291 And Jacob continued his journey, and went into the land of the children of the east. 2 And he looked, and behold, there was a well in the fields, and behold there, three flocks of sheep were lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks, and a great stone was at the mouth of the well. 3 And when all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the mouth of the well in its place. 4 And Jacob said to them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5 And he said to them, Do ye know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We do know [him]. 6 And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, [He is] well; and behold, there comes Rachel his daughter with the sheep. 7 And he said, Behold, it is yet high day; it is not time that the cattle should be gathered together; water the sheep, and go, feed [them]. 8 And they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 29:1-8
Commentary on Genesis 29:1-8
(Read Genesis 29:1-8)
Jacob proceeded cheerfully in his journey, after the sweet communion he had with God at Beth-el. Providence brought him to the field where his uncle's flocks were to be watered. What is said of the care of the shepherds for their sheep, may remind us of the tender concern which our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, has for his flock the church; for he is the good Shepherd, that knows his sheep, and is known of them. The stone at the well's mouth was to secure it; water was scarce, it was not there for every one's use: but separate interests should not take us from helping one another. When all the shepherds came together with their flocks, then, like loving neighbours, they watered their flocks together. The law of kindness in the tongue has a commanding power, Proverbs 31:26. Jacob was civil to these strangers, and he found them civil to him.