Jacob Meets Rachel
- Jacob sees a well that flocks of sheep drink from
- Jacob meets shepherds from Harah
- Rachel=daughter of Laban
- Laban is Jacobs mother’s brother = uncle
- Jacob watered the sheep of Laban when Rachel came with them
- Jacob kisses Rachel & “weeps out loud”
- Jacob tells Rachel that he is Laban’s kinsman& Rebeka’s son
- Rachel runs away and Laban comes to him
- Laban tells Jacob he will care for him and lets him stay with him for 1 month.
Observations:
-Married women are expected conceive and if they do not, they are unwannted/undesired, such as Leah was.
-The women had to “wait” seven years prior to be married to Jacob. Ultimately, Rachel would have waited 14 years in order to be granted to Jacob.
Ideas:
–Women are disposable to men, such as with Leah and Rachel. They, the women, do not have any say on who they want to marry, but it is the men who can have their pick. We see Jacob desiring Rachel, but was given Leah instead, and Jacob still desired to be with Rachel. The sisters’ father, Laban disposed of his daughters one after another. Women are pretty much treated like property.
-People in biblical times tend to marry each other within their genetic lineage. Laban offered his daughter(s) to Jacob because he thought it was better to have been Jacob, his “kinsman,” than someone else. Better to keep it in the family.
-The firstborn is treasured more; they are desired to be married first, such as with Leah. She, being the eldest, was granted to Jacob, even though, the deal was for Jacob to have Rachel.