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LXX Genesis

Septuagint

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Chapter 29

1 And Jacob started and went to the land of the east to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, and the brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau. 2 And he looks, and look! a well in the plain; and there were there three flocks of sheep resting at it, for out of that well they watered the flocks, but there was a great stone at the mouth of the well. 3 And there were all the flocks gathered, and they used to roll away the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the flocks, and set the stone again in its place on the mouth of the well. 4 And Jacob said to them, Brothers, where are you from? and they said, We are of Haran. 5 And he said to them, Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? and they said, We do know him. 6 And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well. And look, Rachel his daughter came with the sheep. 7 And Jacob said, It is yet high day, it is not yet time that the flocks be gathered together; water the flocks, and depart and feed them. 8 And they said, We shall not be able, until all the shepherds be gathered together, and they shall roll away the stone from the mouth of the well, then we will water the flocks. 9 While he was yet speaking to them, Rachel the daughter of Laban came with her father's sheep, for she fed the sheep of her father. 10 And it happened when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, that Jacob came and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother. 11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and cried with a loud voice and wept. 12 And he told Rachel that he was the near relative of her father, and the son of Rebekah; and she ran and reported to her father according to these words. 13 And it happened when Laban heard the name of Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him, and embraced and kissed him, and brought him into his house; and he told Laban all these sayings. 14 And Laban said to him, You are of my bones and of my flesh; and he was with him a full month. 15 And Laban said to Jacob, Surely you shall not serve me for nothing, because you are my brother; tell me what your reward is to be. 16 Now Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger, Rachel. 17 And the eyes of Leah were weak.⁠ But Rachel was beautiful in appearance, and exceedingly fair in face. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel. 19 And Laban said to him, It is better that I should give her to you, than that I should give her to another man; dwell with me. 20 And Jacob served for Rachel seven years, and they were before him as a few days, by reason of his loving her. 21 And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her. 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a marriage-feast. 23 And it was evening, and Laban took his daughter Leah, and brought her in to Jacob, and Jacob went in to her. 24 And Laban gave to his daughter Leah, Zilpah his female servant, as a female servant for her. 25 And it was morning, and look, it was Leah; and Jacob said to Laban, What is this that you have done to me? did I not serve you for Rachel? and why have you deceived me? 26 And Laban answered, It is not done thus in our country, to give the younger before the elder.⁠ 27 Fulfill then her sevens, and I will give to you her also in return for your labor, which you labor with me, yet seven other years. 28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her sevens; and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as wife. 29 And Laban gave to his daughter Rachel his female servant Bilhah, for a female servant to her. 30 And he went in to Rachel; and he loved Rachel more than Leah; and he served him seven other years. 31 And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son to Jacob; and she called his name, Reuben; saying, Because the Lord has looked on my humiliation, now then my husband will love me. 33 And she conceived again, and bore a second son to Jacob; and she said, Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given to me this one also; and she called his name, Simeon. 34 And she conceived yet again, and bore a son, and said, In the present time my husband will be with me, for I have borne him three sons; therefore she called his name, Levi. 35 And having conceived yet again, she bore a son, and said, Now yet again this time I will give thanks to the Lord; therefore she called his name, Judah; and ceased bearing.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 29:17 and LXX Genesis 29:17 and Jubilees 28:5

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

Genesis 29 says Leah had “tender” eyes, but Rachel was beautiful, a contrast that confused readers who saw Leah’s eyes as a flaw, explaining why Laban deceived Jacob into marrying her. This interpretation is found in the Greek Septuagint and Jubilees.

Passages

Genesis 29:17

Hebrew Bible
16 (Now Laban had two daughters; the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were tender, but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

LXX Genesis 29:17

Septuagint
16 Now Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger, Rachel. 17 And the eyes of Leah were weak. But Rachel was beautiful in appearance, and exceedingly fair in face. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Genesis

Jubilees 28:5

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
4 And he went in to her, and look, she was Leah; and Jacob was angry with Laban, and said to him: 'Why have you treated me this way? Did I not serve you for Rachel and not for Leah? Why have you wronged me? Take your daughter, and I will go; for you have done evil to me.' 5 For Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah; for Leah's eyes were weak, but her form was very handsome; but Rachel had beautiful eyes and a beautiful and very handsome form.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

"... Whether or not Jacob was actually deluded, interpreters were equally curious about why Laban had gone to the trouble of switching his two daughters in the first place. Most did not take Laban's own explanation (that the younger daughter was not be married off before the older) as truthful. Instead, they reasoned, Laban had been motivated by a crucial difference in his two daughters' appearances. For when they are first described, they are presented in these terms ... The significance of the word "soft" seemed to hold the key to understanding this whole incident. For if Leah's eyes were soft and (as the text goes on to add) Jacob preferred Rachel, then perhaps having "soft eyes" was some sort of defect, one that would make Laban have to resort to trickery in order to find Leah a husband. Thus, some interpreters concluded that she indeed had something wrong with her eyes ..."
James L. Kugel, The Bible as It Was (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998), 220.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 29:17 and LXX Genesis 29:17 and Jubilees 28:5

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