Genesis 28:1-9 - Jacob Flees To Haran

¹ Then Isaac called Jacob his son and blessed him, and charged him and said unto him, "See thou take not a wife of the daughters of Canaan, ² but arise and get thee to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father: and there take thee a wife of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother. ³ And God almighty bless thee, increase thee, and multiply thee that thou mayest be a number of people, ⁴ and give thee the blessing of Abraham: both to thee and to thy seed with thee, that thou mayest possess the land - wherein thou art a stranger - which God gave unto Abraham." ⁵ Thus Isaac sent forth Jacob, to go to Mesopotamia unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, and brother to Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

⁶ When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him to Mesopotamia, to fetch him a wife thence, and that, as he blessed him he gave him a charge saying 'see thou take not a wife of the daughters of Canaan,' ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother, and was gone unto Mesopotamia: ⁸ and seeing also that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father: ⁹ then went he unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth to be his wife.

¹ Then Jacob lift up his feet, and went toward the east country. ² And as he looked about, behold there was a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lay thereby - for at that well were the flocks watered - and there lay a great stone at the well mouth. ³ And the manner was to bring the flocks thither, and to roll the stone from the well's mouth and to water the sheep, and to put the stone again upon the well's mouth unto his place.

⁴ And Jacob said unto them, "Brethren, whence be ye?" And they said, "Of Haran are we."

⁵ And he said unto them, "Know ye Laban, the son of Nahor?" And they said, "We know him."

⁶ And he said unto them, "Is he in good health?" And they said, "He is in good health: and behold, his daughter Rachel cometh with the sheep." ⁷ And he said, "Lo, it is yet a great while to night, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water the sheep and go and feed them."

⁸ And they said, "We may not, until all the flocks be brought together, and the stone be rolled from the well's mouth, and so we water our sheep."

⁹ While he yet talked with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them. ¹⁰ As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, he went and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother. ¹¹ And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lift up his voice and wept: ¹² and told her also that he was her father's brother and Rebekah's son. Then Rachel ran and told her father.

¹³ When Laban heard tell of Jacob, his sister's son, he ran against him, and embraced him and kissed him and brought him into his house. And then Jacob told Laban all the matter.

¹⁴ And then Laban said, "Well, thou art my bone and my flesh. Abide with me the space of a month."