Genesis 30:26

Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you, that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jacob addresses Laban immediately after Rachel gives birth to Joseph, requesting permission to depart for his homeland. He presents his departure as a rightful claim to his wives and children in exchange for his completed years of service.

The words — תּנּה (tēn) issues the imperative "give," while עָבַדְתִּי (ʿāḇaḏtî) states "I have served," grammatically binding the family to the labor. אֵת (ʾēt) functions as the direct object marker for both "wives" and "children," defining them as the specific commodities of the contract.

The thread — The demand for his family directly recalls the seven-year labor for Rachel in Genesis 29:30 and the broader pattern of Jacob fleeing to Aram to work for a wife in Hosea 12:12. The request operationalizes the marriage terms originally set in Genesis 29:19.

Why it lands — The text presents completed service as the legal basis for reclaiming one's family. It requires the reader to recognize that contractual labor establishes a binding claim, independent of the employer's subsequent willingness.

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

תְּנָ֞הte.Na/hgive/ !אֶת־'et-<obj.>נָשַׁ֣יna.Sha/iwives/ my וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>יְלָדַ֗יye.la.Da/ichildren/ my אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherwhom עָבַ֧דְתִּי'a.Vad.tiI have served אֹֽתְךָ֛'o.te./Kha<obj.>/ youבָּהֵ֖ןba./Henfor/ themוְאֵלֵ֑כָהve./'e.Le.khahso/ I may go כִּ֚יkifor אַתָּ֣ה'a.Tahyou יָדַ֔עְתָּya.Da'.tayou know אֶת־'et-<obj.>עֲבֹדָתִ֖י'a.vo.da.T/iservice/ my אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich עֲבַדְתִּֽיךָ׃'a.vad.Ti./khaI have served/ you

King James Version

Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.

Cross-references

Genesis 29:30 Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
Hosea 12:12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.
Genesis 29:19 Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.”
Genesis 31:6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength.
Genesis 31:26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!
Genesis 31:31 “I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.
Genesis 31:38 I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock.
Genesis 30:29 Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care.