Genesis 29:11
in Genesis 29Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
KJV
And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
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This verse in Genesis 29
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIn addition Rachel is interpreted as a "sheep of God." And some consider her to be with good reason a symbol of the church among the nations. She is also the sheep of Christ, mixed in the ancient folds, and finally received in the fold of the Savior. Therefore he said, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
This site's exposition
Rachel arrived with her father's sheep
on Genesis 29:9-11
Rachel arrives with her father's sheep, and Jacob rolls the stone away by himself, waters Laban's flock, kisses her and weeps aloud. Chapter 24 ran the same scene for his mother: a traveller reaches the family's country, stops at a well, a woman comes to draw, and she runs home with the news. Moses meets his wife at a well at Exodus 2:16.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
We have frequently mentioned to your charity, dearly beloved, that blessed Jacob was a type and figure of our Lord and Savior.
Jacob continued on and turned aside to a well where he saw Rachel the shepherd girl, who, with her bare feet, her shabby clothing and her face burned from the sun, could not be distinguished from the charred brands that come out of the fire.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Jacob kissed Rachel,.... Which he did in a way of courtesy and civility; this was done after he had acquainted her with his relation to her; he saluted her upon that: and lifted up his voice, and wept; for joy at the providence of God that had brought him so opportunely to the place, and at the sight of a person so nearly related to him; and who he hoped would be his wife, and was the person designed of God for him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Jacob kissed Rachel - A simple and pure method by which the primitive inhabitants of the earth testified their friendship to each other, first abused by hypocrites, who pretended affection while their vile hearts meditated terror, (see the case of Joab), and afterwards disgraced by refiners on morals, who, while they pretended to stumble at those innocent expressions of affection and friendship, were capable of committing the grossest acts of impurity. And lifted up his voice - It may be, in thanksgiving to God for the favor he had shown him, in conducting him thus far in peace and safety.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Watering them, which is done twice a day, is a work of time and labor, and Jacob rendered no small service in volunteering his aid to the young shepherdess. The interview was affecting, the reception welcome, and Jacob forgot all his toils in the society of his Mesopotamian relatives.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשַּׁ֥ק | vaiyishak | and he kissed | H5401 → | 35 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֖ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| לְרָחֵ֑ל | lerachel | <to> Rachel | H7354 → | 47 times |
| וַיִּשָּׂ֥א | vaiyisa' | and he lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קֹל֖וֹ | kolo | voice his | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וַיֵּֽבְךְּ׃ | vaiyevek | and he wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
וַיִּשַּׁ֥קand he kissed
vaiyishakH5401 →35 times
יַעֲקֹ֖בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
לְרָחֵ֑ל<to> Rachel
lerachelH7354 →47 times
וַיִּשָּׂ֥אand he lifted up
vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קֹל֖וֹvoice his
koloH6963 →506 times
וַיֵּֽבְךְּ׃and he wept
vaiyevekH1058 →114 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 33:4Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
it leads to
- Genesis 45:14–15
Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced.
- Psalms 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
- Luke 15:20
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and…
- Genesis 32:28
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- Genesis 45:2
But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.
- Genesis 45:14–15
Through
Genesis 43:30Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.
it leads to
- Genesis 42:24
And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.
- Jeremiah 31:20
Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
- Genesis 42:24
Through
Exodus 4:27Meanwhile, the LORD had said to Aaron, “Go and meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met Moses at the mountain of God and kissed him.
it leads to
- Exodus 3:1
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Exodus 3:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
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About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 88.1; Cyril of Alexandria, GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 4.4; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 27:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.