Genesis 29:20

 Genesis 29:20

And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

a. ASV: And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And Jacob serveth for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. Stone Edition THE CHUMASH, Rabbinic Commentary: So jacob worked seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him a few days because of his love for her. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE CHUMASH Copyright 1998, 2000 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ldt.]

f. Torah, Judaism and Jewish information on the web: www.chabad.org; Online English Translation of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible): So Jacob worked for Rachel seven years, but they appeared to him like a few days because of his love for her. [English Translation, Ⓒ Copyright The Judaica Press All rights reserved.]

1. “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.”

a. [And] Jacob [Strong: Jacob [Strong: 3290 Ya`aqob yah-ak-obe' from 6117; heel-catcher (i.e. supplanter); Jaakob, the Israelitish patriarch:--Jacob.]

b. served [Strong: 5647 `abad aw-bad' a primitive root; to work (in any sense); by implication, to serve, till, (causatively) enslave, etc.:--X be, keep in bondage, be bondmen, bond-service, compel, do, dress, ear, execute, + husbandman, keep, labour(-ing man, bring to pass, (cause to, make to) serve(-ing, self), (be, become) servant(-s), do (use) service, till(-er), transgress (from margin), (set a) work, be wrought, worshipper,]

c. seven [Strong: 7651 sheba` sheh'-bah or (masculine) shibrah {shib-aw'}; from 7650; a primitive cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number:--(+ by) seven(-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times).]

d. years [Strong: 8141 shaneh shaw-neh' (in plura or (feminine) shanah {shaw-naw'}; from 8138; a year (as a revolution of time):--+ whole age, X long, + old, year(X -ly).]

e. [for] Rachel [Strong: 7354 Rachel raw-khale' the same as 7353; Rachel, a wife of Jacob:--Rachel.]

f. [and they] seemed [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

g. [unto] him [Strong: 5869 `ayin ah'-yin probably a primitive word; an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape):--affliction, outward appearance, + before, + think best, colour, conceit, + be content, countenance, + displease, eye((-brow), (-d), -sight), face, + favour, fountain, furrow (from the margin), X him, + humble, knowledge, look, (+ well), X me, open(-ly), + (not) please, presence, + regard, resemblance, sight, X thee, X them, + think, X us, well, X you(-rselves).

h. [but a] few [Strong: 259 'echad ekh-awd' a numeral from 258; properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first:--a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-)ly, each (one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,]

i. days [Strong: 3117 yowm yome from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.]

j. [for the] love [he had] [Strong: 157 'ahab aw-hab' or raheb {aw-habe'}; a primitive root; to have affection for (sexually or otherwise):--(be-)love(-d, -ly, -r), like, friend.]

k. [to] her [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

1). At the end of these seven years Jacob would have been 84. It is unknown how old Rachel would have been.

2). Finis Jennings Dake: That Jacob was 77 years old at this time seems evident from a study of several passages. It is necessary to take into account the age of his son Joseph at the time he (Jacob) went down to Egypt with his family and figure back to this time. From Genesis 41:46-54 and Genesis 45:5-9 we learn that Joseph was 30 years old “when he stood before Pharoah”, at the beginning of the 7 plenteous years. After those 7 years and two more years of famine, Joseph was 39, his brothers, their families, and their father Jacob, came down to live with Joseph in Egypt. Jacob was then 130 years old, Genesis 47:9. This means that Jacob was 91 years old when Joseph was born in Haran. It was then that Jacob wanted to return to his own people in Canaan, but Laban persuaded him to remain 6 more years, (Genesis 30:25-28; Genesis 31:38-41). Since the entire stay in Haran was 20 years, of which 6 were spent after Joseph was born, then  we know that joseph was born in the 14th year of Jacob in Haran. Counting back 14 years from his age of 91 at joseph’s birth, we thus find him about 77 when he first came to Haran looking for a wife. He returned to Isaac and Esau after the 20 years with Laban.

2). To find the years between the time of Rebecca, Laban’s sister (Genesis 24:29) leaving, and Jacob arriving we have the 77 years stated above. Then we need to add 20 years of Isaac and Rebecca together before the birth of Jacob and Esau. Isaac (Genesis 25:26). Doing all the math we have 97 years between the time Rebecca left and Jacob arriving. All this math means that Rebecca was well over 100 years old at this time as well as Laban.