Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.
Parallel translations
- WEB When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country.
- KJV And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
- NKJV And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.
- NASB Now it came about, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own place and to my own country.
- NLT Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country.
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
After Joseph's birth, Jacob asks Laban to release him so he can return to his homeland. He desires to go back to Canaan, the land of promise.
Overview
Joseph's birth seems to mark a turning point that stirs Jacob to seek his own future. His longing for his 'own place' reflects an awareness of the covenant land promised to Abraham and Isaac. This request sets in motion the negotiations and eventual departure that will fulfill God's earlier call for Jacob to return home.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Gen 24:54Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”
- Gen 24:56But he replied, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”
- Gen 28:13And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
- Gen 18:33When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned home.
- Gen 28:15Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
- Gen 26:3Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
- Acts 7:4–5So 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 24:6–7Abraham replied, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there.
- Gen 31:13I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up and leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”
- Gen 31:55Early the next morning, Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and daughters and blessed them. Then he left to return home.
- Gen 27:44–45Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—
- Heb 11:9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
- Heb 11:15–16If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
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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 30:25 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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