Moving away from home can be a very traumatic experience. This is especially true, when it isn’t the family that’s moving, but a man or a woman moves away from those he or she loves. Of course, there are exceptions, like when one is filled with awe and anticipation of what the move will bring, like going to college, or when news comes you’ve been hired by the company of your choice and you’re anticipating the fulfillment of your dreams. However, this is not what Jacob was experiencing, when he moved out of the Promised Land to Haran, the very place that Abraham was called out of in order to gain the blessings, he was promised to receive from God. Jacob was on the run. His life was in danger, because he cheated his brother out of the blessing intended for him, and his brother wanted to slay him.
Jacob was about 73 years old, when his father, Isaac, sent him to Haran, which, as it turns out, was about his middle age (cp. Genesis 47:28), something like 35 or 40 for us, today. He was embarking on a journey to Haran, to live with his mother’s brother, Laban, and he wouldn’t return to the Land of Promise for another 20 years, or when he was about 93 years of age, which translates to perhaps late forties or fiftyish for us today. All this was ahead of Jacob at 73, and he was in fear and discouraged, but the Lord appeared to him, to reassure him by telling him he, the Lord God of Abraham and Isaac, would be with him throughout this phase of his life, far from being forsaken, he would, indeed, inherit all the blessings, with which Isaac, his father, had blessed him.
The distance between Padan-aram and Beersheba was about 450 miles, so how long would it have taken him to arrive at the field in the text? Well, that would depend upon whether or not he was on foot[1] or on a horse or camel, whether he had luggage or only a minimum amount of baggage, and whether or not he had a spare animal for traveling. If Jacob was on foot, a good day would have taken him 9 to 14 miles, but traveling on horseback or a camel he would have increased the day’s distance to 19 to 37 miles per day, provided there was no trouble.[2] Therefore, it probably took Jacob about one to two months to get to Haran, if he traveled by foot, or two to three weeks, if he traveled on an animal.
When Jacob arrived in Padan-aram, he noticed a well in one of the fields there, and there were shepherds in the field with their flocks. There was a great stone upon the mouth of the well, and men removed it, while the shepherds watered their sheep (Genesis 29:1-3).
Jacob approached the men at the well, and he asked where they were from, and if they knew Laban. They responded by telling Jacob they were from Haran, and they did, indeed, know Laban. Moreover, when Jacob asked, if he was well, they replied he was, and his daughter, Rachel, was approaching the well with his sheep (Genesis 29:4-6).
Afterward, Jacob asked the shepherds why they were watering their sheep at noonday, instead of the cool of the evening, which was a better time to water their flocks (Genesis 29:7). They told Jacob: “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered together…” which seems to imply that the well was under another’s authority, and the men, who rolled back the stone, who were probably the men Jacob spoke with (verse-4), were men other than the shepherds. So, the shepherds were able to water their flocks only at certain times of the day, and only when the sheep were gathered together in one place (Genesis 29:8). The stone, which was over the mouth of the well, guarded it from both mischief and unauthorized use. So, there also may have been a levy placed upon those who required its contents.
___________________________________________
[1] “Then Jacob went on his journey…” literally in the Hebrew is “he lifted up his feet.” Therefore, Jacob probably traveled by foot to Haran. However, the saying also implies joy, according to some scholars, so his “lifting up his feet” may point to his encouragement after his dream of the Lord speaking to him, instead of his method of travel.
[2] See Travel Time in Medieval Times. Indeed, Jacob’s journey took place in the ancient Near East, when there weren’t many roads, definitely not as many as during the Middle Ages, so the figures presented above probably should be shortened in miles per day, and the time it took for the whole journey should be lengthened by perhaps 25%.
Smoodock's Blog 