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“My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.
Genesis 29:4 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jacob said to them, “My relatives, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”
  • KJV And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.
  • NKJV And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”
  • NASB Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”
  • NLT Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.

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 asks the shepherds where they are from, and they answer, "From Haran."

Overview

Jacob's inquiry confirms he has arrived at his intended destination. The shepherds' reply assures the reader that God has guided him precisely to Laban's region. This providential accuracy underscores that the Lord who promised to keep Jacob is faithfully directing his steps.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Gen 28:10Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
  • Gen 27:43So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
  • 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.
  • Gen 24:10Then 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.
  • Gen 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. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.
  • 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,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 29:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 29:4 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.