Then Jacob went on his journey [1] Moses now relates the arrival of Jacob in Mesopotamia, and the manner in which he was received by his uncle; and although the narration may seem superfluous, it yet contains nothing but what is useful to be known; for he commends the extraordinary strength of Jacob's faith, when he says, that he lifted up his feet to come into an unknown land. Again, he would have us to consider the providence of God, which caused Jacob to fall in with the shepherds, by whom he was conducted to the home he sought; for this did not happen accidentally, but he was guided by the hidden hand of God to that place; and the shepherds, who were to instruct and confirm him respecting all things, were brought thither at the same time. Therefore, whenever we may wander in uncertainty through intricate windings, we must contemplate, with eyes of faith, the secret providence of God which governs us and our affairs, and leads us to unexpected results.

Footnotes

1 - Et levavit Iahacob pedes suos And Jacob lifted up his feet. See margin of English Bible. This is a correct translation of the Hebrew ys' rglyv, (yissa reglav.) "The phrase is emphatic, and implies that he traveled on briskly and cheerfully, notwithstanding his age, being refreshed in his spirit by the recent manifestation of the Divine favor." -- Bush. -- Ed

Then Jacob went on his journey - The original is very remarkable: And Jacob lifted up his feet, and he traveled unto the land of the children of the east. There is a certain cheerfulness marked in the original which comports well with the state of mind into which he had been brought by the vision of the ladder and the promises of God. He now saw that having God for his protector he had nothing to fear, and therefore he went on his way rejoicing.
People of the east - The inhabitants of Mesopotamia and the whole country beyond the Euphrates are called קדם kedem, or easterns, in the sacred writings.

Then Jacob (a) went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east.
(a) Or, "lifted up his feet".

Then Jacob went on his journey,.... After the above vow at Bethel, and having had some intimation that what he desired would be granted him; or "he lift up his feet" (x), which not only shows that he walked afoot, but that he went on his journey with great cheerfulness; for having such gracious promises made him, that God would be with him, and keep him, and supply him with all necessaries, and return him again to the land of Canaan, which made his heart glad; his heart, as the Jewish writers say (y), lift up his legs, and he walked apace, and with great alacrity:
and came into the land of the people of the east; the land of Mesopotamia or Syria, which lay to the east of the land of Canaan, see Isaiah 9:11; hither he came by several days' journeys.
(x) "et levavit pedes suos", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Fagius; "sustulit", Drusius, Schmidt. (y) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 70. fol. 62. 2. Jarchi in loc.

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.

THE WELL OF HARAN. (Genesis. 29:1-35)
Then Jacob went, &c.--Hebrew, "lifted up his feet." He resumed his way next morning with a light heart and elastic step after the vision of the ladder; for tokens of the divine favor tend to quicken the discharge of duty (Nehemiah 8:10).
and came into the land, &c.--Mesopotamia and the whole region beyond the Euphrates are by the sacred writers designated "the East" (Judges 6:3; 1-Kings 4:30; Job 1:3). Between the first and the second clause of this verse is included a journey of four hundred miles.

Arrival in Haran, and Reception by Laban. - Being strengthened in spirit by the nocturnal vision, Jacob proceeded on his journey into "the land of the sons of the East," by which we are to understand, not so much the Arabian desert, that reaches to the Euphrates, as Mesopotamia, which lies on the other side of that river. For there he saw the well in the field (Genesis 29:2), by which three flocks were lying, waiting for the arrival of the other flocks of the place, before they could be watered. The remark in Genesis 29:2, that the stone upon the well's mouth was large (גּדלה without the article is a predicate), does not mean that the united strength of all the shepherds was required to roll it away, whereas Jacob rolled it away alone (Genesis 29:10); but only that it was not in the power of every shepherd, much less of a shepherdess like Rachel, to roll it away. Hence in all probability the agreement that had been formed among them, that they would water the flocks together. The scene is so thoroughly in harmony with the customs of the East, both ancient and modern, that the similarity to the one described in Genesis 24:11. is by no means strange (vid., Rob. Pal. i. 301, 304, ii. 351, 357, 371). Moreover the well was very differently constructed from that at which Abraham's servant met with Rebekah. There the water was drawn at once from the (open) well and poured into troughs placed ready for the cattle, as is the case now at most of the wells in the East; whereas here the well was closed up with a stone, and there is no mention of pitchers and troughs. The well, therefore, was probably a cistern dug in the ground, which was covered up or closed with a large stone, and probably so constructed, that after the stone had been rolled away the flocks could be driven to the edge to drink.
(Note: Like the cistern Bir Beshat, described by Rosen., in the valley of Hebron, or those which Robinson found in the desert of Judah (Pal. ii. 165), hollowed out in the great mass of rock, and covered with a large, thick, flat stone, in the middle of which a round hole had been left, which formed the opening of the cistern, and in many cases was closed up with a heavy stone, which it would take two or three men to roll away.)