Genesis 29:4
in Genesis 29“My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.
KJV
And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.
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This verse in Genesis 29
Commentary
6 notes on this verseMy brethren, whence be ye? - The language of Laban and his family was Chaldee and not Hebrew; (see Gen 31:47); but from the names which Leah gave to her children we see that the two languages had many words in common, and therefore Jacob and the shepherds might understand each other with little difficulty. It is possible also that Jacob might have learned the Chaldee or Aramitish language from his mother, as this was his mother’s tongue.
This site's exposition
My brothers, Jacob asked the shepherds
on Genesis 29:4-6
Jacob asks the shepherds three questions and gets three short answers. The third answer comes with Rachel walking toward him. Laban is named here as the grandson of Nahor, Abraham's brother, reaching past his own father Bethuel. The reader met this Laban in chapter 24, running out to a stranger at the sight of gold.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
My brethren, whence be ye? The great frankness of that age appears in this manner of meeting together; for, though the fraternal name is often abused by dishonest and wicked men, it is yet not to be doubted that friendly intercourse was then more faithfully cultivated than it is now.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Jacob said unto them,....
Though he was now upon his preferment, he was not ashamed of his occupation. (5.) Those that show respect have usually respect shown to them. As Jacob was civil to these strangers, so he found them civil to him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Jacob said, My brethren--Finding from the shepherds who were reposing there with flocks and who all belonged to Haran, that his relatives in Haran were well and that one of the family was shortly expected, he enquired why they were idling the best part of the day there instead of watering their flocks and sending them back to pasture.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| יַעֲקֹ֔ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| אַחַ֖י | ʾachai | O brothers my | H251 → | 630 times |
| מֵאַ֣יִן | meayin | from where? | H370 → | |
| אַתֶּ֑ם | ʾatem | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֵחָרָ֖ן | mecharan | [are] from Haran | H2771 → | 12 times |
| אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃ | ʾanachenu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָהֶם֙to <the> them
lahem
יַעֲקֹ֔בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
אַחַ֖יO brothers my
ʾachaiH251 →630 times
מֵאַ֣יִןfrom where?
meayinH370 →
אַתֶּ֑ם[are] you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
מֵחָרָ֖ן[are] from Haran
mecharanH2771 →12 times
אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃we
ʾanachenuH587 →120 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
Acts 7:2And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
it leads to
- Genesis 11:31
And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan.…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Acts 22:1
“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”
- Genesis 11:31
Through
Genesis 11:31And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan.…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 9:7
You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
- Acts 7:2–4
And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
- Genesis 12:4
So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
- Genesis 24:10
Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim.
- Genesis 15:7
The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
- Nehemiah 9:7
Through
Acts 7:4So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.
it leads to
- Genesis 12:4–5
So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
- Genesis 12:4–5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.