Genesis 29:1-14
New English Translation
The Marriages of Jacob
29 So Jacob moved on[a] and came to the land of the eastern people.[b] 2 He saw[c] in the field a well with[d] three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now[e] a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds[f] would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson[g] of Nahor?” “We know him,”[h] they said. 6 “Is he well?”[i] Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well.[j] Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 7 Then Jacob[k] said, “Since it is still the middle of the day,[l] it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.”[m] 8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water[n] the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them.[o] 10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban,[p] and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he[q] went over[r] and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban.[s] 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly.[t] 12 When Jacob explained[u] to Rachel that he was a relative of her father[v] and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob[w] told Laban how he was related to him.[x] 14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.”[y] So Jacob[z] stayed with him for a month.[aa]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 29:1 tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.
- Genesis 29:1 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
- Genesis 29:2 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.
- Genesis 29:2 tn Heb “and look, there.”
- Genesis 29:2 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
- Genesis 29:3 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 29:5 tn Heb “son.”
- Genesis 29:5 tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.
- Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
- Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “peace.”
- Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “the day is great.”
- Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.
- Genesis 29:8 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
- Genesis 29:9 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
- Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
- Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
- Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).
- Genesis 29:11 tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.
- Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “declared.”
- Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
- Genesis 29:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 29:13 tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).
- Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13; see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).
- Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “a month of days.”
Genesis 29:1-14
Amplified Bible
Jacob Meets Rachel
29 Then Jacob [a]went on his way and came to the land of the people of the East [near Haran]. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying there [resting] beside it because the flocks were watered from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well [that covered and protected it] was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, water the sheep, and [afterward] replace the stone on the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” 5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban the grandson of Nahor [Abraham’s brother]?” And they replied, “We know him.” 6 And he asked them, “[b]Is it well with him?” And they said, “He is doing well; look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!” 7 Jacob said, “Look, the sun is still high [overhead]; it is a long time before the flocks need to be gathered [in their folds for the night]. Water the sheep, and go, and return them to their pasture.” 8 But they said, “We cannot [leave] until all the flocks are gathered together, and the shepherds roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we will water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw [his cousin] Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he came up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban, his uncle. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel [in greeting], and he raised his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel he was her father’s relative, Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.
13 When Laban heard of the arrival of Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. 14 Then Laban said to him, “You are my bone and my flesh.” And Jacob stayed with him a month.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 29:1 Lit raised his feet.
- Genesis 29:6 Lit Is peace (Heb shalom) to him?
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
