The Pulpit Commentaries
Genesis 29:1-14
EXPOSITION
Then Jacob went on his journey (literally, lifted up his feet—a graphic description of traveling. Inspired by new hopes, and conscious of loftier aims than when he fled from Beersheba, the lonely furtive departed from Bethel), and came into the land of the people of the east—literally, the land of the sons of the east, i.e. Mesopotamia, about 450 miles distant from Beersheba.
And he looked (either to discover where he was, or in search of water), and behold a well in the field,—not the well at which Eliezer's caravan halted, which was a well for the village maidens, situated in front of the town, and approached by steps (vide Genesis 14:1.), but a well in the open field for the use of flocks, and covered at the time of Jacob's arrival with a huge stone—and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it. A frequent Oriental scene (cf. Genesis 14:11; Exodus 2:16). "Who that has traveled much in this country has not often arrived at a well in the heat of the day which was surrounded with numerous flocks of sheep waiting to be watered? I once saw such a scene in the burning plains of Northern Syria. Half-naked, fierce-looking men were drawing up water in leather buckets; flock after flock was brought up, watered, and sent away; and after all the men had ended their work, then several women and girls brought up their flocks, and drew water for them. Thus it was with Jethro's daughters; and thus, no doubt, it would have been with Rachel if Jacob had not rolled away the stone and watered her sheep". For out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. "Most of the cisterns are covered with a large thick, flat stone, in the center of which a hole is cut, which forms the mouth of the cistern. This hole, in many instances, we found covered with a heavy stone, to the removal of which two or three men were requisite".
And thither were all the flecks gathered. "Fifteen minutes later we came to a large well in a valley among the swells, fitted up with troughs and reservoirs, with flocks waiting around". And they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, find watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. From the middle of Genesis 29:2 the words are parenthetical, the watering of the flocks not having taken place till Rachel had arrived (Genesis 29:9) and Jacob had uncovered the well (Genesis 29:10).
And Jacob said unto them (the shepherds of the three flocks), My brethren (a friendly salutation from one who was himself a shepherd), whence be ye? Anticipating that their reply would reveal his whereabouts. And they said, Of Haran are we. This could scarcely fail to remind Jacob of God's premise to guide him in his journey.
And he said unto them (with the view of discovering his kinsmen), Know ye Laban the son of Nahor?—i.e. the grandson, Laban's father having been Bethuel, who, however, here, as in Genesis 14:1; retires into the background. And they said, We know him. The language of the shepherds being Chaldaean (vide Genesis 31:47), Jacob, who spoke Hebrew, was able to converse with them either because he had learnt Chaldee from his mother (Clericus), or, as is more probable, because the dialects were not then greatly dissimilar (Gosman in Lange).
And he said unto them, Is he well? Literally, is there peace to him? meaning not simply bodily health, but all manner of felicity; ὑγιαίνει (LXX.); sanusne est? (Vulgate). Cf. the Christian salutation, tax vobiscum And they said, He is well (literally, peace): and, behold, Rachel—"Ewe" (Gesenius)—his daughter cometh with the sheep.
And he said, Lo, it is yet high day (literally, the day is yet great, i.e. much of it still remains), neither is it time that the cattle should he gathered together (i.e. to shut them up for the night): water ye the sheep, and go and feed them—being desirous to get the shepherds away from the well that he might meet Rachel alone (Keil, Lange, Murphy), though perhaps his words with as much correctness may be traced to that prudent and industrious habit of mind which afterwards shone forth so conspicuously in himself, and which instinctively caused him to frown upon laziness and inactivity (Starke, Kalisch, Bush).
And they said, We cannot,—not because of any physical difficulty (Kalisch), since three men could easily have accomplished what Jacob by himself did, but because they had agreed not to do so (Rosenmüller, Murphy), but to wait—until all the flocks be gathered together (when the watering was done at once, instead of at so many different times), and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth;—more correctly rendered, and (sc. then, i.e. when the flocks are assembled) they (i.e. the shepherds) roll away the stone—then (or, and) we water the sheep. The object of watering the flocks collectively may have been, as above stated, for convenience, or to prevent the well from being opened too frequently, in which case dust might rapidly accumulate within it (Kalisch), or perhaps to secure an equal distribution of the water (Murphy).
And while he yet spake with them (literally, he yet speaking with them), Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them—or, she was a shepherdess, the part. רֹעָה being used as a substantive (Gesenius, 'Lex.,' sub. nom.).
And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother,—"the term mother's brother is not unintentionally repeated three times in this verse to describe with the greatest possible stress that Jacob had met with his own relations, with "his bone and his flesh" (Kalisch)—and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother (Jacob from the first takes particular notice of Laban's flock, perhaps regarding them as a sign of Laban's wealth. If Laban's daughter had her attractions for the son of Isaac, so also had Laban's sheep), that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth (probably disregarding the shepherds' rule to wait for the gathering of all the flocks, unless, indeed, Rachel's was the last), and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. The threefold repetition of this phrase does not prove that Jacob acted in all this purely as a cousin (Lange). The phrase is the historian's, and Jacob had not yet informed Rachel of his name.
And Jacob kissed Rachel,—in demonstration of his cousinly affection. If Jacob had not yet discovered who he was to the fair shepherdess, his behavior must have filled her with surprise, even allowing for the unaffected simplicity of the times; but the fact that she does not resent his conduct as an undue liberty perhaps suggests that he had first informed her of his relationship to the inmates of Laban's house (Calvin). On kissing vide Genesis 27:26—and lifted up his voice, and wept—partly for joy in finding his relatives (cf. Genesis 43:30; Genesis 45:2, Genesis 45:14, Genesis 45:15); partly in grateful acknowledgment of God's kindness in conducting him to his mother's brother's house.
And Jacob told (or, had told, ut supra) Rachel that he was her father's brother,—as Lot is called Abraham's brother, though in reality his nephew (Genesis 13:8; Genesis 14:14, Genesis 14:16)—and that he was Rebekah's son (this clause would explain the meaning of the term "brother in the former): and she ran and told her father. Like Rebekah, believing the stranger's words and running to report them, though, unlike Rebekah, first relating them to her father (cf. Genesis 14:1).
And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings (literally, heard the hearing, or thing heard, i.e. the report of the arrival) of Jacob his sister's son,—he acted very much as he did ninety-seven years before, when Abraham's servant came to woo his sister (Genesis 14:20, 30)—that (literally, and) he ran to meet him, and embraced him,—so afterwards Esau did Jacob (Genesis 33:4), and Jacob the two sons of Joseph (Genesis 48:10)—and kissed him, and brought him to his house—thus evincing the same kindness and hospitality that had characterized him on the previous occasion. And he (Jacob) told Laban all these things—what his mother bad instructed him to say to attest his kinship (Calvin); the things related in the immediate context (Keil); more likely the entire story of his life, and in particular of his exile from home, with its cause and object (Rosenmüller, Kalisch, Lange).
And Laban said unto him (giving utterance to the impression Jacob's recital had produced upon his mind), Surely thou art my bone and my flesh—i.e. my blood relation (cf. Judges 9:2; 2 Samuel 5:1). Laban meant that Jacob had satisfactorily proved himself Rebekah's son. And he abode with him the space of a month—literally, a month of days (cf. Genesis 41:1; Numbers 11:20), or a month as regards time, "the second substantive describing the general notion of which the first is a specification" (Kalisch).
HOMILETICS
Jacob at the well of Haran: a romantic adventure.
I. JACOB'S MEETING WITH THE SHEPHERDS.
1. The providential discovery. The well in the field with the three flocks of sheep lying by it enabled Jacob to ascertain his whereabouts, and ultimately led to his finding Rachel. God guides the steps of his people without interfering with the ordinary course of nature, simply directing them m the exercise of sense and intelligence; and doubtless Jacob recognized in his, lighting on the Haran well a first installment of that celestial guidance he had been lately promised. Saints should practice the art of discerning the movement of God's finger in the minutest and commonest events of life.
2. The friendly conversation. Saluting the shepherds as his brethren, i.e. as masters of a common craft, Jacob gathers from their frank communications that he was on the outskirts of Haran, in which his uncle Laban was a prosperous and wealthy citizen, and that his cousin Rachel was on the road to that very well beside which he stood with a flock of her father's sheep. Great is the virtue of asking questions, especially when they are prefaced with politeness. Seldom anything is lost, but frequently much is gained, by courteous inquiries.
3. The prudent counsel. Observing his friends disposed to indolence, and perhaps desirous of meeting Rachel alone, Jacob recommends them to uncover the well, water their flocks, and drive them off again to pasture, since much of the day yet remained. If it was their advantage he sought, his advice was good; if it was his own interest he served, the stratagem was ingenious. God's people should be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves.
II. JACOB'S FIRST SIGHT OF RACHEL.
1. The gallant action. The lovely shepherdess arriving made a deep impression on her cousin's heart. Springing to his feet, he rolls the stone from the well's mouth, fills the troughs, and waters Laban's sheep—impelled thereto, shall we say, as much by consideration for the fair girl who attended them as for the rich flock-master who possessed them. Kindly acts proceeding from loving hearts are sometimes largely assisted by the attractions of their recipients.
2. The loving salutation. "And Jacob kissed Rachel." If before explaining who he was, it must have taken her by surprise even in those unconventional times; but it is probable he may have first announced his name, in which case his behavior was only in accordance with the manners of the age. Suitable expressions of, affection to friends beseem both grace and nature.
3. The irrepressible emote. And Jacob lifted up his voice and wept"—expressive both of joy at finding his relatives, and of gratitude for God's goodness m grading him to the house of his mother's brother. Unexpected good and eminent providences kindle transports of delight in gracious souls.
4. The important communication. "Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father." Friends, and much more Christians, meeting on life's journey, should with frankness discover themselves to each other, and give each other hearty welcome.
III. JACOB'S INTRODUCTION TO LABAN.
1. The uncle's reception of his nephew, "Laban ran to meet his sister's son, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house." Kinship and kindness should ever be allied. Laban's hospitality to Jacob was grounded on the fact of their relationship. So is Christ's entertainment of his people based upon the circumstance that they are "members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones."
2. The nephew's return to his uncle. Ingenuous confidence—"Jacob told Laban all these things"—and faithful service. It is implied in Genesis 29:15 that during the month Jacob abode with Laban he served in keeping Laban's sheep. God's people should endeavor as far as in them lies to requite the kindnesses of relatives and friends.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Jacob among his mother's kindred.
Taught by experience to be patient. His own craft reflected in Laban. Lessons to be learned.
I. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TEACHING OF GOD IN THE INNER MAN AND HIS LEADINGS IN PROVIDENCE. Jacob learned what he needed to learn—dependence, self-humiliation. Saw the evil of selfishness; understood that the Divine purposes must not be identified in our thought with our personal feelings and desires. We must wait on God to know what his will is.
II. THE INDEPENDENCE OF GOD'S GRACE. The chosen instruments not chosen for their own sake. Often that which displeases us is our special help. Leah, not chosen by Jacob, bore him sons. Rachel, whom he loved, was barren. Even in such mixed soil as these characters the seed of Divine life will grow. Leah gave names to her children which betokened an increasing faith. Jacob's willingness to serve was a gracious victory over self, preparing him for higher filings. Thwarted man is taught to wait upon God.
III. PRACTICAL LESSONS ON THE RELATIONS OF THE SEXES AND MARRIED LIFE, c. The misery of all that interferes with the sanctity of affection and its supremacy. The certainty that lack of candor and truthfulness will be fruitful in evil results. The importance of right feeling in sustaining religious character; how difficult, where the relationship is not founded on affection, to maintain truth, purity, and a lofty standard of life. We must try to see disappointments from a higher point of view. God may withhold what we desire, but only to give afterwards a fuller blessing.—R.