Genesis 29:4 - Clarke's commentary and critical notes on the Bible

And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. My brethren, whence be ye? - The language of Laban and his family was Chaldee and not Hebrew; (see Genesis 31:47); but from the names which Leah gave to her children we see that the two languages had many words in common, and therefore Jacob and the shepherds might understand each other with little difficulty. It is possible also that Jacob might have learned the Chaldee or Aramitish language from his mother, as this was his mother's tongue.