Jacob said to them, “My relatives, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”

World English Bible · Public Domain

Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Jacob said to them, “My relatives, where are you from?” They said, “We are from Haran.”

  • KJV King James Version

    And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    And Jacob said unto them: 'My brethren, whence are ye?' And they said: 'Of Haran are we.'

View more translations →

Cross-references (6)

Passages linked to Genesis 29:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.

  • Genesis 28:10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
  • Genesis 27:43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran.
  • Genesis 11:31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there.
  • Genesis 24:10 The servant took ten of his master’s camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master’s with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
  • Acts 7:2 He said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
  • Acts 7:4 Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans and lived in Haran. From there, when his father was dead, God moved him into this land, where you are now living.

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

↑ Top

Explain this verse (11 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4. My brethren, whence be ye? The great frankness…

4. My brethren, whence be ye? The great frankness of that age appears in this manner of meeting together; for, though the fraternal name is often abused by dishonest and wicked men, it is yet not to be doubted that friendly intercourse was then more faithfully cultivated than it is now. This was the reason why Jacob salutes unknown men as brethren, undoubtedly according to received custom. Frugality also is apparent, in that Rachel sometimes pays attention to the flock; for, since Laban abounds with servants, how does it happen that he employs his own daughter in a vile and sordid service, except that it was deemed disgraceful to educate children in idleness, softness, and indulgence? Whereas, on the contrary, at this day, since ambition, pride, and refinement, have rendered manners effeminate, the care of domestic concerns is held in such contempt, that women, for the most part, are ashamed of their proper office. It followed, from the same purity of manners which has been mentioned, that Jacob ventured so unceremoniously to kiss his cousin; for much greater liberty was allowed in their chaste and modest mode of living. In our times, impurity and ungovernable lusts are the cause why not only kisses are suspected, but even looks are dreaded; and not unjustly, since the world is filled with every kind of corruption, and such perfidy prevails, that the intercourse between men and women is seldom conducted with modesty: wherefore, that ancient simplicity ought to cause us deeply to mourn; so that this vile corruption into which the world has fallen may be distasteful to us, and that the contagion of it may not affect us and our families. The order of events, however, is inverted in the narration of Moses; for Jacob did not kiss Rachel till he had informed her that he was her relative. Hence also his weeping; for, partly through joy, partly through the memory of his father’s house, and through natural affection, he burst into tears.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain It seemeth that in those days the custom was…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 29:4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren,…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He calls them
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Jacob said unto them,.... To the shepherds, though…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. My brethren, whence be ye?] The language…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Brethren. Jacob understands and speaks their language, either because…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Jacob said, My brethren--Finding from the shepherds who were…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. unto them] i.e. the shepherds of the three…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Jacob said unto them (the shepherds of the…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Jacob said to them

↑ Top

Share