And Laban said unto Jacob, because thou [art] my brother,.... Or nephew, his sister's son, Genesis 29:12:
shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? nearness of kin was no reason why he should serve him freely, or for nothing, but rather why he should be more kind to him than to a stranger, and give him better wages:
tell me, what [shall] thy wages [be]? by the day, or month, or year; signifying he was willing to give him anything that was just and reasonable, which was very well spoken; and this gave Jacob a fair opportunity of opening his mind more freely to him, and for answering a principal end for which he came, as follows: