Old Testament Commentary - Genesis 31

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 31 The Lord commands Jacob to return to Canaan, and he departs secretly—Laban pursues him; they resolve their differences, and make a covenant of peace—Laban blesses his descendants, and he and Jacob part company.
1 AND he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this ^aglory. 2 And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. 3 And the LORD said unto Jacob, ^aReturn unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and ^bI will be with thee.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
4 And ^aJacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, 5 And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me. 6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. 8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked. 9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.		1^a TG Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal 2^a Josh. 5:13; TG Angels ^b 3 Ne. 11:19; Ether 6:12; TG Courtesy 3^a JST Gen. 18:3 ...brethren... 4^a TG Washing ^b TG Hospitality 5^a OR sustain... ^b Gen. 19:8
10 And it came to pass at the time that the ^acattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. 11 And the ^aangel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the ^acattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. 13 I am the ^aGod of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the ^bpillar, and where thou vowedst a ^cvow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.
14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or ^ainheritance for us in our father's house? 15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money. 16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
17 ¶ Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; 18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. 19 And Laban went to shear his sheep: and *Rachel had stolen the ^aimages that were* her father's^a**.	19^a Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's. It was likely under the hand of Bethuel her father and/or her brother Laban, that Rebekah was blessed with the same blessings of posterity that was received of Isaac and Abraham (Genesis 24:60). And at that time both Bethuel and Laban recognized the LORD as God (Genesis 24:50-51). Laban was even visited of the LORD in a dream just prior to his catching up with Jacob, and he recognized the power of God (Genesis 31:24). So the exact nature of the 'images' which Rachel took and their use and origin are in some question. Likely they are images of religious corruption of some sort, but to say that Laban's house had turned completely from God seems to be an over statement. And whether Rachel's purpose in securing them was of a 'religious' nature or of a 'material' nature is not known. Certainly there is hint that Laban and his sons assumed the 'inheritances' which might have been those the two daughters of Laban felt was theirs to claim. If Rachel's interest in the images which might have been of gold was 'materialistic' because of their worldly value, she could have presumed them to be 'owed to her' as her rightful claim of weath from her inheritances which had been assumed my the others of her house (see Genesis 31:14-16).
20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the ^aSyrian, in that he told him not that he fled. 21 So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead. 22 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.
23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. 24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in a ^adream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou ^aspeak not to Jacob either good or bad.
25 ¶ Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? 27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with ^aharp?
28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. 29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. 30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. 32 With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. 33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.
34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. 35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me^a. And he searched, but found not the images^b.	35^a the custom of women is upon me Rachel was with child, her second who would be Benjamin—Joseph having been born in Padan-aram, Syria as had the other first 10 sons of Jacob. Thus the whole of Jacob's trip from Padan-aram until Rachel was delivered and subseqently died occured during the 8-9 month's of Racheal's pregnancy with Benjamin, this includes the events recorded in the five chapters of Genesis 31-35 inclusive. 35^b he searched, but found not the images Exactly what were and were not Laban's inner suspicions concering his 'valuable' stolen images are not known for sure. Jacob not knowing who may have taken them pronounced a death sentence upon whoever was found possessing them (Genesis 31:32). Rachel, though with child, was not many months along as many events occur before Benjamin's birth. Did Laban suspect his younger daughter when she would not rise from her camel cushion seat? And would a father who loved his daughter have so continued to confront her directly if the doing so meant the possible carrying out of a death oath against her? Perhaps, though Laban was certainly shrewed and not seemingly always completely fair and honest in his dealings, Laban still had the love of his daughters at heart and would rather fore go further search at the expense of Rachel. Perhaps Laban in his mind had come to know who had taken them, why she had taken them and he weighed their worth against the love and life of his daughter. Certainly it is possible that Rachel and Leah had at some point complained to their father Laban that they felt that they had not recieved their 'fair' share of inheritance as expressed in verses 14-16 above. After the search of Rachel's tent and Rachel refusing to arise off her seat, Laban no longer pursues the claim of theft of his images against the household of Jacob though there might well have been further places to search. One old adage states that 'what you are looking for is always in the last place in which you look', for after you have found it, you look no more for it. Laban did not look any further after his search of Rachel's tent. Had he found where his images were and who had taken them and so determined to look no further and to let it end for the sake of his daughter Rachel? Laban had first searched Jacob's tent, Leah's tent, and the two maidservants' tents. And it was just after Leah's tent, whose tent must have been the last searched in the foregoing sequence, to Rachel's tent, that Laban came to Rachel's tent. And immediately after his particle search of Rachel's tent Laban stopped searching and became reconciled or satisfied in his search. Certainly there were still other places that could have been searched. Often parents know their children well and one as shrewd as Laban might well have understood Rachel, who in the first month or two of pregnancy would not rise from her seat when it was the custom of women to continue to work throughout most of her expectancy.
36 ¶ And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? 37 Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both. 38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
39 That which was ^atorn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. 40 Thus I was; in the day the ^adrought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. 41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I ^aserved thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. 42 Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the ^alabour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
43 ¶ And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born? 44 Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. 45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a ^apillar. 46 And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.
47 And Laban called it ^aJegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it ^bGaleed. 48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; 49 And ^aMizpah; for he said, The LORD ^bwatch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. 50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; 52 This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat ^abread, and tarried all night in the mount. 55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.
54 Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat ^abread, and tarried all night in the mount. 55 And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.