Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 28:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Isaac sends Jacob to Laban in Paddan-aram, and the narrator carefully identifies the family network: Laban is Rebekah's brother, and Rebekah is mother of both Jacob and Esau. The verse moves from instruction to actual departure while keeping both brothers inside one family story.
Read It With
- Genesis 27:46–28:9
Read verses 1–5 as one sending scene and verses 6–9 as Esau's response. The preceding verses explain the destination and blessing; the following verses show that Esau sees the departure and reacts. Verse 5 alone does not tell the reader why Jacob leaves or what Esau does with the information.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The completed sending turns speech into departure and reidentifies the family relationships before Esau responds.
Read Genesis 28:5–5 together
Why these verses belong together: The departure verse completes Isaac's sending and identifies the kin relationships that frame both brothers.
Verse 5. 5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
What Remains True
Major transitions should be understood through the relationships and responsibilities that produce them, not reduced to a place name or one person's preference.
How It Can Shape Life
- When someone leaves a conflicted family situation, tell the truth about the relationships and reasons without erasing either shared kinship or the need for safety and distance.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 27:46–28:9 — Jacob Is Sent Away and Esau RespondsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The final identification of Rebekah as both brothers' mother is emphatic, but the narrator does not explain every rhetorical purpose it serves.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, boundary, Rebekah's appeal, deliberate blessing, departure, Esau's response, promise echoes, and wife-list comparison.
Exact location: Genesis 27:46–28:9 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 17:1–8; 24; 26:34–35; 27:41–45; 28:10–22; and 36:1–14
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Distress idiom, command language, divine title, assembly, Abrahamic blessing, sojourning land, Aramean label, displeasure, and added-wife syntax.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 27:46–28:9; lemmas and morphology for quts, hayyim, tsavah, Paddan Aram, El Shaddai, qahal amim, birkat Avraham, megurim, Arammi, ra be'enayim, and al nashav
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Translation clarification, Hebrew idioms, Paddan-aram and Aramean wording, promise vocabulary, and Mahalath/Bashemath naming tension.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 27:46–28:9 and translator notes, with comparison to Genesis 36:2–3
Open NET Genesis 27 ↗