Why didn’t Jacob realize he was marrying Leah instead of Rachel?
Genesis 29:21 - 30
AMP - 21 Finally, Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my time is completed, so that I may take her to me. 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast [with drinking].
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Asked July 18 2018
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Patty Ward
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Tim Maas
I've always taken it to be from a possible mixture of 1) the dressing customs associated with weddings of the time and culture, in which the woman might have been veiled or otherwise attired from modesty to conceal her identity; 2) there being enough similarity between Leah and Rachel in height and build that, given such concealment, Jacob would not have been immediately aware of the difference; 3) possible intoxication on Jacob's part from the drinking of wine in connection with the wedding ceremony and celebration; 4) fatigue from the length of the wedding celebration; 5) the lateness of the hour; and/or 6) low lighting (or perhaps absence of lighting) associated with the bridal chamber.
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