Genesis 29:19

Gen 29:19 And Laban said, [It is] better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.

Ver. 19. It is better that I give her to thee.] Indeed, he sold her to him for seven years’ service. This was Laban, or Nabal, choose you which. Their names were not more like than their conditions. Laban’s daughters and Nabal’s wife were alike handled by their unkind parents. "He hath sold us," said they, "and hath also quite devoured our money". {Gen 31:15} And, He hath married me, might Abigail have said, to the money, and not to the man; and though he named me his joy, yet he hath caused me much sorrow. How many a child is so cast away by the covetous parents! It was better with Laban’s two daughters; but no thanks to their father.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(19) It is better that I give her to thee.—It is still the custom among the Arabs to prefer a relative as the husband of a daughter, and on giving a moderato dowry the elder cousins can claim the elder daughters in marriage, and the younger the younger. Thus Jacob, as the second son, had a claim upon Rachel. The Rabbins even say that Leah’s eyes were weak from weeping, because Esau had not come to marry her. This absurd idea bears witness, nevertheless, to the custom of the intermarriage of cousins being an established rule, and gives a reason for Laban’s acceptance of Jacob as the husband of his younger child. As Jacob offered seven years’ service for Rachel, and gave a second seven years’ service for her after he had been tricked into taking Leah, we may conclude that the length of time was not unreasonable.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. It is better] Laban means that it is in the interests of the family his daughter should be married to one of their own kindred. The marriage of first cousins is considered especially desirable among the Bedouin.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Laban said,.... Deceitfully, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, pretending great respect for Jacob, and that what he had proposed was very agreeable to him, when he meant to impose upon him:

it is better that I should give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man; by which he not only intimates that he preferred him, a relation, to another man, a stranger; but as if he did not insist upon the servitude for her, but would give her to him; unless he means upon the terms proposed, and so it should seem by what follows:

abide with me: the term of seven years, and serve me; suggesting, that then he agreed Rachel should be his wife; and so Jacob, a plain hearted man, understood him; but he designed no such thing.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

An ambiguous and crafty answer, wherein he doth not directly grant his desire, but only insinuates it in such terms as might hide his design, which the event showed.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. Better… to thee, than… to another — Laban gladly accepts Jacob’s offer. It was worth more to him than gold. This custom of preferring marriage with one’s own kindred, and also the practice of receiving dowry for a daughter, illustrate the manners of the ancient East, which prevail largely even at the present day. While the daughter is not sold as a slave, the practice shows the comparatively low position of women in the East, and how little a wife had to say in the choice of a husband. But the dowry may be looked upon as a reward paid to parents for the care of a daughter’s training and bringing up to womanhood, and also a suitable expression of gratitude on the part of the husband towards the parents of his wife.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man. Orientals commonly prefer alliances within the circle of their own relatives. Burckhardt, Volney, Layard, and Lane testify that this is still the case among the Bedouins, the Druses, and other Eastern tribes. Abide with me a formal ratification of the compact on the part of Laban.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

than that I should give her to another man

"rather than give her to another man"

and they seemed to him only a few days

"but the time seemed to him to be only a few days"

for the love he had for her

"on account of the love he had for her" or "because of his love for her"

translationWords

Laban

Jacob

year

Rachel

day

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ויאמר...טוב תתי, Lavan admitted that marrying members of one’s family was a good thing.

שבה עמדי, on the basis of the conditions which you yourself have suggested. After you have fulfilled these conditions I will give her to you.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.