And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
Gave him Rachel ... also. It is evident that the marriage of both sisters took place nearly about the same time, and that such a connection was then allowed, though afterward prohibited (Leviticus 18:18). There was not only bigamy, but polygamy on a larger scale than has hitherto appeared in the sacred record. Those marriages, however, must not be judged of by the rules of the Christian, or even the Mosaic, code of morality. For although the will of the Creator was sufficiently indicated by the union of a single pair at first, a clear definite marriage law, specifying the prohibited degrees of consanguinity had not been enacted, and the idea of incest, therefore, must be excluded.