives over my daughters, no man is with us; see, the Word ofthe Lord is witness between me and thee. And Laban said to Jakob, Behold thismound and this pillar, which thou bast erected between me and thee. This moundand pillar are a witness, that I will not pass over this mound to thee; andthat thou shalt not pass over this mound and this pillar, to do me evil. TheGod of Abraham and the God of Nachor shall judge between us, the God of theirfathers.[33] <l > And Jakob sware by Him whom Izhakhis father feared.[34] <l > And Jakob sacrificed victims in themountain, and called his brethren to eat bread; and they ate bread, andtabernacled in the mountain. And Laban arose in the morning, and kissed hissons and his daughters, and blessed them, and went; and Laban returned to hisplace. And Jakob went on his way, and the angels of the Lord met him. And whenJakob saw them, he said, This is a host[35] <l > from before the Lord;and he called the name of the place Mahanaim.
[1] Comp. Songi. 15.
[1]"Manifestation."
[1]"Hearing."
[1]"Union."
[1]"Praise."
[1]"Judgement."
[1]"Wrestled for."
[1]"Fortune, prosperity." In Chaldee, "a fortunate star."
[1]"Happiness."
[1]Yavruchin. Hebrew, dudaim. Septuagint, "apples of mandrakes" ("atropamandragira," Linnaeus). The Samaritanexpression is as the Hebrew, and the Peschito as the Targum.
[1]"Wages."
[1] Sam. Vers."God hath helped me with good help."
[1]"Habitation."
[1]"Judgement."
[1] Or,"cleansed away." See Castel, voce Kenash.
[1]"Addition."
[1] Or,"distinguish."
[1] Sam. Vers."through my help."
[1] Or,"the aspect of the looks of Laban."
[1] Sam. Vers."I am the Most Mighty."
[1]Tsilmanaia. The word in the Hebrew text (teraphim) is probably from the Aramaic teraph, "to inquire."
[1] Sam. Vers."with chief or great things" (rabbonim).
[1] Sam. Vers."nor didst thou expect (or wait) that I might kiss."
[1]Dachatli.
[1] Sam. Vers."and diligently searched."
[1] The Hebrewkar answers to the Arabic kuron, "a pannier, cradle, or chair, placed on eachside the camel."
[1] Or,"vessels."
[1] Sam. Vers."the redeemer of Izhak."
[1]Degura, "a cumulus or mound;" from deger, Heb. dagar, "to collect, pile up."
[1] "TheHeap of Whitness." The olddest specimen of Aramaic extent.
[1] Hebrew,"The heap of Witness."
[1]Sakutha. Chald. from Seka, aspexit, contemplatusest. The Hebrew Mizpeh.
[1] Sam. Vers."the God of Abraham."
[1] Sam. Vers."by the Redeemer of his father Izhak."
[1] Or,"camp."
[1] <l > Comp. Song i. 15.
[2] <l > "Manifestation."
[3] <l > "Hearing."
[4] <l > "Union."
[5] <l > "Praise."
[6] <l > "Judgement."
[7] <l > "Wrestled for."
[8] <l > "Fortune, prosperity." InChaldee, "a fortunate star."
[9] <l > "Happiness."
[10] <l >Yavruchin. Hebrew, dudaim. Septuagint, "apples of mandrakes" ("atropamandragira," Linnaeus). The Samaritanexpression is as the Hebrew, and the Peschito as the Targum.
[11] <l > "Wages."
[12] <l > Sam. Vers. "God hath helped mewith good help."
[13] <l > "Habitation."
[14] <l > "Judgement."
[15] <l > Or, "cleansed away." SeeCastel, voce Kenash.
[16] <l > "Addition."
[17] <l > Or, "distinguish."
[18] <l > Sam. Vers. "through myhelp."
[19] <l > Or, "the aspect of the looks ofLaban."
[20] <l > Sam. Vers. "I am the MostMighty."
[21] <l >Tsilmanaia. The word in the Hebrew text (teraphim) is probably from the Aramaic teraph, "to inquire."
[22] <l > Sam. Vers. "with chief or greatthings" (rabbonim).
[23] <l > Sam. Vers. "nor didst thouexpect (or wait) that I might kiss."
[24] <l >Dachatli.
[25] <l > Sam. Vers. "and diligentlysearched."
[26] <l > The Hebrew kar answers to the Arabic kuron, "a pannier, cradle, or chair, placed on eachside the camel."
[27] <l > Or, "vessels."
[28] <l > Sam. Vers. "the redeemer ofIzhak."
[29] <l >Degura, "a cumulus or mound;" from deger, Heb. dagar, "to collect, pile up."
[30] <l > "The Heap of Whitness."The olddest specimen of Aramaic extent.
[31] <l > Hebrew, "The heap ofWitness."
[32] <l >Sakutha. Chald. from Seka, aspexit, contemplatusest. The Hebrew Mizpeh.
[33] <l > Sam. Vers. "the God ofAbraham."
[34] <l > Sam. Vers. "by the Redeemer ofhis father Izhak."
[35] <l > Or, "camp."