Bible Strands
Genesis 29:14
Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Laban addresses Jacob immediately after Jacob recounts his journey, initiating a month-long stay at Laban’s household.
The words — Laban employs אַ֛ךְ ('akh, "surely") to intensify his statement that Jacob is עַצְמִ֥/י וּ/בְשָׂרִ֖/י ('atz.m/i u./ve.sa.R/i, "my bone and my flesh").
The thread — This kinship declaration parallels Genesis 2:23, where Adam identifies Eve, and recurs in 2 Samuel 19:12 and Judges 9:2 to mark close blood relations.
Why it lands — The verse records Laban’s immediate recognition of Jacob’s family tie before the narrative shifts to wage negotiations, requiring the reader to observe how relational claims set the stage for future transactions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him the space of a month.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 19:12 You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’
- Genesis 2:23 And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”
- Judges 9:2 “Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”
- 2 Samuel 5:1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
- Genesis 29:12 He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.
- Genesis 29:15 Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
- Micah 7:5 Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
- Genesis 13:8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen.
- Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of His body.