But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her.
Parallel translations
- WEB In the evening, he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him. He went in to her.
- KJV And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
- NKJV Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.
- NASB Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her.
- NLT But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.
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
That evening Laban deceitfully brings Leah, not Rachel, to Jacob, and he consummates the marriage with her.
Overview
Under cover of darkness and likely a veiled bride, Laban substitutes Leah for Rachel, deceiving Jacob. Strikingly, Jacob the deceiver, who once posed as his elder brother to his blind father, is now himself deceived by a substitution of the elder for the younger. The episode illustrates the biblical principle that a man reaps what he sows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Mic 7:5Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
- Gen 38:14–15she removed her widow’s garments, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.
- Gen 24:65and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
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 29:23 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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