And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
Parallel translations
- WEB Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” He lived with him for a month.
- BSB Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
- NKJV And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.
- NASB And Laban said to him, “You certainly are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.
- NLT Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!” After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month,
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
Laban acknowledges Jacob as his own flesh and blood, and Jacob stays a month with him.
Overview
Laban affirms their kinship with the phrase "my bone and my flesh," embracing Jacob as family. The month-long stay establishes Jacob within the household before any agreement about wages. This bond of kinship, however, will not prevent Laban from exploiting Jacob in the negotiations to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Sam 19:12–13Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
- Judg 9:2Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
- Gen 2:23And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
- 2 Sam 5:1Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
- Gen 13:8And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
- Gen 29:15And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?
- Mic 7:5Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
- Gen 29:12And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son: and she ran and told her father.
- Eph 5:30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
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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 29:14 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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