13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month. 15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? 16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. 20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her (Genesis 29:13-20).
Seven years seems like a long time to serve Laban. Seven in Hebrew is representative of the exact right amount of time or the completeness of time. And so Jacob served Laban the right amount of time in exchange for being giving his daughter in marriage. The distinction between Leah and Rachel is also interesting. Apparently Rachel got all the beauty in Laban’s genes, and as we learn later, Laban used her beauty and Jacob’s desire to gain more from Jacob. Seems a bit shallow but as we often find from the bible, it is dealing with real people and real circumstances.
Seven years seems like a long time to serve Laban. Seven in Hebrew is representative of the exact right amount of time or the completeness of time. And so Jacob served Laban the right amount of time in exchange for being giving his daughter in marriage. The distinction between Leah and Rachel is also interesting. Apparently Rachel got all the beauty in Laban’s genes, and as we learn later, Laban used her beauty and Jacob’s desire to gain more from Jacob. Seems a bit shallow but as we often find from the bible, it is dealing with real people and real circumstances.
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