Bible Strands
Genesis 29:8
But they replied, “We cannot, until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Shepherds at the well in Haran respond to Jacob’s suggestion to water the livestock. They state their customary procedure to him before Rachel arrives with her father’s sheep.
The words — The phrase לֹא נוּכַל (lo’ nuḵal) translates literally as “we are not able,” establishing a conditional inability. This inability is tied to עַד אֲשֶׁר יֵאָסְפוּ כָּל־הָעֲדָרִים (‘ad ’ašer yē’āsəpū kāl-hā‘ădārîm), meaning “until all the flocks have been gathered.”
The thread — The image of rolling a stone from a well’s mouth recurs in Genesis 29:3 as a local custom, while the motif of a rolled-away stone appears later at the tomb in Mark 16:3 and Luke 24:2.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that communal labor and established order must precede individual action. It demands accountability to shared responsibility before personal initiative is permitted.
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 they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.
Cross-references
- Mark 16:3 They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?”
- Luke 24:2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
- Genesis 29:3 When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
- Genesis 34:14 “We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.
- Genesis 43:32 They separately served Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians. They ate separately because the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrews, since that was detestable to them.