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The Marriages of Jacob

29 So Jacob moved on[a] and came to the land of the eastern people.[b] 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. 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.

Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson[g] of Nahor?” “We know him,”[h] they said. “Is he well?”[i] Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well.[j] Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 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] “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.”

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]

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Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. Genesis 29:1 tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”
  3. 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.
  4. Genesis 29:2 tn Heb “and look, there.”
  5. Genesis 29:2 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.
  6. Genesis 29:3 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  7. Genesis 29:5 tn Heb “son.”
  8. 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.
  9. Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”
  10. Genesis 29:6 tn Heb “peace.”
  11. Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. Genesis 29:7 tn Heb “the day is great.”
  13. 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.
  14. Genesis 29:8 tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.
  15. Genesis 29:9 tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”
  16. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).
  17. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  18. Genesis 29:10 tn Heb “drew near, approached.”
  19. 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).
  20. 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.
  21. Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “declared.”
  22. Genesis 29:12 tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”
  23. Genesis 29:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  24. 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).
  25. 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).
  26. Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. Genesis 29:14 tn Heb “a month of days.”

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Then Jacob [a]set out on his journey, and went to the land of (A)the [b]people of the east. He looked, and [c]saw (B)a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, because they watered the flocks from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.

Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from (C)Haran.” So he said to them, “Do you know Laban the (D)son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is his daughter (E)Rachel coming with the sheep.” Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.” But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob (F)kissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a (G)relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and (H)she ran and told her father.

13 So when (I)Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and (J)embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “You certainly are (K)my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:1 Lit lifted up his feet
  2. Genesis 29:1 Lit sons
  3. Genesis 29:2 Lit behold