Genesis 29:1

Jacob went on his journey. Literally, “Jacob lifted up his feet and went.” This implies cheerfulness and reflects the state of mind in which the experience of the preceding night had left him. Thus strengthened in spirit Jacob proceeded on his journey to “the land of the people of the east,” which in this case refers to Upper Mesopotamia east of the Euphrates River. The term also included the upper Arabian Desert. In the Bible the peoples “of the east” are those dwelling in Mesopotamia or in the desert in its immediate vicinity. The Hebrews seem to have been content with approximate expressions of direction. “East” could mean any direction between northeast and southeast.