(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)
“Jacob said to them, “My relatives, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.” He said to them, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well. See, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with the sheep.” He said, “Behold, it is still the middle of the day, not time to gather the livestock together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.” They said, “We can’t, until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the well’s mouth. Then we will water the sheep.””
(Genesis 29:4-8)
Comfortable with the kind of people he ran into in this country, Jacob spoke to them. He was THRILLED that they knew who they were looking for. I’m not sure if he saw the hand of God in it yet or not. Perhaps he figured ‘coincidence’ as so many of us have. But God had promised to guide him and be with him. This was the firstfruits of that promise.
Jacob had not only come across people who knew his uncle, but his cousin was coming at that moment with the sheep. Coincidence indeed.
Jacob was no stranger to the rhythms of sheep herding. He knew the best times of day for the best activities. He was in his seventies. He had been raised around livestock his whole life. He knew sheep. His concern seemed to be time. If they spent too much time lounging around instead of watering them, they’d run out of time for the second feed of they day before evening. They needed to get going. It was noon and there was still time for the second graze. He was giving them a friendly reminder to get themselves in gear.
The stone guarding the well was so big it took all of them together to lift or shift it. They HAD to wait until everyone was there, regardless of what they WANTED to do. Their security on their resource was forcing their behaviour.
The sage Rav Hirsch writes: ‘V. 7. האסף המקנה, not הצאן, he called the flocks מקנה, property and reminded them by that term of their duty towards the owner of the sheep, the sheep should not be allowed to lie about idle, but should be taken to the pastures.’
The sage Radak writes: ‘ויאמר להם…בן נחור. He mentioned Lavan’s grandfather rather than his father seeing Nachor had been a well known personality whereas Betuel had not. This is also why we find in Genesis 31,53 the expressionאלוקי אברהם ואלוקי נחור, seeing that Nachor had been well known.’
The sage Or HaChaim writes: ‘?ויאמר להם השלום לו He said to them: “Is he well?” The reason that the shepherds did not say שלום לו, “he is well,” which would have answered Jacob’s question, is that Jacob’s question contained two elements. 1) Is he well physically and economically? and 2) were the shepherds on good terms (at peace) with Laban. By saying merely שלום, the shepherds replied to both of Jacob’s enquiries with a single word. When they added that Laban’s daughter Rachel was approaching they answered a question Jacob had not asked. They may have done so in order that Jacob should not engage them in any more questions. He could ask Rachel about anything else he wanted to know. They may also have wanted to underline the good relations they had with Laban by pointing out that Laban was not afraid to send a young girl to the well with them. This is in contrast with Yitro, who was not at peace with the local shepherds; the Torah had reported that his seven grown up daughters watered the sheep and even their number did not protect them from being abused by the local shepherds. The one word reply שלום may have had yet another connotation. They meant that regarding Laban’s physical wellbeing and his relations with them, those were peaceful. In order for Jacob not to gain the impression that Laban was well to do, they added that he employed his young daughter Rachel as shepherdess, a sign that he could not afford hired help. Moreover, they indicated that Laban’s flocks could be managed by a single girl; his possessions could not therefore have amounted to much. They were careful not to utter a lie which would have been revealed as such anyway. Alternatively, they were afraid that Laban might complain to them why they had described him as wealthy. Solomon refers to such considerations in Proverbs 27,14 when he suggests that if someone praises someone else’s wealth it is in order that not he but the wealthy person should have the honour of hosting the questioner. Yet another meaning that the shepherds could have had in mind by their brief reply was that Laban was a miser with his money and cheapened himself by letting his precious daughter tend his flock. Jacob was thereby invited to form an opinion of the man and his deeds. ויאמר הן עוד היום גדול, He said: “The day is still long, etc.” The reason that Jacob presumed to judge their actions was that he was concerned with unnecessary suffering of the animals (compare Baba Metzia 32). He also wanted to find out if the reason they delayed watering the flocks was because this was not the proper time and that the town was far off and these animals were used to be kept in the town overnight. This interested him because it would help him determine the distance he had travelled. He learned from the shepherds’ answer that what they did was not related to the distance from Charan.’
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