Bible Strands
Genesis 29:19
Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Laban addresses Jacob immediately after Jacob offers seven years of service to marry Rachel. Laban responds to the proposal by directing Jacob to remain in his household and granting him Rachel’s hand.
The words — The Hebrew word טוֹב (tov) establishes a comparative judgment of “good” or “better.” The verbs תִּתִּי (titthi) and מִתִּתִּי (mitti) frame the transaction as a deliberate act of giving versus withholding.
The thread — The supplied cross-references track themes of prolonged waiting and deceptive speech in Isaiah 6:11, Psalms 12:2, and Isaiah 6:5. These passages parallel the narrative tension surrounding Laban’s subsequent alterations and the extended timeline of Jacob’s service.
Why it lands — The text records Laban’s pragmatic acceptance and command to stay, without endorsing his later actions. A reader must note the immediate transaction before observing how the narrative later tests the reliability of such agreements.
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, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 6:11 Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied and the land is desolate and ravaged,
- Psalms 12:2 They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Isaiah 6:5 Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”