The word “famine” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak in 2010. Today the opening carries none. 1 remains further down the article, where a reader arriving from a search result does not go.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. “famine” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 1.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2010 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2010
Laban and Jacob make a covenant together, as narrated in Genesis 31:44-54. Laban ( Hebrew : לָבָן , Modern : Lavan , Tiberian : Lāḇān , "White") is the son of Bethuel , brother of Rebecca and the father of Leah and Rachel as described in the Book of Genesis . As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob .1 Laban and his family were described as dwelling in Paddan-aram , in Mesopotamia . Laban first appears in Genesis 24:29-60 as the grown spokesman for his father Bethuel's house; he was impressed by the gold jewelry given to his sister on behalf of Isaac, and played a key part in arranging their marriage. Twenty years later, Laban's nephew Jacob was born to Isaac and Rebecca. When grown, Jacob comes to work for Laban. The Biblical narrative provides a framework for dating these events. Jacob begat Joseph 14 years after his flight to Laban; Joseph entered Pharaoh's service at age 30; and from that point, after 7 years of plenty and 2 years of famine, Jacob met Pharaoh and stated his age as 130. Subtracting yields an age of 77 (Jacob at his flight to Laban). Laban was more than 30 years older than Jacob, and employed him for 20 years. Laban promised his younger daughter Rachel to Jacob in return for seven years' service, only to trick him into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. Jacob then served another seven years in exchange for the right to marry his choice, Rachel, as well (Gen. 29). longevity Laban's flocks and fortunes increased under Jacob's skilled care, but there was much further trickery between them. Six years after his promised service has ended, Jacob, having prospered largely by proving more cunning than his father-in-law, finally left. Laban pursued him, but they eventually parted on good terms (Gen. 31). Laban can be seen as symbolizing those whose concern for the welfare of their immediate family, nominally a virtue, is taken to the point where it has lasting negative ramifications. Laban's normal urge to ensure his older daughter not be left unmarried can be interpreted as leading to the Exile in Egypt; his anxiety over seeing his son-in-law throw away his family's comfortable position in Aram in search of a risky new beginning back in Canaan leads him to oppose the return of the Children of Israel to the Promised Land . His name can also be seen as symbolic in this matter: it means "white", the visual representation of purity, without visible stain, symbolizing those without apparent evil motives whose actions nevertheless result in undesirable outcomes.2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 365384874.
The opening as it stood in 2005
In the Book of Genesis , Laban ( לָבָן "White", Standard Hebrew Lavan , Tiberian Hebrew Lāḇān ) is the brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel . As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and twice the father-in-law to Jacob . Laban first appears in the story in Genesis 24:29-60, where he is impressed by the gold jewelry given to his sister on behalf of Isaac, and plays a key part in arranging their marriage. Much later, Laban promises his younger daughter Rachel to Jacob (Rebekah's son) in return for seven years' service, only to trick him into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. Jacob then serves another seven years in exchange for the right to also marry his choice, Rachel, see Genesis 29. Laban's flocks and fortunes increase under Jacob's skilled care, but there is much further trickery between them. Six years after his promised service has ended, Jacob, having prospered largely by proving more cunning than his father-in-law, finally leaves. Laban pursues him, but they eventually part on good terms, see Genesis 31.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 16645490.
The opening as it stood in 2015 14 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Laban and Jacob make a covenant together, as narrated in Genesis 31:44–54 Laban ( Hebrew : לָבָן , Modern : Lavan , Tiberian : Lāḇān , "White") is the son of Bethuel , brother of Rebekah as described in the Book of Genesis . As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob . Laban and his family were described as dwelling in Paddan Aram , in Mesopotamia . Though the biblical text itself does not attest to this, Rabbinic sources also identify him as the father of Bilhah and Zilpah , the two concubines with whom Jacob also has children (Midrash Raba, Gen 24)
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 662868425.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Biblical figure Laban and Jacob make a covenant together, as narrated in Genesis 31:44–54 Laban ( Hebrew : , Modern : Lavan , Tiberian : Lāḇān , "White") also known as Laban the Aramean is a figure in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible .He was the brother of Rebekah , who married Isaac and bore Jacob .Laban welcomed his nephew as a young man, and set him the stipulation of seven years' labour before he permitted him to marry his daughter Rachel .Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead.Jacob then took both women as wives. Laban and his family were described as dwelling in Paddan Aram , in Mesopotamia . Though the biblical text itself does not attest to this, Rabbinic sources also identify him as the father of Bilhah and Zilpah , the two concubines with whom Jacob also has children (Midrash Raba, Gen 24)
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963802566.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Biblical figure Laban and Jacob make a covenant together, as narrated in Genesis 31:44–54 Laban ( Aramaic : ܠܵܒܵܢ; Hebrew : לָבָן , Modern : Lavan , Tiberian : Lāḇān , "White"), also known as Laban the Aramean , is a figure in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible . He was the brother of Rebekah , the woman who married Isaac and bore Jacob . Laban welcomed his nephew, and set him the stipulation of seven years' labour before he permitted him to marry his daughter Rachel . Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. Jacob then took Rachel as his second wife, on condition of serving an additional seven years' labour. Laban and his family were described as dwelling in Paddan Aram , in Mesopotamia . Though the biblical text itself does not attest to this, rabbinic sources also identify him as the father of Bilhah and Zilpah , the two concubines with whom Jacob also has children ( Midrash Rabba , Gen. 24 ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1174606363.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Biblical figure This article is about the biblical figure. Laban and Jacob make a covenant together, as narrated in Genesis 31:44–54 Laban ( Aramaic : ܠܵܒܵܢ; Hebrew : לָבָן , Modern : Lavan , Tiberian : Lāḇān , "White"), also known as Laban the Aramean , is a figure in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible . He was the brother of Rebekah , the woman who married Isaac and bore Jacob . Laban welcomed his nephew, and set him the stipulation of seven years' labour before he permitted him to marry his daughter Rachel . Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. Jacob then took Rachel as his second wife, on condition of serving an additional seven years' labour. Laban and his family were described as dwelling in Paddan Aram , in Mesopotamia .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1288627662. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
“famine” appeared 1 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today the opening has none; the body has 1. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 2015.
Then
brother of rebekah and the father of leah and rachel
Now
son of bethuel
Sections that no longer exist
Present on 6 October 2023, absent today. A heading can vanish because the section was deleted or because it was renamed or merged, and we have not separated those here, so treat this as a list of what to check rather than a verdict.
Narrative2,170 characters
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