†. Gen 29:1 . . Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of
the Easterners.
The geographic region in Turkey where Jacob went wasn't actually east by
his reckoning. It was just about dead north. But the people who populated
that region had roots in the east. Here's another version.
"Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the
east."
Many of the peoples in and around Haran, although they lived northward
from Canaan, were actually descendants of early pioneers who migrated
out west from the world of Babylon; just as Abraham and his dad Terah
had done many years prior to Jacob's birth. (cf. Gen 11:1-2)
†. Gen 29:2a . .There before his eyes was a well in the open.
The balance of Jacob's trip, from Luz to this well, is passed over in silence.
Apparently nothing of significance occurred along the way. If Jacob traveled
at, say, 25 miles per day, it would have taken him about eighteen days to
reach Haran. If he stuck to the trade route, he could have stopped in
Damascus and took in some of the local sights and maybe stayed at a
"motel" before pushing on. Food wouldn't really be a problem because there
surely were plenty of settlements and/or vendors along the trade route.
Major highways, like the old US route 66, and California's 101, always had
lots of merchants offering overnight accommodations, plus all the goods and
services a traveler would likely need to see them through. I wouldn't be a bit
surprised if there existed in that day fast food equivalents of McDonalds and
Burger King.
†. Gen 29:2b-3 . .Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for
the flocks were watered from that well. The stone on the mouth of
the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the
stone would be rolled from the mouth of the well and the sheep
watered; then the stone would be put back in its place on the mouth
of the well.
Apparently this well wasn't fed by an artesian source but was a variety that
kept itself filled by seepage out of a substrate aquifer. A well like that--
which is more like a cistern --can become rancid very quickly by bird
droppings, dead critters, and debris if it's not kept covered. Although
structuring the watering time created a rush hour, it was sensible. That way
the well wasn't left open for too long a time and there was less chance of
polluting it.
†. Gen 29:4a . . Jacob said to them: My friends, where are you from?
Exactly what language Jacob spoke in his greeting isn't said; but during his
era; Akkadian was a common language in Mesopotamia where Laban lived.
I don't think this well is the very same one where Abraham's servant met
Rebecca. For one thing, it's out in the open, not actually connected with any
specific town. If it had been, then Jacob could have assumed the shepherds
lived nearby and not asked them where they were from. This particular well
was within walking distance of pasture land. Any grasses close in to the
towns were likely over-grazed. That's just one of the natural results of
progress and urban sprawl.
†. Gen 29:4b-6a . . And they said: We are from Haran. He said to
them: Do you know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said: Yes, we
do. He continued: Is he well?
Laban's location, and his state of affairs, would of course be Jacob's primary
concern. After all, he just traveled nearly 500 miles to find him. If the man
was dead or moved away, then the trip was all for nothing; and in those
days, there was no way to call ahead.
†. Gen 29:6b . .They answered: Yes, he is; and there is his daughter
Rachel, coming with the flock.
According to Gen 31:1 Laban had sons too, not just daughters. But the boys
may have been too young at the time to go out in the fields alone. So big
sister had to do all the ropin' and brandin' till her little brothers grew a few
more hat sizes.
Does that maybe indicate Rachel was a bit of a tomboy? Maybe. Personally;
I think she was. But I don't think she was one of those hard, masculine kind
of tomboys, like some tough she-male working shoulder to shoulder with
roughneck oil drillers, or wielding a gun, a nightstick, and a can of pepper
spray as a cop, or putting out fires with a hook and ladder company. I just
think she was one of those women who can survive in a man's world if need
be; yet retain their feminine side too. They still like cosmetics, dinner out,
family and children, pampering themselves with a trip to the beauty parlor,
and shopping for a new dress-- but don't mind running a lawn mower,
trimming the hedges, or firing up a leaf blower when they have to. There's
a lot of single moms out there nowadays who haven't much choice but to
wear a man's hat now and again-- not to prove a point, but just to get by.
Herding sheep out in the open is risky for a woman. But apparently Rachel
wasn't afraid of any of the local men. I believe she could take care of herself
if need be and I think all the guys knew it too and left her alone; and
besides, we're going to see just up ahead that her dad was not a man to
trifle with. Anybody who messed with Rachel would have to answer to
Laban; and he was a man who took nothing lying down.
Jacob is going to fall for this tomboy-ish femme in a very short time; and no
surprise. Men often hook up with women that resemble their moms. That is
so weird because some of those very same guys were brought up by moms
from hell. But that's what they're used to. So, without even thinking about
it, they often gravitate to those very same attributes in a girl. Well, Rachel
and Rebecca were like peas in a pod. They were both confident, fearless,
and decisive: not to mention tens to boot. I think Jacob felt very secure with
women like that.
†. Gen 29:7 . . He said: It is still broad daylight, too early to round up
the animals; water the flock and take them to pasture.
Jacob just blew into the neighborhood and he's already telling strangers what
to do! No doubt an attitude he brought with him from Isaac's ranch. Down there
the servants jumped when he said something. Up here in Haran though, things
were just a little bit different.
†. Gen 29:8 . . But they said: We cannot, until all the flocks are
rounded up; then the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well and we
water the sheep.
Actually, someone may have owned that well; and set the rules for it's use.
In those days, whoever dug for water usually had the rights to it; somewhat
like a prospector's claim in the gold fields out in 1850's California.
Apparently the owner didn't mind people using the water as long as they
respected his feelings about it. But Jacob had a mind of his own, and
seemed to care very little for the property rights of others.
I've seen that very attitude in privileged kids born with a silver spoon in
their mouth. It's a superiority complex brought on by being the son of a
wealthy business man with the hired help all bowing and scraping to the
father; and giving the son a degree of collateral respect he never earned.
Well; that's going to change. Jacob is entering the school of hard knocks,
and he's going to learn a thing or two from professor Laban. But when it's all
over, Jacob will be a better man for it.
Cont.
/
the Easterners.
The geographic region in Turkey where Jacob went wasn't actually east by
his reckoning. It was just about dead north. But the people who populated
that region had roots in the east. Here's another version.
"Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land of the sons of the
east."
Many of the peoples in and around Haran, although they lived northward
from Canaan, were actually descendants of early pioneers who migrated
out west from the world of Babylon; just as Abraham and his dad Terah
had done many years prior to Jacob's birth. (cf. Gen 11:1-2)
†. Gen 29:2a . .There before his eyes was a well in the open.
The balance of Jacob's trip, from Luz to this well, is passed over in silence.
Apparently nothing of significance occurred along the way. If Jacob traveled
at, say, 25 miles per day, it would have taken him about eighteen days to
reach Haran. If he stuck to the trade route, he could have stopped in
Damascus and took in some of the local sights and maybe stayed at a
"motel" before pushing on. Food wouldn't really be a problem because there
surely were plenty of settlements and/or vendors along the trade route.
Major highways, like the old US route 66, and California's 101, always had
lots of merchants offering overnight accommodations, plus all the goods and
services a traveler would likely need to see them through. I wouldn't be a bit
surprised if there existed in that day fast food equivalents of McDonalds and
Burger King.
†. Gen 29:2b-3 . .Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for
the flocks were watered from that well. The stone on the mouth of
the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the
stone would be rolled from the mouth of the well and the sheep
watered; then the stone would be put back in its place on the mouth
of the well.
Apparently this well wasn't fed by an artesian source but was a variety that
kept itself filled by seepage out of a substrate aquifer. A well like that--
which is more like a cistern --can become rancid very quickly by bird
droppings, dead critters, and debris if it's not kept covered. Although
structuring the watering time created a rush hour, it was sensible. That way
the well wasn't left open for too long a time and there was less chance of
polluting it.
†. Gen 29:4a . . Jacob said to them: My friends, where are you from?
Exactly what language Jacob spoke in his greeting isn't said; but during his
era; Akkadian was a common language in Mesopotamia where Laban lived.
I don't think this well is the very same one where Abraham's servant met
Rebecca. For one thing, it's out in the open, not actually connected with any
specific town. If it had been, then Jacob could have assumed the shepherds
lived nearby and not asked them where they were from. This particular well
was within walking distance of pasture land. Any grasses close in to the
towns were likely over-grazed. That's just one of the natural results of
progress and urban sprawl.
†. Gen 29:4b-6a . . And they said: We are from Haran. He said to
them: Do you know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said: Yes, we
do. He continued: Is he well?
Laban's location, and his state of affairs, would of course be Jacob's primary
concern. After all, he just traveled nearly 500 miles to find him. If the man
was dead or moved away, then the trip was all for nothing; and in those
days, there was no way to call ahead.
†. Gen 29:6b . .They answered: Yes, he is; and there is his daughter
Rachel, coming with the flock.
According to Gen 31:1 Laban had sons too, not just daughters. But the boys
may have been too young at the time to go out in the fields alone. So big
sister had to do all the ropin' and brandin' till her little brothers grew a few
more hat sizes.
Does that maybe indicate Rachel was a bit of a tomboy? Maybe. Personally;
I think she was. But I don't think she was one of those hard, masculine kind
of tomboys, like some tough she-male working shoulder to shoulder with
roughneck oil drillers, or wielding a gun, a nightstick, and a can of pepper
spray as a cop, or putting out fires with a hook and ladder company. I just
think she was one of those women who can survive in a man's world if need
be; yet retain their feminine side too. They still like cosmetics, dinner out,
family and children, pampering themselves with a trip to the beauty parlor,
and shopping for a new dress-- but don't mind running a lawn mower,
trimming the hedges, or firing up a leaf blower when they have to. There's
a lot of single moms out there nowadays who haven't much choice but to
wear a man's hat now and again-- not to prove a point, but just to get by.
Herding sheep out in the open is risky for a woman. But apparently Rachel
wasn't afraid of any of the local men. I believe she could take care of herself
if need be and I think all the guys knew it too and left her alone; and
besides, we're going to see just up ahead that her dad was not a man to
trifle with. Anybody who messed with Rachel would have to answer to
Laban; and he was a man who took nothing lying down.
Jacob is going to fall for this tomboy-ish femme in a very short time; and no
surprise. Men often hook up with women that resemble their moms. That is
so weird because some of those very same guys were brought up by moms
from hell. But that's what they're used to. So, without even thinking about
it, they often gravitate to those very same attributes in a girl. Well, Rachel
and Rebecca were like peas in a pod. They were both confident, fearless,
and decisive: not to mention tens to boot. I think Jacob felt very secure with
women like that.
†. Gen 29:7 . . He said: It is still broad daylight, too early to round up
the animals; water the flock and take them to pasture.
Jacob just blew into the neighborhood and he's already telling strangers what
to do! No doubt an attitude he brought with him from Isaac's ranch. Down there
the servants jumped when he said something. Up here in Haran though, things
were just a little bit different.
†. Gen 29:8 . . But they said: We cannot, until all the flocks are
rounded up; then the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well and we
water the sheep.
Actually, someone may have owned that well; and set the rules for it's use.
In those days, whoever dug for water usually had the rights to it; somewhat
like a prospector's claim in the gold fields out in 1850's California.
Apparently the owner didn't mind people using the water as long as they
respected his feelings about it. But Jacob had a mind of his own, and
seemed to care very little for the property rights of others.
I've seen that very attitude in privileged kids born with a silver spoon in
their mouth. It's a superiority complex brought on by being the son of a
wealthy business man with the hired help all bowing and scraping to the
father; and giving the son a degree of collateral respect he never earned.
Well; that's going to change. Jacob is entering the school of hard knocks,
and he's going to learn a thing or two from professor Laban. But when it's all
over, Jacob will be a better man for it.
Cont.
/
