JACOB’S MARRIAGE TO LEAH AND RACHEL Having enjoyed God’s peace through the ladder, Jacob hastened to ‘Padan Aram;’ and there, he met Rachel by the well of water. And after laboring for his uncle Laban, he married his two daughters Leah and Rachel. 1- An encounter with Rachel 1-14. 2- Jacob serves his uncle Laban 15-20. 3- His marriage to Leah and Rachel 21-30. 4- The sons of Leah 31-55. 1- AN ENCOUNTER WITH RACHEL “So Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the people of the east” (Gen. 29:1). The vision he saw motivated him to hasten, with peace of heart, on his way to where his uncle dwelt in ‘Padan Aram,’ east of Canaan. It is as though our eyes are opened to the heavenly, and our internal ears enjoying God’s promises, that He is with us. We hasten on our way, not to marry Lea or Rachel, but to unite with God in our Lord Jesus Christ. “And he looked, and saw a well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth” (Gen. 29:2). The three flocks of sheep, lying by the well, were waiting for someone to roll the large stone that covered the well’s mouth, for all to be watered. Jacob is the type of the Lord Christ, Who came to the world to acquire the true Rachel - the Church of the New Testament - as His bride. He came to the field, namely to the world, where there was a well, that was the closed up baptismal font, that was in need of Jacob to roll the large stone from its mouth, and to reveal its mystery through His coming into it. The three flocks lying by the well, anticipating its water, and waiting for someone to roll the stone for them, are three groups, lying on the hope of salvation, these are: Fathers preceding the Mosaic law, like Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph, together with those who followed their faith; then men of the Mosaic Law, who anticipated the Savior Messiah through the symbols and commandments, to be followed by the prophets, whose eyes were opened to behold the true Jacob coming in the spirit of prophecy. In other words, these three flocks, that lied by the well, waiting for the Messiah, were: The natural Law, the Mosaic Law with its symbols, and the prophecies. All sat by the well, inviting humanity to enjoy the water of baptism, to gain sonship to God, and to enter into the heavenly kingdom. They are, however, unable to present them. They are pointing their finger toward the kingdom, anticipating the coming of the Savior, the hope of all nations, the heavenly Groom! “Now while he was speaking with them (the shepherds), Rachel came with her father’s sheep... When Jacob saw Rachel,... he rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother’s brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept; then he told Rachel that he was her father’s relative, and that he was Rebecca’s son. So she ran and told her father... Laban ran to meet him,... and told him, ‘Surely you are my bone and flesh.’ And he stayed with him for a month” (Gen. 29:9-14). Jacob’s talk to the shepherds when the stone was on the mouth of the well, refers to that of the Word of God to the men of the Old Testament, in various ways, 4 through events, symbols, and prophecies, until the time was ripe, for the Church of the New Testament, to come. Christ came forward and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, presenting the Church with His Holy divine sacraments. Rolling of the stone also reminds us of what happened the day of His resurrection, when He was risen, while the stone was still on the mouth of the grave; But He sent His angel to roll the stone, in order to let us drink from the water of His resurrection, through being buried with Him, and also risen with Him; As said by the apostle: “Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12). Jacob kissed Rachel, lifted up his voice and wept. What kiss was that, but that of practical love, Jesus manifested when He cried out on the cross, as He delivered Himself for the Church’s sake. That kiss that Rachel yearns for, saying: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth - for your love is better than wine” (Songs 1:2). As to telling her that he is a relative of her father, that refers to His revelation of His relationship to us through the cross, as when we were reconciled, we became the sons of His heavenly Father! We entered with the Lord Christ into a relationship through the grace of His cross! Jacob stayed with Laban for a month; as it was the custom at that time to give hospitality for a maximum of one month, after which the guest is to be treated as one of the family, sharing with them their regular daily life, including work, although he earns a wage for it. In short, Jacob encounter with Rachel, was on a level different from that with the shepherds who were sitting by the well, in the following various aspects: He encountered with her, after lifting up the shadows and symbols, to enter with her into the perfection of truth. He encountered with her by the water, to enter with her into a relationship through the sacrament of Baptism; and to enjoy sonship to God. He kissed her, lifted up his voice and wept; the kiss of the cross, namely, that of practical love, in which He delivered Himself for her sake. As He proclaimed Himself to her, she accepted Him, and entered with Him into her father’s house. He stayed for a month in her father’s house, a sign of our fellowship with Him all days of our life, until He enters with us into His heavens. 2- JACOB SERVES HIS UNCLE “Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me what should your wages be’... He said, ‘I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.’ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed but a few days to him, because of the love he had for her” (Gen. 29:15-20) Jacob could have passed the first month as a guest, doing only very simple work; but as a man of strife, he gave all his energy, that Laban considered him indispensable. When asked about his wages, he asked to marry his younger daughter Rachel. Jacob represented the Lord Christ who descended to the world as a guest, although He is its Creator; and persisted on working in the world for the sake of the younger daughter Rachel, namely, the Church of the New Testament, to acquire her as a bride for Himself. 5 If ‘Leah’ means ‘faulty’ or ‘blemished,’ probably because of her weak or delicate eyes, and ‘Rachel’ means a ‘she-goat;’ the true Jacob, the Lamb of God, seeks Rachel, the she-goat, sanctified by the blood of the Lamb; while ‘Leah’ has lost her beauty, because of her weak inner eyes or of her spiritual insight. It was said of the years that Jacob served for Rachel that “they seemed but a few days to him, because of the love he had for her” (Gen. 29:20). And as St. Jerome says: [With love nothing is difficult; Labor is easy to who longs for it1.] If, for the sake of his marriage to Rachel, Jacob worked for seven years, that seemed as though few days, then worked for extra seven years; how much, it is fit for us to offer, for the sake of our enjoyment of the kingdom of heaven, and our union with our Lord Christ? 3- JACOB’S MARRIAGE TO LEAH AND RACHEL Having completed his seven years service, Jacob demanded that Rachel be given him as his wife, as his days are fulfilled, according to his uncle’s promise. Laban made a feast, and in the evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and gave her ‘Zilpah’ as her maid. In the morning, when he discovered his uncle’s deceit, Laban apologized saying: “It must not be done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years” (Gen. 29:26-27). If Jacob had deceived his father Isaac in his old age, getting his blessing instead of Esau, even though that was with good intention and for a spiritual goal, then, he was to be treated by the same measure he treated his father. So he was deceived by his uncle concerning Rachel, then deceived by his sons concerning Joseph; and passed most of his life with a bitter soul. Deceit was not a difficult task, as the bride, all along her wedding feast, used to be covered with a thick red veil, and in the darkness of the evening, it was not easy to recognize her Anyhow, what occurred concerning Jacob’s marriage carried a prophetic symbolic significance. And as said by Fr. Caesarius of Arles: [These two women to which Jacob was married, refer to the two peoples: Leah refer to the Jews, and Rachel to the Gentiles, with Christ, as a Cornerstone, connecting the two peoples, as two walls from different directions. In Him they found eternal peace, according to the words of the apostle: “For He Himself is our peace, who had made both one” (Ephesians 2:14)2.] It is to be noted that Christ the Lord came from the tribe of Judah, born by Leah (Gen. 29:35), as the Lord Christ came incarnated from among the Jewish nation. The Law, forbidding marriage to two sisters, was not yet delivered (Leviticus 18:18), and Jacob was not seeking polygamy, having come from his father’s house to marry only one wife. And in his service to Laban, he expected to be given just one wife. As to clinging to maids, this was not out of carnal lust, but for need of children, as the world at that time was sparsely populated, in relation to its size. 4- THE CHILDREN OF LEAH It was not without reason, that God, seeing that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb, to bear to Jacob Reuben, Simeon, Levi, then Judah, before she stopped bearing. God gave Leah the privilege to be loved by her husband for the sake of her 1 Ep. 22:40. 2 Ser. 88:2. 6 children. From another aspect, Leah, represented the Jews, who were fertile, as far as knowledge of God was concerned. From them came the patriarchs, the prophets, the priesthood, etc. As to Rachel, she represented the Gentiles, who were before, barren, with no spiritual fruit, because of paganism. From Leah came Reuben, the firstborn. The Jews were, in the eyes of the Lord, the firstborn, until the Gentiles took away from them the spiritual birthright. Also from her, came Levi, (the Priests), and also Judah, as the Lord Christ came from the Jews. Then she stopped bearing children, as the Jews rejected Christ the Lord, who came of the tribe of Judah, there was a ceasing of spiritual bearing. It seems that Jacob temporarily deserted her, before she resumed bearing, in probable reference to the expected return of the Jews from their denial of Christ the Lord, and their anticipated acceptance of Christian faith in the end of time.
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