Verse

Genesis 29:10

ESV Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother 's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother 's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well 's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother 's brother.
NIV When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
NASB When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban.
CSB As soon as Jacob saw his uncle Laban’s daughter Rachel with his sheep, he went up and rolled the stone from the opening and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep.
NLT And because Rachel was his cousin — the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother — and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock.
KJV And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
NKJV And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

What does Genesis 29:10 mean?

After a terse exchange with the local shepherds gathered around this well, Jacob sees his beautiful cousin Rachel and turns into kind of a joyful mess. The other shepherds have just told Jacob that they wait for all the flocks to arrive before watering the sheep, likely in order of arrival. Jacob ignores all of that and rolls the heavy stone away from the mouth of the well, apparently all by himself. He immediately waters Laban's flock of sheep without asking or being asked.

Suddenly, Jacob is a take-charge kind of guy. In the following verses, he will express even more openly his joy at finding Rachel and, by extension, Laban. Perhaps Jacob is also aware of the similarities between this moment and the time when Abraham's servant found Jacob's own mother at a well while looking for a wife for his father Isaac. The servant had asked God to make the one who offered to water his camels the one intended for Isaac. Rebekah had done so immediately (Genesis 24).
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