Genesis 30:26

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 30:26 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served thee.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served thee.
Genesis 30:26 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 30

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
26Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served thee.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Give [me] my wives, etc.] His two wives, Leah and Rachel, and the two maids, Bilhah and Zilpah, which he had given him for wives also; he desires leave not to have them, but to take them away with him: and my children; his twelve children; he did not desire his father-in- law to take any of them, and keep them for him, but was desirous of having them with him: no doubt, for the sake of their education, though he had nothing of his own wherewith to support them; not doubting that God would make good his promise in giving him food and raiment, and returning him to his country; and which his faith applied to his family as well as to himself: for whom I have served thee; not for his children,…”
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Sources and verification