Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/276

Rh The Book of Genesis

258 V.

Jacob, by his great strength, alone rolls away the huge This usually required the combmed efforts of all the shepherds.

10.

stone.

V. part

Among

11.

of men,

the Orientals weeping because of joy, even on the

common

a

is

There

practice.

is

nothing of the occi-

dental conception of tears as unmanly.

V.

12.

the

]"'or

XXVII,

note to

meaning of

"brother"' here

and

in

v.

cf.

15,

the

29.

V. 13. It must be understood that this was the first word which Laban had heard of his sister in all these years since she had deFurthermore, in the Orient parted with the servant of Abraham. Hence blood kinship establishes an undeniable bond between men.

Laban's joy at beholding his sister's son. It is a common practice in the Orient, and in many other parts of the world, for relatives who have not seen each other for a long time, regardless of sex, to kiss each other upon meeting.

V.

In selecting a w^ife in the Orient especial attention

17.

One with unprepossessing

to beauty of the eyes.

greatly sought after;

cf.

is

paid

eyes W'ould not be

National Geographic Magazine, March, 1914,

170.

V.

Among

18.

the

ancient

Semites,

as

among

so

many

peoples, girls are regarded as the property of their fathers, and

other

must

purchased from him by their future husbands. Where the latter is unable to pay the bride-price demanded, it is not uncommon for him, as here, to pledge his services to his father-in-law for a fixed period of years, usually (five to seven cf. National Geographic Magazine, :Iarch, 1914, 295f. Musil, Arabia Petraca, III, 284. A most interesting and illuminating parallel to the Jacob story is recorded by Burckhardt (Trarels in Syria and the Holy Land, 297f.) "I once met with a young man who had served eight years for his food only at the expiration of that period he obtained in marriage therefore

lie









whom he would, otherwise, have had When I saw him he had pay seven or eight hundred piastres. l:een married three years but he complained l)itterly of his father-inlaw, who continued to require of him the performance of the most servile offices, without paying him anything and thus prevented him from setting up for himself and family". Cf also ibid. 385.)

the daughter of his master, for to





(

As of,

is

given by the father to his daughter, and becomes her inalienable

property. entire

.

a rule the bride-price, or at least a considerable portion there-

But

if

bride-price

guilty of

enabled

this

the

father be avaricious, he frequently retains the

for

himself.

departure from

Leah and Rachel

to

XXXI, 15f. states that Laban was common and approved practice: this justify

Jacob's

possession

of

a

large \n