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Genesis 31 Version Commentary

Benson CommentaryGenesis 31:1And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away allthat was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all thisglory.Genesis 31:1. He heard the words of Laban’s sons — For it seems they spokethem in Jacob’s hearing. The last chapter began with Rachel’s envying Leah;this begins with Laban’s sons envying Jacob. Hath taken away all that was ourfather’s — Not all, sure: what was become of those cattle which werecommitted to the custody of Laban’s sons, and sent three days’ journey off? Hehas gotten all this glory — And what was this glory? It was a parcel of brownsheep, and speckled goats, and some camels and asses. But they meantwealth, which the possessors usually glory in, and whereby they gain muchesteem from others.

Genesis 31:2And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not towardhim as before.Genesis 31:3And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thykindred; and I will be with thee.Genesis 31:3-4. The Lord said unto Jacob, Return — God, who orders allthings aright, having blessed Jacob with greater substance in the house ofLaban than he could have obtained in his father’s house, without great

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inconveniences, perhaps irreconcilable, fatal hatred between him and hisbrother Esau, now orders him to return. For, though Jacob had met with veryhard usage, yet he would not quit his place till God bid him. The direction hehad from Heaven is more fully related to his wives afterward. Unto the land ofthy fathers — Not which was properly theirs, but only that in which they hadsojourned, and which was promised to them in their seed. And, as Jacob wasan inheritor of the promise, it was proper that he should sojourn in the land, tokeep alive the hopes of it in his posterity. Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah tothe field — That he might discourse with them more privately.

Genesis 31:4And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,Genesis 31:5And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me asbefore; but the God of my father hath been with me.Genesis 31:6And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.Genesis 31:7And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but Godsuffered him not to hurt me.Genesis 31:7-8. Hath changed my wages ten times — That is, oft-times, as isoften the signification of the number ten. It appears that Laban, through envyand covetousness, often broke his agreement made with Jacob, and altered itas he thought fit, and that Jacob patiently yielded to all such changes Then allthe cattle bare speckled — This seems to put it out of doubt, that, as Jacobsays in the following verse, it was indeed God who ordered this matter; for itcan scarcely be supposed that any natural causes whatever, without hispeculiar providence, could produce so many different changes in a thing of thisnature, without once failing.

Genesis 31:8If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle barespeckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare allthe cattle ringstraked.Genesis 31:9Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.Genesis 31:9. God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to

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me — Thus the righteous God paid Jacob for his hard service out of Laban’sestate, as he afterward paid the seed of Jacob for the service of the Egyptianswith the spoils of that people.

Genesis 31:10And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mineeyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattlewere ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.Genesis 31:11And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said,Here am I.Genesis 31:11-13. The angel of the Lord spake, I am the God of Beth-el —This, no doubt, was the Word, or Song of Solomon of God, who nowcondescended to be the angel or messenger of the Father to Jacob, and yetstyles himself the God of Beth-el. Thus was Jacob reminded of Beth-el, and ofthe promises made to him there, by the same divine person, who now againappeared to him in a dream, to his great comfort.

Genesis 31:12And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon thecattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Labandoeth unto thee.Genesis 31:12. I have seen all that Laban doeth to thee — If we attend to thisvision we cannot but see reason to conclude that it was really communicated toJacob at this time to make use of the speckled rods; for here is a plaindeclaration that God would effect the thing, and the reason why; because hehad seen Laban’s ungenerous and unfair dealing toward Jacob, and thereforewas resolved to punish him for it, and at the same time reward Jacob for hisfidelity and contentedness under these injuries.

Genesis 31:13I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thouvowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return untothe land of thy kindred.Genesis 31:14And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion orinheritance for us in our father's house?

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Genesis 31:14-15. Is there any portion — Any hope of benefit; for us in ourfather’s house? — They both agree in acknowledging that his behaviour hadbeen extremely ungenerous and sordid, even to them, his own children. Arewe not counted of him strangers? — Dealt with as strangers, rather thanchildren: for he hath sold us — To thee for fourteen years’ service. And hathquite devoured (wholly converted to his own use) our money — That which inequity was due to us for our portions, and for our husband’s service. WhereasJacob looked upon the wealth which God had transferred from Laban to him ashis wages, they look upon it as their portions; so that, both ways, God forcedLaban to pay his debts, both to his servant and to his daughters.

Genesis 31:15Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quitedevoured also our money.Genesis 31:16For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and ourchildren's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.Genesis 31:17Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;Genesis 31:18And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, thecattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padanaram, for to go to Isaac hisfather in the land of Canaan.Genesis 31:19And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images thatwere her father's.Genesis 31:19. Laban went to shear his sheep — That part of his flock whichwas in the hands of his sons, three days’ journey off. Now, 1st, It is certain itwas lawful for Jacob to leave his service suddenly: it was not only justified bythe particular instructions God gave him, but warranted by the fundamental lawof self-preservation, which directs us, when we are in danger, to shift for ourown safety, as far as we can do it without wronging our consciences. 2d, It washis prudence to steal away unawares to Laban, lest if Laban had known, heshould have hindered him, or plundered him. 3d, It was honestly done to takeno more than his own with him, the cattle of his getting. He took whatProvidence gave him, and would not take the repair of his damages into hisown hands. Yet Rachel was not so honest as her husband; she stole her

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father’s images, and carried them away. The Hebrew calls them teraphim.Some think they were only little representations of the ancestors of the familyin statue or picture, which Rachel had a particular fondness for, and wasdesirous to have with her, now she was going into another country. It shouldrather seem they were images for a religious use, penates, household gods,either worshipped, or consulted as oracles; and we are willing to hope that shetook them away, not out of covetousness, much less for her own use, or out ofany superstitions fear, lest Laban, by consulting his teraphim, might knowwhich way they were gone; but with a design to convince her father of the follyof his regard to those as gods which could not secure themselves.

Genesis 31:20And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him notthat he fled.Genesis 31:21So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, andset his face toward the mount Gilead.Genesis 31:22And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled.Genesis 31:23And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey;and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.Genesis 31:23. He took his brethren — That is, his relations, and pursuesJacob to bring him back into bondage, or to strip him of what he had. Theyovertook him in the mount Gilead — This mount was about two hundred andfifty miles from Haran; so that Jacob travelled twenty-five miles each day, andLaban, in pursuing him, thirty-seven.

Genesis 31:24And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him,Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.Genesis 31:24. Speak not to Jacob either good or bad — The Hebrew is, fromgood to bad — That is, enter into no altercations, and use no harsh languagewith him, which may occasion a quarrel. Say nothing against his going on withhis journey, for the thing proceedeth from the Lord. The same Hebraism wehave, Genesis 24:50. The safety of good men is very much owing to the holdGod has on the consciences of bad men, and the access he has to them.

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Genesis 31:25Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: andLaban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.Genesis 31:26And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen awayunawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with thesword?Genesis 31:27Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst nottell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, withtabret, and with harp?Genesis 31:27. I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs — Notas Rebekah was sent away out of the same family above one hundred andtwenty years before, with prayers and blessings, but with sport and merriment;which was a sign that religion was much decayed in the family.

Genesis 31:28And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast nowdone foolishly in so doing.Genesis 31:29It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spakeunto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacobeither good or bad.Genesis 31:29. The God of your fathers spake to me yesterday — We findhere that Laban, whatever his disposition was, and how great soever hisanger, paid regard to the heavenly vision. For though he supposed that he hadboth right and strength on his side, either to revenge the wrong or recover theright, yet he owns himself under the restraint of God’s power; he durst notinjure one whom he saw to be the particular care of Heaven. It seems probablethat God, who can change the heart in a moment, effected a sudden alterationin his disposition toward Jacob.

Genesis 31:30And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedstafter thy father's house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?Genesis 31:30. Wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? — Foolish man! to call

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those his gods that could be stolen! Could he expect protection from them thatcould neither resist nor discover their invaders? Happy are they who have theLord for their God. Enemies may steal our goods, but not our God.

Genesis 31:31And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said,Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.Genesis 31:31-32. Jacob clears himself by giving the true reason why he wentaway unknown to Laban; he feared lest Laban should by force take away hisdaughters, and so oblige him to continue in his service. As to the charge ofstealing Laban’s gods, he pleads not guilty. He not only did not take themhimself, but he did not know that they were taken. Let him not live — This wasrashly said, and might have produced fatal effects.

Genesis 31:32With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethrendiscern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not thatRachel had stolen them.Genesis 31:33And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the twomaidservants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent,and entered into Rachel's tent.Genesis 31:34Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, andsat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.Genesis 31:35And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise upbefore thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but foundnot the images.Genesis 31:36And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said toLaban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursuedafter me?Genesis 31:37Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thyhousehold stuff? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they mayjudge betwixt us both.

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Genesis 31:38This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have notcast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.Genesis 31:39That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; ofmy hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.Genesis 31:39-40. That which was torn I brought not unto thee — What Jacobhere affirms, and for the truth of which he appeals to Laban, shows him to havebeen of a very industrious and faithful disposition, and that Laban’s temper wasexceedingly selfish and sordid: for though Jacob was his relation, and hissubstance had increased so greatly under his hand, yet he was very rigidtoward him, and required him to make good all the cattle that were lost, bywhatever accident it happened. In the day the drought consumed me — “InEurope,” says Sir John Chardin, quoted by Harmer, vol. 1. p. 74, “the days andnights resemble each other, with respect to the qualities of heat and cold; but itis quite otherwise in the East. In the lower Asia, in particular, the day is alwayshot, and, as soon as the sun is fifteen degrees above the horizon, no cold isfelt in the depth of winter itself. On the contrary, in the height of summer, thenights are as cold as at Paris in the month of March. It is for this reason that inPersia and Turkey they always make use of furred habits in the country, suchonly being sufficient to resist the cold of the nights.”

Genesis 31:40Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; andmy sleep departed from mine eyes.Genesis 31:41Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years forthy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed mywages ten times.Genesis 31:42Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, hadbeen with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seenmine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.Genesis 31:42. Except God had been with me — Jacob, on every mention ofhis substance, attributes all the increase of it to the care that God had of him.And he here speaks of God, as the God of his father, intimating, that hethought himself unworthy to be thus regarded, but was beloved for his father’s

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sake. He calls him the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac: for Abrahamwas dead, and gone to that world where there is no fear; but Isaac was yetalive, sanctifying the Lord in his heart as his fear and his dread.

Genesis 31:43And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are mydaughters, 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 mydaughters, or unto their children which they have born?Genesis 31:43-44. All is mine — That is, came by me. Let us make a covenant— It was made and ratified with great solemnity, according to the usages ofthose times. 1st, A pillar was erected, a heap of stones raised to perpetuatethe memory of the thing, writing being then not known. 2d, A sacrifice wasoffered, a sacrifice of peace-offerings. 3d, They ate bread together, jointlypartaking of the feast upon the sacrifice. This was in token of a heartyreconciliation. Covenants of friendship were anciently ratified by the partieseating and drinking together.

Genesis 31:44Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be fora witness between me and thee.Genesis 31:45And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.Genesis 31:46And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, andmade an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.Genesis 31:47And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.Genesis 31:47-53. But Jacob called it Galeed — The name Laban gave itsignifies the heap of witness, in the Syrian tongue, which he used, and Galeedsignifies the same in Hebrew, the language which Jacob used. It appears thatthe name which Jacob gave it remained to it, and not the name which Labangave it. And Mizpah — (Genesis 31:49,) This name in Hebrew signifies awatchtower. And they agreed to give it this second name to remind them andtheir posterity of the solemn appeal they had now mutually made to the all-seeing eye of God, whose providence watches over the actions of mankind,rewarding sincerity and punishing deceitfulness. They appeal to him, 1st, As a

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witness, The Lord judge between thee and me — That is, the Lord takecognizance of every thing that shall be done on either side in violation of thisleague. 2d, As a judge. The God of Abraham, (Genesis 31:53,) from whomJacob was descended; and the God of Nahor — Laban’s progenitor; the Godof their father — From whom they were both descended; judge betwixt us.God’s relation to them is thus expressed, to intimate that they worshipped oneand the same God, upon which consideration there ought to be no enmitybetwixt them. Those that have one God, should have one heart: God is judgebetween contending parties, and he will judge righteously. Whoever doeswrong, it is at his peril. Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac — The Godwhom his father Isaac feared, who had never served other gods, as Abrahamand Nahor had done: to this only living and true God he offered a sacrifice,(Genesis 31:54,) in gratitude for the peace he had obtained with Laban.

Genesis 31:48And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day.Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;Genesis 31:49And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we areabsent one from another.Genesis 31:50If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside mydaughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.Genesis 31:51And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I havecast betwixt me and thee;Genesis 31:52This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over thisheap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar untome, for harm.Genesis 31:53The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judgebetwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.Genesis 31:54Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eatbread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.Genesis 31:55

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And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and hisdaughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto hisplace.

Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.

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Paddan-aram

Paddan-aram and Region

Genesis 31:1 NASB

Genesis 31:1 KJV

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5PiyashBangladesh

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