Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
- KJV And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
- NKJV Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.
- NASB Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept.
- NLT Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jacob kisses Rachel and weeps aloud, overcome with emotion at meeting his kindred.
Overview
Jacob's tears express the relief and joy of a lonely exile finding family at his journey's end. The customary greeting-kiss between relatives is heightened by the depth of his feeling. His emotion reflects gratitude for God's faithfulness in bringing him safely to his mother's house.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 33:4Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
- Gen 43:30Joseph hurried out because he was moved to tears for his brother, and he went to a private room to weep.
- Gen 45:2But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it.
- Gen 45:14–15Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced.
- Exod 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.
- Rom 16:16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings.
- Exod 18:7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.
- Gen 27:26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.”
- Gen 29:13When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 29:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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