The night before Jacob crossed the Jabbok River, he “ wrestled with God” and was given the name “Israel” along with God’s blessing. He still feared Esau’s anger, and he sent gifts to satisfy him before he arrived. As he drew closer home, Jacob knew that he would have to face Esau again. As they were leaving Laban’s house, Rachel stole her father’s teraphim and lied about having them (Genesis 31). Jacob and Leah had six sons and a daughter Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bore Jacob two sons Jacob and Rachel had two sons together and Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, bore Jacob another two sons (Genesis 35:23–36).Īfter twenty years with Laban, Jacob and Leah and Rachel, now very wealthy, moved their family back to Canaan. In the end, Jacob fathered twelve sons and a daughter.
Genesis 30:16 says, “When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, ‘You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.’ So he lay with her that night,” and Leah became pregnant. In fact, at one time the wives bartered over the right to sleep with Jacob. There developed an intense rivalry between the two wives. God compensated for the lack of love Leah received by enabling her to have children and closing Rachel’s womb for a time (Genesis 29:31). Jacob showed favoritism to Rachael and loved her more than Leah. In exchange for fourteen years of labor, Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel. In an ironic twist, the deceiver Jacob had himself been deceived. Laban then said Jacob could still have Rachel in exchange for another seven years of work (Genesis 29:21–30). So it was official: Jacob and Leah were to stay married. Jacob protested, but Laban argued that it wasn’t the custom to give the younger daughter in marriage first.
On the night that Jacob and Rachel were to be married, Laban gave Rachel’s older sister, Leah, to him as a wife instead. Laban agreed, but after seven years, he deceived Jacob. Jacob soon fell in love with Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel, and agreed to work for Laban seven years in exchange for marriage to her (Genesis 29:16–20). Laban offered his nephew Jacob a place to stay.
It was at Laban’s that Jacob met Leah and Rachel. At the time, Jacob feared his twin brother, Esau, would kill him (Genesis 27:41–46). Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, fled to his mother’s brother Laban. The complicated story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel comprises one of the larger sections of Genesis and includes much information relevant to the history of the Jewish people.
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