Bible Strands
Genesis 30:27
But Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Laban speaks to Jacob, who has just asked for his wives and children so he can leave (v. 26). Laban's reply is an attempt to retain Jacob's labor by reframing it as a mutual blessing.
The words — נָא (na') is a petition particle that marks urgent entreaty, not mere request; it appears here to heighten Laban's insistence. חֵן (chen) carries the sense of favor or grace found, a word that recurs in covenant and intercession contexts.
The thread — The phrase "found favor in your eyes" (מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ) mirrors Ruth 2:13, where Ruth asks Boaz to extend the same favor. The pattern of one person's labor being credited as a blessing to the other also surfaces in the broader Jacob–Laban narrative (Genesis 29–31).
Why it lands — Laban invokes divination and the LORD's name to justify keeping another man's labor, and the reader is asked to notice how easily religious language can serve as a cover for exploitation.
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 him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.
Cross-references
- Genesis 26:24 and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”
- Ruth 2:13 “My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”
- Isaiah 61:9 Their descendants will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.
- Acts 7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
- Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Genesis 39:2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
- Genesis 39:21 the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
- Exodus 3:21 And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed.
- Genesis 18:3 “My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
- Genesis 30:30 Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?”