Encyclopedia entry
Laban
Disambiguation
The source enumerates 2 distinct subjects under Laban. Jump to one below, or read in order.
Laban (1)
#The son of Bethuel, who was the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. He lived at Haran in Mesopotamia. His sister Rebekah was Isaac’s wife (Gen. 24). Jacob, one of the sons of this marriage, fled to the house of Laban, whose daughters Leah and Rachel (ch. 29) he eventually married. (See JACOB.)
Laban (2)
#A city in the Arabian desert in the route of the Israelites (Deut. 1:1), probably identical with Libnah (Num. 33:20).
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(white).
Son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and father of Leah and Rachel. (B.C. about 1860-1740.) The elder branch of the family remained at Haran, Mesopotamia, when Abraham removed to the land of Canaan, and it is there that we first meet with Laban, as taking the leading part in the betrothal of his sister Rebekah to her cousin Isaac. (Genesis 24:10,29-60; 27:43; 29:5) The next time Laban appears in the sacred narrative it is as the host of his nephew Jacob at Haran. (Genesis 29:13,14) [Jacob] Jacob married Rachel and Leah, daughters of Laban, and remained with him 20 years, B.C. 1760-1740. But Laban’s dishonest and overreaching practice toward his nephew shows from what source Jacob inherited his tendency to sharp dealing. Nothing is said of Laban after Jacob left him. One of the landmarks named in the obscure and disputed passage (1:1) The mention of Hezeroth has perhaps led to the only conjecture regarding Laban of which the writer is aware, namely, that it is identical with Libnah. (Numbers 33:20)
In the Bible
54
Verses where Laban is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- Deuteronomy 1:1
These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
- Genesis 24:29
Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring.
- Genesis 24:31
“Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” said Laban. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
- Genesis 24:33
Then a meal was set before the man, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I came to say.” So Laban said, “Please speak.”
- Genesis 24:50
Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.
- Genesis 25:20
and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
+48 more verses naming Laban.
Scripture on Laban
11
Entries that reference Laban
26
Laban references
16
Voices on Laban
3
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.