But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to 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.
- BSB But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with 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 quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 7:5Don’t trust in a neighbor. Don’t put confidence in a friend. With the woman lying in your embrace, be careful of the words of your mouth!
- Gen 38:14–15She took off of her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a wife.
- Gen 24:65She said to the servant, “Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” She took her veil, and covered herself.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.