Genesis 29:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Laban said, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

NIV: Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.

NASB: But Laban said, 'It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn.

CSB: Laban answered, "It is not the custom in this place to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn.

NLT: It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,' Laban replied.

KJV: And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

NKJV: And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

On the wedding night, Laban had switched his older, less attractive daughter for the younger one whom Jacob loved (Genesis 29:16–17). Jacob had unknowingly consummated a marriage with Leah instead of Rachel. The previous verse contains Jacob's outraged but very reasonable questions to Laban on the morning after: What have to you done to me? Didn't I work with you for seven years for Rachel? Why have you tricked me?

Laban's answer certainly doesn't satisfy those questions. In fact, it's so absurd that it almost comes across as mocking. Laban brushes Jacob off with a shrug and a policy statement: our people don't marry off the younger before the older. While it's possible that was the custom, Laban could have explained that to Jacob at any point in the previous seven years. If it really were a hard rule of that culture, someone would have mentioned it to Jacob eventually. There can be no question whatsoever: this was a deliberate deception on the part of Laban.

Was his outrageous act of deception motivated, in part, by love for his older daughter Leah and a concern for her future? Laban's hurtful choices sometimes seem to be a wrong response to some compassionate impulse, but that is often the defense of abusive, controlling people.

In a particularly ironic twist, Laban's response involves an older sibling having rights over the younger. Jacob, as it turns out, is also getting a taste of his own medicine. Earlier in his life, Jacob had manipulated his older twin brother out of his birthright (Genesis 25:29–34). Then, he'd connived with his mother to fool his blind father, stealing a blessing meant for that same older brother (Genesis 27:15–19). Esau's rage from that betrayal was one reason Jacob had to flee Canaan to come live with Laban (Genesis 27:41).

Genesis 29:1–30 describes Jacob's arrival at his uncle's household. Laban is happy to see his nephew, likely for the first time. Jacob falls in love with Laban's more attractive daughter, Rachel, and agrees to work for Laban seven years to marry her. On the wedding night, however, Laban treacherously switches Rachel for her older sister Leah. Jacob agrees to marry Rachel the next week, but now must work another seven years.

Jacob's journey from his home brings him to his uncle's household in Haran. He falls in love with Laban's younger daughter Rachel and agrees to work for Laban for seven years to marry her. When the time comes, Laban switches out Rachel for her older, less attractive sister Leah. Jacob is surprised to find he has consummated the marriage with the wrong sister. Manipulative Laban assures Jacob he can still marry Rachel the next week, as long as he will work another seven years. Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah, but with the Lord's help, unloved Leah bears Jacob his first four sons.

The previous chapter described Jacob fleeing from home to seek his uncle in Mesopotamia. This was both to escape the rage of his brother, Esau, and to look for a suitable wife. Now Jacob arrives and falls in love with his uncle's daughter Rachel. After working seven years to marry her, Jacob is tricked by his uncle into marrying the older daughter, Leah, instead. Laban allows Jacob to marry Rachel, as well, in exchange for another seven years' work. Though she is unloved by Jacob, the Lord notices Leah's heartbreak and allows her to bear four sons. In the next chapter, Rachel's jealousy sets off something of a birth war, as she and Leah compete to obtain children.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.