Family feuds

Genesis Chapter 29 & 30

These 2 chapters of Genesis fit together so well that I'll cover them in the one post.

 A span of about 20 years is covered.

Jacob arrives at his uncle’s house and meets his drop dead gorgeous daughter (My paraphrase) Rachel who is tending sheep.

Laban welcomes Jacob as his own flesh and blood – We find that Laban and Jacob are quite similar characters, and in Laban I think the trickster, Jacob has met his match.

Jacob asks for Rachel’s hand in marriage, after a month of working for nothing. Jacob agrees to work for 7 years which Jacob agrees with. Uncle Laban pulls a fast one and swaps the daughter Jacob does not fancy for the one he does. 

Poor Jacob has probably been on the vino for a bit and does not notice until the next morning when he wakes up with somebody he was not expecting.

Laban then says that Jacob can still marry Rachel the following month but hast to agree to work unpaid for another 7 years.

We now get a baby race between sisters and concubines that lasts for the next chapter, which winds up with Jacob being father of 12 sons and at least 1 daughter

Jacob’s children are

-          Leah (Wife No 1) Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issahcar, Zebulan, Dinah (A daughter)

-          Bilhah – Rachel’s surrogate Dan, Naphtali,

-          Zilpah – Leah’s surrogate Gad Asher

-          Rachel (Wife No 2) – Joseph and Benjamin

Jacob then agrees to work for Laban after paying for his wives, in exchange for a portion of his flocks, (striped and spotted). Laban then quickly removes all Jacob’s wages from the flock.

Jacob however knows a trick or two about sheep and pulls a fast one on Laban and arranges for the strong young to be born speckled and striped but the weak ones plain. So Jacob becomes very rich looking after Laban's flocks 

By the way I don't know if the trick Jacob used actually works, and I really have no intention of finding out!