SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE -- LESSON 3 --- PART 2

COMMENTARY

LABAN’S FAMILY

Jacob fled to the homeland of his mother. There the first relative he met was Rachel, a young shepherdess who would become his wife. Laban’s family was related to the descendants of Abraham through Terah, their common ancestor. This bond was made even stronger by marriage between family members. Two successive generations of Laban’s family married into the line of Abraham. Rebekah, Laban’s sister, married Isaac; his daughters, Rachel and Leah, married Jacob. Through their children Laban became a member of Israel’s family tree.

GRANDFATHER: NAHOR

Nahor was the second of Terah’s three sons. Like his brothers, Abraham and Haran, he was born in the Mesopotamian city of Ur. Following the custom of the ancient Near East, Nahor married his niece, Milcah. She bore him eight children. The youngest of the eight, Bethuel, became the father of Laban.

GRANDMOTHER: MILCAH

Milcah, Nahor’s wife, was the daughter of Haran. Her name comes from the Semitic word for queen. Although the Bible says very little about Laban’s grandmother, it is known that she held a position of respect in the ancient world. The mother of eight sons, she would be greatly honoured by all who knew her.

FATHER: BETHUEL

Bethuel, Nahor’s youngest son, was the father of Laban and Rebekah. He was living in Padan-aram with his son and daughter when Eliezer arrived in search of a bride for his master’s son. Since Abraham’s command was carried out so easily, the union seemed especially blessed, and Bethuel willingly consented to Rebekah’s marriage to Isaac.

SISTER: REBEKAH

Rebekah, Laban’s younger sister, grew up in Padan-aram, but she spent most of her life in Canaan following her marriage to Isaac. Although Rebekah was a beautiful young woman and admired by kings, she remained childless for a very long time. But after twenty years of waiting, she gave birth to her twin sons Jacob and Esau.

BROTHER-IN-LAW: ISAAC

Isaac was Laban’s brother-in-law, but the Bible never mentions a meeting between the two. Isaac’s marriage to Laban’s sister was arranged for him by Eliezer, his father’s trusted servant.

DAUGHTER: LEAH

Leah was the oldest of Laban’s daughters, but she was not as pretty as Rachel, her younger sister. Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Although she bore him one daughter and six sons, Leah always took second place to Rachel in Jacob’s feelings.

DAUGHTER: RACHEL

Jacob fell in love with Rachel at first sight. For seven years he worked to earn the privilege of marrying her. But on Rachel’s wedding day Laban substituted Leah, her older sister. Rachel did not trust her father’s promises after that deception. When she left Padan-aram she stole her father’s household YHVHs. As long as they remained in her possession, Laban could not withhold her rightful inheritance.

NEPHEW: JACOB

Although Jacob served his uncle for twenty years, the two men mistrusted one another. Laban accused his nephew of stealing his household YHVHs while Jacob charged the older man with deception and dishonesty as an employer. They established a wary peace at Mizpah and set up a marker as a witness to their truce.

NEPHEW: ESAU

Unlike his brother Jacob, Esau did not marry a woman from his own family. He settled in Edom with his Canaanite wives, far from his uncle Laban in Padan-aram. To our knowledge, Esau never met Laban.

GRANDCHILDREN

Eleven of Jacob’s twelve sons were born during the years he spent in Padan-aram. Benjamin, Rachel’s youngest son, was the only child who never knew his maternal grandfather. The older children said good-bye to Laban at Mizpah before continuing their journey to Canaan.