Jacob arrives at Laban’s house

The Jacob Cycle - Part 6

Structure

The episode of Jacob arriving at Laban’s house in Haran begins the central part of the Jacob story, a “story-within-a-story,” with the “middle-of-the-middle” being the birth of Jacob’s sons.1

A. Jacob arrives at Laban’s house
   B: Laban outwits Jacob
     C: The birth of Jacob’s sons
   B’: Jacob outwits Laban
A’. Jacob leaves Laban

There are three scenes in the episode.2

  1. Jacob meets the shepherds of Haran - Genesis 29:1-8
  2. Jacob meets Rachel - Genesis 29:9-12
  3. Jacob stays with Laban - Genesis 29:13-14

While there’s not a formal betrothal in these verses, there’s a connotation of one because of their similarity to the scene between Abraham’s servant and Rebekah at a well in Genesis 24:10-61, Moses and Zipporah in Exodus 2:15-21, and others (Ruth, essentially a book about a betrothal, links to the other betrothal stories in interesting ways).3

Jacob meets the shepherds of Haran

Into the east

1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

–Genesis 29:1 (ESV)

“Went” is literally “lifted up his feet,” a phrase that doesn’t appear anywhere else in the Bible. It could mean that Jacob has left Bethel with energy or confidence after his experience with God.4

As has been mentioned in previous parts, east is associated with separation from God in Genesis. When Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden, the cherubim were placed on the east side of the garden (Genesis 3:24.)5 Cain went away from God’s presence after he killed Abel east of Eden (Genesis 4:16.) The people involved in the building of the tower of Babel had migrated east (Genesis 11:2.) So, on one hand, Jacob is moving away from God in the cosmic geography, away from Bethel, the House of God and a gate of heaven. On the other hand, God said that he would be with him and guard him wherever he went (Genesis 28:15.)

The shepherds and the stone

2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come 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 it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” He said, 7 “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

–Genesis 29:2-8 (ESV)

The narrator explains that in the field Jacob comes to, all the flocks in the area would gather and then the shepherd’s would roll a stone away from the mouth of the well there to water the sheep. The size of the stone is “great” (gadol,) implying that all the shepherds were needed to roll it away.

Jacob has a conversation with the shepherds gathering around the well. We might be expected to think back to Isaac’s encounters with the shepherd’s in Gerar around wells. Will there be conflict here between the chosen one and the shepherds?

Instead of conflict between Jacob and the shepherds (although there might be some tension in the conversation6,) there’s conflict between the stone and the shepherds. They all must gather before there’s enough collective strength for the stone to be rolled away. They can’t “prevail” (root ykl) against it individually. This is the first time out of seven that the word “prevail” occurs in the Jacob story. The fourth time it appears - the middle occurrence - is when Jacob wrestles with God and is renamed Israel.

Jacob meets Rachel

9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.

–Genesis 29:9-12 (ESV)

During the conversation, suspense builds as Rachel approaches. Rachel arrives at the well, and we receive a hint that God has indeed gone with Jacob out of the land and Bethel. Not only has God led him to his extended family, but he gives him supernatural strength to single-handedly remove the “great” stone from the well.

We’re finding that stones are significant symbols in the Jacob story.7 At Bethel, Jacob slept on a stone and then set it up as a commemorative pillar which was linguistically tied to the stairway resting on the earth and God standing over it. From this point forward, stones serve as a reminder of God connecting heaven and earth, going with Jacob, and the promise to bring him back to the land. Interesting, the word “stone,” eben, occurs 12 times in the Jacob Cycle, the same number of sons Jacob will have.

Literally, Jacob “lifted up his voice and wept,” which is parallel to him “lifting up his feet” as he continued his journey.8 This connects God’s promises to Jacob to his present experience. God has indeed been with Jacob, and it moves Jacob to tears.

At the conclusion of this section, Rachel runs to tell her father that a relative has arrived.

Jacob stays with Laban

13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

–Genesis 29:13-14 (ESV)

In Genesis 24:29-31, Laban sees the gold ring and bracelets that Abraham’s servant gave to Rebekah and responds enthusiastically. Since later in the Jacob story it’s implied that Laban is overly concerned with material gain, an intentional question might be posed: is Laban disappointed that Jacob didn’t come with riches?9

Jacob recounts at least some part of his story to Laban. This convinces Laban that Jacob is indeed his nephew. The word “certainly,” “truly” (‘ak) might suggest that Laban begrudgingly admits that Jacob is family and allows him to stay. A month passes before the story continues. Already Rebekah’s hopes that Jacob would stay only a few days (Genesis 29:30) are dashed.10

Jacob being greeted with a kiss from Laban is ominous.11 The first kiss in the Jacob story is between Isaac and Jacob, right before Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he’s Esau. That deception led to Jacob’s journey into exile. The second was part of the greeting between Jacob and Rachel, which neatly served as a conclusion to that journey. The third, between Jacob and Laban, has made it impossible to forget the first. Jacob has yet to show remorse or repentance after his theft of the blessing. God will now use Laban to convict Jacob of his sin to form him into the kind of person he wants him to be as the chosen seed of the woman.

Conclusion

While trouble is on the horizon, this episode is one of the most positive in the Jacob Cycle. The evidence for God being with Jacob is subtle, but it’s there nonetheless, and provides an important reminder for us in our own lived experience. There’s no mention of God or Yahweh, in stark contrast to the Bethel scene where the words appeared seven and four times, respectively, but God empowering Jacob to move the stone and bringing him safely to Haran and to his mother’s family prove his presence. We, too, have received a vision of God connecting heaven and earth through Jesus. Now, as we’re being led back from exile by him, are we recognizing his help? If so, let’s confess that it’s God helping us, something Jacob will fail to do until he leaves Haran, 20 years later.

Bibliography

Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative, E-book ed. Basic Books, 2011.

Alter, Robert. Genesis: Translation and Commentary

Fokkelman, J.P. Narrative Art in Genesis. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2004.

Sailhamer, John H. Genesis. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan Academic, 2017.

Sarna, Nahum M. Genesis. The JPS Torah Commentary. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989.

Wenham, Gordon John. Genesis 16-50, Volume 2. World Biblical Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan Academic, 2017.

  1. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 227. ↩

  2. Ibid. ↩

  3. Alter, Art of Biblical Narrative, 65 ↩

  4. Sarna, Genesis, 201. ↩

  5. Sailhamer, Genesis, 139. ↩

  6. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 229. ↩

  7. Fokkelman, Narrative Art, 125. ↩

  8. Alter, Genesis, see footnote 1 on chapter 29. ↩

  9. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 230. ↩

  10. Ibid. ↩

  11. Sarna, Genesis, 202-203. ↩

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