In order to understand the way in which Laban deceives Jacob, it is necessary to assume, as supported by 24.65, that the bride remained veiled throughout the wedding feast. But even with this understanding, we may agree with Driver when he says “it is still difficult to understand how the disguise could be carried successfully through.”

But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob: evening probably refers in this case to some time after dark. Since Jacob is expecting to be united with Rachel, it may be necessary to say, as does Good News Translation, “instead of Rachel,” which makes clear that Laban is deceiving Jacob. In some cases this may need to be made even stronger; for example, “Instead of bringing Rachel, he waited until dark and then brought Leah to Jacob” or “… brought Leah to Jacob’s room.” Another way of expressing this is to say “But that night he did not take his second daughter to Jacob, he took his first daughter to him.” In some translations the deception is stated directly: “But when the sun went down and it was dark, he tricked Jacob and brought … Leah.”

And he went in to her means that Jacob had sex with Leah. Translators must be careful to express this thought in a manner that can be read in public. Many languages say “he slept with her,” “he lay down with her,” or “they slept together.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .