Laban said, “It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
- BSB Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older.
- NKJV And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
- NASB But Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the firstborn.
- NLT “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied.
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 excuses himself by claiming local custom forbids marrying off the younger daughter before the firstborn.
Overview
Laban's appeal to custom is a self-serving justification that he never mentioned during the seven-year agreement. The mention of giving the younger before the "firstborn" pointedly recalls how Jacob had usurped the firstborn's place from Esau. Providence quietly turns Jacob's own history back upon him.
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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 29:26 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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