And Laban said to him, “You certainly are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.
Parallel translations
- WEB Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” He lived with him for a month.
- KJV And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of 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.
- 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 19:12–13You are my brothers. You are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’
- Judg 9:2“Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
- Gen 2:23The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”
- 2 Sam 5:1Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and spoke, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
- Gen 13:8Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen; for we are relatives.
- Gen 29:15Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what will your wages be?”
- Mic 7:5Don’t trust in a neighbor. Don’t put confidence in a friend. With the woman lying in your embrace, be careful of the words of your mouth!
- Gen 29:12Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son. She ran and told her father.
- Eph 5:30because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones.
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 29:14 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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