Now Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel.
Parallel translations
- WEB Laban had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
- KJV And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
- NKJV Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
- NASB Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
- NLT Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The narrator introduces Laban's two daughters: Leah the elder and Rachel the younger.
Overview
This brief note prepares for the central tension of the coming chapters between the two sisters. The contrast of elder and younger foreshadows Laban's deception over which daughter Jacob will first marry. From these two women, and their servants, will come the twelve sons who father the tribes of Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 49:31There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
- Ruth 4:11“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.
- Gen 30:19Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
- Gen 35:23The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
- Gen 31:4So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,
- Gen 29:17Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.
- Gen 46:15These are the sons of Leah born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of sons and daughters was thirty-three.
- Gen 29:25–32When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”
- Gen 33:2He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 29:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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