Then Jacob [a]set out on his journey, and went to the land of the people of the east.
Genesis 29:1 (NASB)
[a] Lit lifted up his feet
Genesis 29 starts out with a curious phrase that is often rendered “set out on his journey.” It is literally “picked up his feet.”
This is not just an idiom. It may connects to the last verse in the previous chapter.
And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, will be God’s house, and of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”
Genesis 28:22 (NASB)
At the end of Genesis 28, Jacob makes a vow to give God a tithe, or a 10th of all he has, but it is written in the imperfect, or “future” tense.
(In Hebrew, the imperfect tense is the “not yet completed” version of a verb)
He doesn’t give a tithe *right now* because he doesn’t have anything. He fled his home without any possessions.
So when the text says he “lifted up his feet,” the rabbis say this could mean he picked up “all his possessions.” Literally nothing but his feet.