How Long Did Jacob Wrestle with Laban?–Part One
What were the societies and cultures like in Mesopotamia during the time of the biblical patriarchs? Why was Jacob sent into Mesopotamia to choose a wife from among the daughters of Laban? And how many years did Jacob live with and work for Laban in Harran? The patriarch Abraham was a prosperous merchant and sojourner in the Middle East who came from the Sumerian city-state of Ur in a land of the Chaldeans. These Chaldeans lived in the lower valley of the Euphrates at the head of the Persian Gulf (Bitter Sea), and they—like other peoples in the region—were caught up in the various warring conflicts among the developing city-states of Mesopotamia. In time one of the earliest of these Mesopotamian city-states became an “empire” during the rule of Sargon the Great of Akkad, who came to prominence with the conquest of the Sumerian city-states and his defeat of Lugalzaggesi (Lugal means “king,” or “mighty one”), who is thought by some people to have been the Nimrod of Scripture. And a consequence of Sargon’s expanding rule over southern Mesopotamia was the spread of the Semitic tongue known as Akkadian, which was replaced by a later lingua franca known as Aramaic (Gen. 10:9-12). Then with the decline of the dynasty of Akkad there was a resurgence of influence—a renaissance—in the city-state of Ur under the leadership of Ur-Nammu, the first king of the Third Dynasty of Ur. And as understood from ancient records he was called the “king of Sumer and Akkad,” and the oldest known surviving law code—Code of Ur-Nammu—is attributed to him, which is considered by some to be three centuries older than the Code of Hammurabi. Notably then Ur-Nammu’s leadership and influence, along with that of the succeeding rulers of Ur’s Third Dynasty, created a significant influence on the societies and cultures in the region where the patriarch Abraham was born. But as with other city-states and their dynasties the Third Dynasty of Ur also succumbed to the continuing problems of the warring city-states until it too fell into decline and was eventually overthrown by the Aramaeans and Elamites, who were—in the larger picture of ancient history—related to the descendants of Asshur and Arpachshad—sons of the biblical patriarch Shem. And this gives us something to consider. The patriarch Noah died about two years before the birth of Abraham because Noah lived for 350 more years after the Flood. And the patriarch Shem was still alive when Abraham was born, and he was still living when Abraham and his family departed from Ur, noting that a forefather of Abraham and possible founder of Ur was Arpachshad who was also living when Abraham was a young man in the region of Chaldea. Consequently the societies and cultures that Abraham grew up in were influenced by those who had experienced the Flood and by those who were born shortly thereafter. Therefore the nature of the Flood and the reason for it would not have been unknown in the time of Abraham. This tells us that in the years following the Flood—a deluge that destroyed earlier descendants of Adam and the pre-Flood patriarchs—there were again aggressively growing conflicts among the family groupings descended from Adam. And despite their knowledge of the Flood the people of Abraham’s day continued to perpetuate societies of warring city-states not so different from those that developed before the Flood, which included societies that cultivated the worship of many different gods—even identifying the patriarchs with gods. This was notably true of Terah the father of Abraham, which was confirmed by God through Joshua, who said, “Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood [Euphrates] in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods…. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites [of Amor], in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Jos. 24:2, 14-15). [Author’s emphasis throughout.] Here we have a glimpse into the societies and cultures of Abraham’s day, and the then Mesopotamian world with its politics and religions, which were influential on the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and also Jacob who in a dishonest manner took the birth-right promise and family inheritance from Esau. And interestingly it was this particular event regarding the birth-right promise that resulted in Jacob being sent into the region where his great grandfather Terah had eventually settled after leaving Ur. And it was here that Jacob would live for many years among his relatives near Harran. But let’s review a little more about the story of Abraham. Scripture states that: “Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran [Harran], and dwelt there” (Gen. 11:27-31). So Terah and his son Abraham and Abraham’s nephew Lot and their families made their journey to upper Mesopotamia where they settled near the Euphrates River in a place that became known as Harran. Then sometime