Bible Strands
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Laban addresses Jacob one month after his arrival, immediately after declaring them kin. He shifts from familial recognition to a direct inquiry about future compensation.
The words — The term חִנָּ֑ם (chi.Nam) literally translates to "for nothing" or "gratis." It marks Laban's explicit rejection of unpaid labor despite acknowledged blood ties.
The thread — This wage negotiation resurfaces when Laban later orders Jacob to "name your wages" (Genesis 30:28) and when Jacob records Laban's pattern of altering those wages (Genesis 31:7). The verse establishes the contractual framework that governs their subsequent interactions.
Why it lands — The text records the immediate translation of kinship into a labor contract. It requires the reader to note how economic calculation supersedes familial obligation in the narrative's progression.
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 unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?
Cross-references
- Genesis 30:28 And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
- Genesis 31:7 And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.