Genesis 29:15

And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Laban	לָבָן֙ la.Van	H3837	Laban · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֤אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Jacob	לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב le.ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
brother	אָחִ֣י 'a.Chi	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
serve	וַעֲבַדְתַּ֖נִי va.'a.vad.Ta.ni	H5647	to work (in any sense) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
nought	חִנָּ֑ם chi.Nam	H2600	gratis · adverb
tell	הַגִּ֥ידָה ha.Gi.dah	H5046	properly · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + paragogic he
wages	מַּשְׂכֻּרְתֶּֽךָ mas.kur.Te.kha	H4909	wages or a reward · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 30:28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
Genesis 31:7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 29:15-30

Here is, I. The fair contract made between Laban and Jacob, during the month that Jacob spent there as a guest, Gen 29:14. It seems he was not idle, nor did he spend his time in sport and pastime; but like a man of business, though he had no stock of his own, he applied himself to serve his uncle, as he had begun (Gen 29:10) when he watered his flock. Note, Wherever we are, it is good to be employing ourselves in some useful business, which will turn to a good account to ourselves or others. Laban, it seems, was so taken with Jacob's ingenuity and industry about his flocks that he was desirous he should continue with him, and very fairly reasons thus: "Because thou art my brother, shouldst t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 29:14

he abode a month--Among pastoral people a stranger is freely entertained for three days; on the fourth day he is expected to tell his name and errand; and if he prolongs his stay after that time, he must set his hand to work in some way, as may be agreed upon. A similar rule obtained in Laban's establishment, and the wages for which his nephew engaged to continue in his employment was the hand of Rachel.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 29:15

Because thou art my brother, etc. - Though thou art my nearest relative, yet I have no right to thy services without giving thee an adequate recompense. Jacob had passed a whole month in the family of Laban, in which he had undoubtedly rendered himself of considerable service. As Laban, who was of a very saving if not covetous disposition, saw that he was to be of great use to him in his secular concerns, he wished to secure his services, and therefore asks him what wages he wished to have.

John Gill on Genesis 29:15

And Laban said unto Jacob, because thou art my brother,.... Or nephew, his sister's son; see Gill on Genesis 29:12, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? nearness of kin was no reason why he should serve him freely, or for nothing, but rather why he should be more kind to him than to a stranger, and give him better wages: tell me, what shall thy wages be? by the day, or month, or year; signifying he was willing to give him anything that was just and reasonable, which was very well spoken; and this gave Jacob a fair opportunity of opening his mind more freely to him, and for answering a principal end for which he came, as follows:

The Church Fathers

Notice, I ask you, how when someone is helped by the hand from on high, everything goes favorably for him. "You shall not serve me for nothing," Laban says. "Tell me what your wages should be." In fact, this blessed man was acting out of love and was content simply to receive board and lodging and return him sincere thanks for it. But, since Jacob demonstrated great humility, Laban took the initiative in promising to pay him whatever wage he named.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 55.6

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Wages — Rate of (mention only in Matt. 20:2); to be punctually paid (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14, 15); judgements threatened against the withholding of (Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5; comp. James 5:4); paid in money…
Contracts · First contract between Laban and Jacob for Laban’s daughter — First contract between Laban and Jacob for Laban’s daughter
Covetousness · In — In
Jacob · Serves fourteen years for Leah and Rachel — Serves fourteen years for Leah and Rachel
Laban · Receives Jacob, and gives him his daughters in marriage — Receives Jacob, and gives him his daughters in marriage
Marriage · Jacob and his wives — Jacob and his wives
Rachel · as his wife — as his wife
Wages · Of Jacob — Of Jacob

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 29:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 29:15-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 29:14

Adam Clarke on Genesis 29:15

John Gill on Genesis 29:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 29:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 29:15-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 29:14

Adam Clarke on Genesis 29:15

John Gill on Genesis 29:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 29:14-17

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 29:15-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 29:14-30

Rashi on Genesis 29:15