Jacob Loves Rachel

29 Then Jacob lifted up his feet and went to the land of the peoples of the east. ² When he looked, suddenly, there was a well in the field, and there were three herds of sheep resting by it. (For from that well they would water the flocks. The stone on the mouth of the well was large. ³ When all the herds gathered there, they would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the flocks, and put the stone back to its place over the mouth of the well.)

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?”

“We’re from Haran,” they said.

⁵ So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s son?”

They said, “We know.”

⁶ He said to them, “Is he well?”

“Well,” they said. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock.”

⁷ He said, “Since it’s still the middle of the day, it’s not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the flock and let them go and graze.”

⁸ But they said, “We can’t, not until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well—then we water the flock.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with the flock that belonged to her father (for she was a shepherdess). ¹⁰ Now when Jacob saw Rachel (the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother), Jacob stepped forward and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban, his mother’s brother. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. ¹² Then Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. So she ran and told her father.

¹³ Now when Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, hugged and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Surely you are my own bone and flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you, my relative, serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.