Genesis 29:9 - Meaning and Application

Here we see Rachel’s humility and hard work. She was keeping her father’s sheep (Genesis 29:9), that is, she had charge of them, with servants under her helping with the work. Rachel’s name means “sheep.” Honest, useful labor is nothing to be ashamed of, and it should not keep anyone from rising to a better place.

We also see Jacob’s tenderness and love. When he learned that Rachel was his relative, and he likely had heard her name before, he would have quickly realized this was the woman he had come for. He had already been struck by her attractive, simple face, though she may have been sunburned and dressed like a shepherdess. So he was eager to help her, and he greeted her with tears of joy and kisses of love (Genesis 29:10, 11).

Rachel hurried to tell her father, because she would not receive her kinsman’s approach without her father’s knowledge and approval (Genesis 29:12). Their mutual respect at this first meeting was a good sign that they would make a happy marriage. It is often a blessing when kindness, respect, and good order appear from the start.

We also see God’s providence at work, turning what seemed like chance into quick relief for Jacob’s heart as soon as he reached the place he had been sent to. Abraham’s servant, on a similar mission, had also found similar welcome. In this way, God guides his people by his eye (Psalm 32:8).

Some Jewish writers had a made-up story that Jacob wept because Eliphaz, Esau’s oldest son, had attacked him on the road and taken all his money and jewels. But that idea has no support here. It is clear that Jacob’s tears came from his deep feeling for Rachel and from the surprise of such a joyful meeting.

Laban, though not a very pleasant man, welcomed Jacob and was satisfied with his account of himself and of why he had come in such poor condition. We should avoid being too quick to trust people, but we must also guard against a harsh spirit of suspicion. Laban owned Jacob as family, saying, “You are my own flesh and blood” (Genesis 29:14). People who treat their own relatives coldly are truly hard-hearted, and they fail in the mercy God calls for (Isaiah 58:7).