Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 30:26 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 26. 26Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Jacob asks to leave with his wives and children, reminding Laban that he served for them and that Laban knows the quality of his work. He appeals to fulfilled obligation, not to ownership of people.
Read It With
- Genesis 30:25–43
Read verses 25–30. Jacob asks to return, identifies the household and service at issue, and then answers Laban's wage proposal by recalling how greatly the flocks increased under his care. Reading verse 26 alone can make ancient service-for-marriage language sound like moral ownership.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Jacob grounds the departure request in fulfilled service and the household formed during that service.
Read Genesis 30:25–26 together
Why these verses belong together: Jacob asks to return home and identifies the wives, children, and completed service involved in the request.
Verse 25. 25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
Verse 26. 26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
Follow the Context
- After Joseph's birth Jacob asks Laban to release him with the wives and children for whom he served (30:25–26).
- Laban asks Jacob to stay, says he has learned through divination or omen-reading that the LORD blessed him because of Jacob, and invites a wage proposal (30:27–30).
- Jacob proposes that unusually marked sheep and goats will be his future wages and that ordinary-colored animals found with him can be counted stolen (30:31–34).
- Laban immediately removes the marked animals, gives them to his sons, places them three days away, and leaves Jacob with the remaining flock (30:35–36).
- Jacob peels rods, places them at the watering and mating sites, separates offspring, and builds a flock distinct from Laban's (30:37–40).
- Jacob applies his procedure selectively to the stronger animals, leaving weaker animals to Laban, and becomes exceedingly wealthy in livestock, servants, camels, and donkeys (30:41–43).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“for whom I have served thee”
In plain language: Jacob connects his household claim with the years of service arranged with Laban.
He presents the agreed service as completed.
Why it matters: The claim concerns fulfilled obligation, not the moral ownership of people.
How certain? very strong“thou knowest my service”
In plain language: Laban has direct knowledge of Jacob's work.
Jacob appeals to shared evidence before the wage negotiation.
Why it matters: The later dispute is not about whether Jacob actually labored.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Jacob's phrase does not make wives or children transferable property.
Service for marriage does not authorize trafficking, forced marriage, coercion, or buying a spouse.
The verse does not establish a universal number of years that anyone must work for marriage.
Jacob's record of service does not settle every later dispute with Laban by itself.
What Remains True
Fulfilled labor obligations should lead to freedom and fair dealing, while spouses and children remain persons rather than wages or possessions.
How It Can Shape Life
- Honor completed commitments, let people leave when their obligation is fulfilled, and never describe family members as property secured by work.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 30:26's contribution to Genesis 30:25–43. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 30:25–43 — Jacob's Flocks Increase Under a New AgreementSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? very strong
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, unit boundary, negotiation, flock procedure, wealth summary, later divine explanation, and return movement.
Exact location: Genesis 30:25–43 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 28:10–22; 29:31–30:24; 31:1–16, 36–42; 32:9–12; and 33:1–17
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: Hebrew vocabulary, participant tracking, animal-color uncertainty, wordplays, syntax, and breeding language.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 30:25–43; morphology and wording for divined, blessed, wages, righteousness, speckled, spotted, dark, streaked, rods, peeled, troughs, mating, stronger, weaker, and increased
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Divination translation, wage grammar, animal terms, tree names, mating verbs, strong and weak terminology, and translation alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 30:25–43 and translator notes, especially notes on 30:27, 30:30, 30:32–33, 30:35–43; compared with 31:6–12
Open NET Genesis 30 ↗