Bible Strands
Genesis 29:2
He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that Jacob looked toward a well in a field and observed three flocks of sheep resting nearby because they drew water from it. This description occurs immediately after Jacob arrives in the land of the people of the east and before the shepherds gather the flocks.
The words — The text specifies וַ/יַּ֞רְא (va/i.Yar') as "and he saw" and בְאֵ֣ר (ve.'Er) as "a well," anchoring the scene in Jacob’s direct visual confirmation of the water source.
The thread — The well motif reappears in John 4:6 where Jesus rests by Jacob’s well, John 4:14 where Jesus promises living water, and Isaiah 49:10 where God removes thirst and scorching heat from His people.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to track how physical locations mark narrative turning points in a journey. It asks the reader to observe that recorded details about water sources consistently precede divine provision or pivotal encounters.
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 he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth.
Cross-references
- John 4:14 But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Isaiah 49:10 They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
- John 4:6 Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
- Genesis 24:11 As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water.
- Genesis 24:13 Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.
- Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
- Psalms 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
- Song of Solomon 1:6 Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have neglected.
- Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”