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How could Jacob not tell/ see the face of who he was sleeping with? That it was Leah and not Rachel.
22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave[b] his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”
If it was dark and she had a veil you would be able to see the face with the veil removed or hear her voice is not Rachel’s voice.
Please no theories or assumptions, no merging with this question
Was Jacob so Sexually driven that He mistook Leah for Rachel. Just facts.
Anonymous
you tell us now John Mushenhouse John Digsby Brian Longoria
Anonymous
i dont care, thats OT. You can find hundreds of stories that are irrelevant to your growth as a christian in the NT way.
Anonymous
John Digsby Please no theories or assumptions, no merging with this question Was Jacob so Sexually driven that He mistook Leah for Rachel. Just facts. – there is lots of baptists here John Mushenhouse who got no clue what PENTECOST really is
Anonymous
Troy Day I mean there is a lot that can be assumed without directly inferring anything from the text, however without assuming anything it seems that the passage suggests that darkness at least played a role in the deception.
“But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her…
…But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! ‘What have you done to me?’ Jacob raged at Laban. ‘I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?’”
Genesis 29:23, 25 NLT
“Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her…
…So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, ‘What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you deceived me?’”
Genesis 29:23, 25 NASB2020
“That evening, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her…
…When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? Wasn’t it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me? ‘”
Genesis 29:23, 25 HCSB
The NLT which is a thought for thought translation infers from the Hebrew עֶרֶב ‘ereb’ (meaning evening, night, sunset, twilight) that the darkness of night played a part in hiding Leah’s identity from Jacob.
Also suggesting this is verse 25 which says that Jacob found out in the morning and the word used is בֹּקֶר ‘boqer’ which means dawn, day, daybreak, morning, etc… according to the NAS Exhaustive Concordance. It can be reasonably inferred from this that the light of day aided in Jacob realizing the truth of how he had been tricked.
And again there may have been other factors but we do not know for sure. For example Jacob was familiar with voices being recognized during deception as when he stole Esau’s blessing, Isaac knew his voice. So it’s likely he would have recognized her voice had she spoken unless he did not know up to that point either Leah or Rachel very well. But we don’t know. We only know what the scripture actually says and can reasonably infer possibilities from what the text implies.
Anonymous
Brian Longoria I rather not ready any NLT quotes if I can help it
Anonymous
Troy Day which is why I included NASB and HCSB both generally accepted as good translations. And no matter what translation I use I like to go back to the original language for accuracy.
Anonymous
Troy Day The truth of the matter is Divine Providence was working to produce the 12 tribes. God knew that Rachel was not able to produce any more than two sons. So, God used the customs and cultural context to fulfill his purpose (polygamy and handmaid).
Anonymous
Evelyn Gardiner And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?”
Anonymous
Brian Longoria TRUE but NOT to see her?
Anonymous
Three possibilities l… No electric lights, she wore a veil, they were twins looking very similar except their eyes.
Anonymous
Michael Chauncey I dont buy this one – they had fire and the vail failed
Anonymous
Troy Day it was just a guess
Anonymous
His name was “Suplanter” he decieved Laban into not only giving him Rachel, but Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah, then he went on to supplant him in his wealth by tricking him into “paying” him most of his wealth in livestock.
Anonymous
Jared G. Cheshire yeah NOT how the story goes in the BIBLE though
Anonymous
Troy Day you mean you haven’t read that?
Anonymous
At that time, there was no electricity, and Female Jews used to cover their face as per their customs.