Jacob Serves Seven Years for Rachel. Laban Substitutes Leah and Secures Fourteen Years'service in Exchange for the Two. Apart from bits of P (Genesis 29:24; Genesis 29:28 b, Genesis 29:29) the section belongs to JE. Analysis is very uncertain. Probably Genesis 29:1 is from E, Genesis 29:2-14 from J. Opinions differ as to Genesis 29:15-30; for our purpose further analysis is unnecessary.
Jacob comes in his journey to a well, and finds three flocks waiting to be watered. It was the custom when all the flocks were gathered, for the stone to be rolled from the well's mouth and replaced after watering. Jacob has discovered that the place is Haran, and that Laban is well known to the shepherds, when Laban's daughter Rachel is seen approaching with her sheep. Fretting at the waste of time, he remonstrates with the shepherds for waiting; much of the day is still before them, let them water the sheep that they may go on grazing. That, they explain, would violate their custom. Meanwhile Rachel comes up, and Jacob, single-handed, removes the immense stone and waters her flock (cf. Exodus 2:16-21), the shepherds not interfering with a stranger capable of such a feat. Then he kissed his cousin, burst into tears, and, when his emotions had calmed down, disclosed his identity. Rachel ran back (Genesis 24:28) and told her father, who with characteristic effusiveness (Genesis 24:29-31), ran to welcome his nephew, and, having heard his story, accepted him as his kinsman. After the lapse of a month, during which Jacob had made himself useful (Genesis 29:15), and Laban had detected and measured his love for Rachel, Laban offers him a situation and inquires his terms. Jacob wanted Rachel, but he had no bride-price with which to buy her. He offers accordingly seven years'service. This Laban accepts, congratulating himself on getting so strong and efficient a servant without pay, but professing that he would prefer Jacob to any other son-in-law. It was, in fact, and is still customary, for the first cousin to have the first claim; cf. Great is the perfection of the next-of-kin marriage, quoted from the Dinkart ix. 385 by J. H. Moulton, Early Zoroastrianism, p. 337. The seven years pass, for the deeply-enamoured Jacob, like a few days, a picture of romantic love as rare in the OT as it is exquisite. At the end of the period, Jacob claims his bride. The drinking-feast was held in celebration of the wedding, the bride was brought to Jacob veiled at night; only in the morning does he learn the bitter truth that Laban had foisted on him his elder daughter, the unattractive, weak-eyed Leah, in place of the lovely Rachel with flashing eyes. The smooth swindler has his excuse ready; custom forbade the younger daughter to be wedded first, a custom studiously concealed from Jacob. He relies on the injured bridegroom to make the best of it, to create no scandal by repudiating Leah, and breaking up the feast; besides, he shall have Rachel after all when the week of Leah's festivities is over, only, of course, he must serve another seven years for her. Jacob acquiesces what else could he do? At all costs he must have Rachel, and at the end of the week he attains his desire, and takes up once more the drudgery of service without payment. Whether he felt he had been paid in his own coin we cannot say.