Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 31 mean?

Genesis 31 is a long, eventful chapter that follows Jacob from his last days in a twenty-year career as Laban’s servant. It ends with Jacob standing with his wives and children, as a free man, in the borderlands of the promised land of Canaan. It’s not a smooth transition, though, and this chapter details several controversies.

This chapter begins with two revelations. First, Jacob learns that Laban’s sons are dangerously angry with him for taking such a large portion of Laban’s profits, their future inheritance. Worse, Jacob hears that he has lost the favor of Laban himself. Second, God speaks to Jacob once more and commands him to return to his own people in Canaan. God promises to be with him (Genesis 31:1–3).

Jacob knows he must leave. He is afraid, though. What if his wives, Laban’s daughters, don’t want to go? What if Laban won’t let him go? He immediately sends for his wives to see if they will support the move. He makes his case: Laban no longer favors him. Even after twenty years of faithful service, Laban continually cheats him. Rachel and Leah agree, despite their longstanding rivalry. They describe their decision bitterly, in financial terms. They won’t get any inheritance from Laban, anyway. They’ll go with Jacob (Genesis 31:4–16).

Next, Jacob decides to skip any confrontation with Laban. In the past, Laban has talked Jacob into seemingly terrible agreements, though God has blessed Jacob even in those circumstances. Worse, Jacob is concerned that Laban may forbid Jacob to leave with all the people and property that he sees as ultimately belonging to him. Jacob doesn’t give Laban the chance to object. He just packs and leaves in a hurry (Genesis 31:17–21).

Three days later, Laban hears that Jacob is gone. He saddles up with his kinsman and gives chase, catching up with Jacob’s large company in the hill country of Gilead. The confrontation will happen after all. Unexpectedly warned by God not to “say anything to Jacob, either good or bad,” Laban may have moderated his words to Jacob. Instead of expressing his wrath, Laban sounds hurt. If Jacob had only told him he was leaving, Laban would have thrown him a party, or so he says. Laban speaks as if Jacob tried to steal Laban’s chance to kiss his daughters and grandchildren goodbye. He understands that Jacob longed for his father’s household, but why did Jacob steal Laban’s house gods (Genesis 31:22–30)?

Jacob answers Laban honestly. He thought Laban would take his daughters, Jacob’s wives, away by force. He also insists he did not take Laban’s idols, not knowing that Rachel did exactly that. Jacob foolishly promises that anyone found with the idols will die. This puts his beloved wife’s life at risk (Genesis 31:31–32).

Jacob allows Laban to search the camp. Due to Rachel’s quick thinking, and deception, Laban finds nothing. Feeling righteously indignant, Jacob finally expresses all of his fury to Laban, not just about the idol search, but also about twenty years of shabby treatment in spite of Jacob’s faithful service. Only God’s protection and blessing has kept Jacob from leaving empty-handed to return to his own people (Genesis 31:33–42).

Laban disagrees. He still believes his daughters and their children and all that Jacob possesses belongs to him. Because Jacob’s God has warned Laban, though, Laban won’t fight for them. Instead, he offers an alternative both to protect himself in the future and to take control of the situation. He proposes a covenant that both men will swear never to cross over the point where they stand in order to do the other harm (Genesis 31:43–50).

Jacob agrees. The covenant is made and recognized with the building of a heap of stones, a sacrifice upon an altar, and the sharing of a meal. Finally, Laban rides off and Jacob turns to face his homeland as a free man (Genesis 31:51–55).

Still, this won’t be the end of Jacob’s worries as he heads home. When he fled, twenty years prior, it was to escape the murderous wrath of Esau, the older twin brother Jacob had cheated (Genesis 27:36; 27:41). Jacob might be free, but he’s also heading towards a man who might still be looking for revenge. The next two chapters will show how this eventual meeting plays out.

Chapter Context
Genesis 30 described the dramatic expansion of Jacob’s family and property. Now, after twenty years of working for Laban, the time comes for Jacob to return to his own people. He attempts to sneak away without telling Laban, but Laban soon catches up with him. After bitter confrontations, father and son-in-law make a covenant of separation and peace. Jacob is finally free to begin the next chapter of his life in the Promised Land. First, though, he will need to deal with his brother Esau, whose rage was the main reason Jacob fled in the first place. That encounter is described over the following two chapters.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father ‘s, and from what was our father ‘s he has gained all this wealth.”

In the previous chapter, Laban admitted that he knew he had grown rich because of the Lord’s blessing on Jacob. In spite of that, Laban immediately attempted to cheat Jacob—again—while making a new deal with his son-in-law. Jacob had asked for his wages to be all the future off-color sheep and goats born to Laban’s flocks. Laban had attempted to make that already-low percentage of the flock even smaller by immediately removing all of the existing off-color animals from the flock and giving those to his sons to take a three-day’s journey away.

The Lord intervened on Jacob’s behalf, however. God blessed Jacob’s unusual breeding methods, causing a great number of off-color sheep and goats to come from a flock that began with none. In addition, Jacob’s selective breeding caused his animals to be stronger than Laban’s animals. This chapter reveals that Jacob’s tactics were based on a revelation from God, not an actual belief in the power of striped sticks (Genesis 31:10–12).

The previous chapter ended by revealing that Jacob had grown enormously wealthy. Now we learn that Laban’s wealth has been diminished as a result of his arrangement with Jacob. Laban’s latest attempt at cheating Jacob has backfired. Laban’s sons, watching their inheritance slipping away, are growing resentful for Jacob. From their perspective, Jacob’s wealth has come straight out of their own pockets.

Context Summary
Genesis 31:1–21 describes the events that propel Jacob to sneak away from Laban and head toward his homeland of Canaan. First, he learns that Laban and his sons are dangerously unhappy with him for taking so many of Laban’s profits. Then God commands Jacob to go, promising to be with him. After securing the support of his wives, Jacob packs up his large family and property and sneaks away toward Gilead and then home.

Verse 2. And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before.

Jacob feels vulnerable. The previous verse revealed that his brothers-in-law, Laban’s sons, were grumbling against him. God had abundantly blessed Jacob’s arrangement with Laban, even though Laban intended that contract to cheat Jacob once again. As explained later (Genesis 31:10–12), it was God’s direct intervention in the breeding of the animals which caused Jacob’s wealth to grow enormously while his father-in-law’s fortune apparently diminished. Laban’s sons are as greedy and short-sighted as their father, so they saw Jacob’s wealth as money coming from their own pockets.

Jacob is aware, as well, that he is no longer favored by Laban. Not surprisingly, Laban had always liked Jacob when Laban had the upper hand. Not only had Jacob allowed Laban to force Leah on him as a wife, in exchange for an extra seven years of service (Genesis 29:20–28), Laban knew the Lord had blessed him because Jacob was working for him. According to complaints brought up in this chapter, Laban has also been shifty and unreliable in his dealings with Jacob (Genesis 31:6–7).

Now, however, Laban’s scheming has backfired. His plan to once again cheat Jacob has instead resulted in Jacob growing wealthy, while Laban’s wealth flounders. Now that Jacob had been given the upper hand in their relationship, Laban suddenly doesn’t like Jacob any more. Jacob, with a large family and great wealth to lose, and no extended family of his own nearby to protect him, is aware that he could be in real trouble if Laban decides to turn on him.

Verse 3. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

Jacob is aware that Laban’s sons are grumbling against him and that he has lost Laban’s favor, as well. Now the Lord Himself tells Jacob the time has come to leave, to return to his own homeland in Canaan. Later in this chapter, we will learn that it was God who instructed Jacob to make his deal with Laban, and God who guided the birth of the flocks (Genesis 31:10–12), turning Laban’s attempted scam (Genesis 30:31–36) into a blessing for Jacob (Genesis 30:37–43). This seems to have been a preparation for this very moment.

The Lord adds the promise that He will be with Jacob, as He has said before and as He has repeatedly demonstrated. Jacob will not be running away from Laban on his own. He can be confident that God will protect him.

Even though Jacob is likely eager to obey, it should be noted that this is not a suggestion from the Lord. It is a command, and it is similar to God’s command to Abraham many years earlier when He sent Abraham from the same region into the promised land of Canaan for the first time (Genesis 12:1–4).

Verse 4. So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was

Jacob is aware that Laban’s sons are grumbling against him and that he has lost Laban’s favor. In addition, the Lord has just told Jacob to leave and return to the Promised Land of Canaan. It’s finally time for Jacob to go back home (Genesis 28:1–5).

Jacob does not return home to begin making arrangements to pack up his enormous family and possessions and move out. Instead, he calls his wives to come to him in the field, away from home. Perhaps he wants to assure that their conversation will be private. He will definitely seek their support in leaving their own father and brothers and homeland very quickly and with little warning.

In the following verses, Jacob will make his case for why they must go now.

Verse 5. and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me.

The Lord has told Jacob to return to the land of Canaan (Genesis 28:1–5; 31:3). In addition, Laban and his sons have turned against Jacob. The reason for their change in attitude is selfish and cynical. As long as Laban could benefit from repeatedly cheating Jacob, he favored his son-in-law. Now that their most recent deal (Genesis 30:32–36) has turned into a disaster for Laban, and a blessing for Jacob (Genesis 30:37–43), Laban and his sons are not happy. Rather than wait to go home, Jacob calls his wives to meet him in the field in order to make an immediate decision.

Here, Jacob begins to make the case to his two wives for why they must leave now. He starts by telling them something they likely know: You father doesn’t like me anymore. Jacob didn’t have Laban’s favor. In contrast, Jacob points out that the God of his father Isaac continues to be with him. Jacob wants his wives to understand why it makes sense to trust God and to stop depending on their father. Despite their long-running rivalry (Genesis 30:8), these sisters will show a surprising unity in their response to Jacob’s words (Genesis 31:14–16).

Verse 6. You know that I have served your father with all my strength,

Rachel and Leah don’t know it yet, but Jacob is making a case for why they need to immediately leave their father, Laban, to go to Jacob’s people in Canaan (Genesis 28:1–5; 31:3). Jacob has said that Laban no longer favors him, but that God is with him.

Now he begins to describe why Laban’s actions toward him have been unfair. First, Jacob insists on something they both know. He has worked for Laban diligently, with all of his strength. In fact, Jacob has served Laban faithfully for twenty years now. Jacob will go on to reference how Laban has cheated and mistreated him routinely over these years (Genesis 29:20–28; 30:31–43).

Verse 7. yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me.

Jacob is about to ask for support from his wives, Rachel and Leah, in leaving their homeland behind and moving with their household, family, and possessions to his homeland in Canaan (Genesis 31:3). In the previous verse, Jacob reminded them that he has served Laban with all of his strength, assuming they understood that to be true. Laban, however, has not been fair to him, Jacob insists. They knew this to be true, as well.

After all, they were both there when Laban switched Leah for Rachel on their wedding day and tacked seven years onto Jacob’s work contract (Genesis 29:20–28). They had likely also heard about Laban’s attempts to change his deal with Jacob “ten times” in order to limit Jacob’s growing wealth at his expense (Genesis 30:31–43).

Laban’s efforts to cheat Jacob again didn’t work, though. The Lord wouldn’t allow Jacob to be taken advantage of any longer, as the following verses will make clear.

Verse 8. If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped.

Jacob is making the case to his wives for why they should leave, and return to Jacob’s family lands. He is describing how their father has cheated him, in spite of his own faithfulness. All of this is preparation for Jacob to ask for their support in leaving Paddan-aram and traveling to live permanently in his homeland of Canaan (Genesis 28:1–5; 31:3).

Jacob has just stated that Laban attempted to change his wages ten times. Here, he explains. Their original agreement was that Jacob would be entitled to all of the striped, speckled, and spotted goats, in addition to all of the black sheep. Now we learn that Laban attempted multiple times to change that agreement. Instead of all of the non-black goats, only the spotted ones would belong to Jacob. Then only the striped ones.

The Lord, however, intervened repeatedly to protect Jacob’s interests, supernaturally causing only spotted or only striped goats to be born to keep up with Laban’s changing rules. Details about this arrangement will arise in verse 11, showing that Jacob’s acceptance of the deal (Genesis 30:25–34) and the end results (Genesis 30:37–43) had already been guaranteed by God. So, no matter what Laban did to try and cheat Jacob, Jacob just kept prospering at his expense.

Verse 9. Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

Laban and his sons are resentful of Jacob for growing wealthy at their expense. Of course, the only reason their family had prospered in the first place was through Jacob’s successful efforts (Genesis 30:27). What has actually happened is that God has intervened (Genesis 31:10–12) to turn Laban’s continued attempts to cheat Jacob into great gain, instead (Genesis 30:37–43). Jacob is making the case to his wives that it was the Lord who caused this to happen, not him. The previous verse revealed that Laban changed the arrangement he had with Jacob several times in hopes of limiting how many of the flock Jacob could claim as his own.

However, when Laban would say “the spotted goats will be your wages,” the Lord would cause all the new goats to be born spotted. When Laban changed it to striped goats, the Lord would supernaturally cause all the new goats to be striped. However Laban attempted to cheat Jacob, the Lord would cause Jacob to prosper, instead.

Now Jacob makes his point bluntly: God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. Jacob’s implication to his wives is twofold: One, your father should be mad at God, not me. Two, if you stick with me, you will have God on your side.

Laban and his sons are resentful of Jacob for growing wealthy at their expense. Of course, the only reason their family had prospered in the first place was through Jacob’s successful efforts (Genesis 30:27). What has actually happened is that God has intervened (Genesis 31:10–12) to turn Laban’s continued attempts to cheat Jacob into great gain, instead (Genesis 30:37–43). Jacob is making the case to his wives that it was the Lord who caused this to happen, not him. The previous verse revealed that Laban changed the arrangement he had with Jacob several times in hopes of limiting how many of the flock Jacob could claim as his own.

However, when Laban would say “the spotted goats will be your wages,” the Lord would cause all the new goats to be born spotted. When Laban changed it to striped goats, the Lord would supernaturally cause all the new goats to be striped. However Laban attempted to cheat Jacob, the Lord would cause Jacob to prosper, instead.

Now Jacob makes his point bluntly: God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. Jacob’s implication to his wives is twofold: One, your father should be mad at God, not me. Two, if you stick with me, you will have God on your side.

Verse 10. In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled.

Jacob is in the process of explaining to his wives, Leah and Rachel, why he feels it is time to abandon their father, Laban, and head back to Jacob’s family in Canaan. This mostly revolves around Laban’s persistent dishonesty and cheating at Jacob’s expense. Now, he backs up to explain to his wives how it came to be that he made the arrangement with Laban in the first place to claim the spotted, striped, and mottled goats as his wages from the flock. After all, the normal course of things was that most of the flock would have been made up of black goats and white sheep.

Here, Jacob resolves a seemingly odd passage from the prior chapter. Jacob appeared to have used striped sticks to cause the flocks to breed in certain colors (Genesis 30:37–43). Verses 10 through 12 explain that he made this arrangement, and utilized the sticks, only after being told by God in a dream, what the outcome would be. In short, the Lord gave Jacob a dream in which male goats mating with the flock were not solidly colored. They were striped, spotted, and mottled.

Jacob continues to insist to his wives that the Lord is trustworthy. God is the reason for their great wealth and protection, not their father. He is building up to telling his wives it is time to leave their homeland.

Verse 11. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’

Jacob is describing to his wives a dream given to him by the Lord. It seems this dream took place six years earlier and became the reason Jacob made the deal with Laban to take the off-color goats and sheep as his wages.

In the dream, he saw off-color goats mating with the flock. Now Jacob reveals that the “angel of God,” the Lord Himself, spoke to him in the dream. Jacob said, “Here I am!” This text, along with verse 10, explains that Jacob’s deal with Laban, his use of colored sticks, and his eventual success (Genesis 30:31–43) were all due to God’s direct influence. In other words, Jacob was not attempting to biologically influence the flock’s color by using the sticks, he was simply using them as part of God’s pre-arranged plan (Genesis 31:10, 12).

Jacob is intent that Rachel and Leah understand that the Lord is not merely the one providing for and protecting him, God is also the one directing him. He’s about to tell them it’s time to move away from their father and homeland. He wants it to be clear this direction is coming from God.

Verse 12. And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

Jacob is describing a dream given to him by the Lord. In the dream, Jacob saw off-color goats mating with the flock. The angel of God spoke to Jacob in the dream, pointing this out. Then God said to Jacob that the point of the dream was because He had seen all Laban was doing to Jacob. In other words, God was watching and protecting Jacob. He was aware of how Laban was attempting to take advantage of Jacob. The Lord was letting Jacob know He would intervene for Jacob’s good.

This, finally, is the explanation for why Jacob made such the deal with Laban in the first place to take all the off-color goats as his wages (Genesis 30:31–36). It also explains why Jacob’s highly unusual breeding techniques of placing stripped sticks in water troughs turned out to be so supernaturally successful (Genesis 30:37–43). This was not a suggestion that sheep color is affected by sticks; rather, it’s proof that God was the one overseeing the entire process from the start.

Verse 13. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’”

Here, Jacob concludes the case he is making to his wives. He has saved the revelation that God has commanded him to return to the land of Canaan. He began by demonstrating how Laban and their brothers had stopped viewing him with favor. Then Jacob explained how Laban had cheated him repeatedly and how God had protected him and made him wealthy. In simple terms, God told Jacob he’d repay him for the years he’d been cheated by Laban, by supernaturally influencing the breeding of the animals.

Jacob finishes by telling Leah and Rachel that God spoke to Him, reminding Jacob of the sacred vow he had made at Bethel before meeting his Uncle Laban and his daughters. At Bethel, the Lord had appeared to Jacob in a dream and made great promises to him. Jacob had worshiped the Lord and built a pillar to Him.

Now that same God, that good and faithful God, was commanding Jacob to return to the land of his people.

The setup to this statement tells us a lot about Jacob’s sense of concern. He would have been wondering: how would Rachel and Leah respond to this revelation? Would they support Jacob and agree to go with him? Would these two sisters, struggling with a bitter rivalry (Genesis 30:8), have the same response?

Verse 14. Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father ‘s house?

Jacob has made the case to his wives, Rachel and Leah, about why they must move away from their father’s household and travel back to the land of his people (Genesis 31:3). He laid out the facts in such a way as to gain their support for this move. Jacob’s case began with Laban’s history of scheming and trickery (Genesis 31:4–9), and ended with Jacob’s direct communication from God (Genesis 31:10–13).

Now Rachel and Leah respond, revealing that they will, indeed, support Jacob in this. They start by answering what Jacob probably assumed was to be their main objection: that a move away from their father would cause them to miss out on a future inheritance. In the form of a question, they reveal that they never expected to receive anything else from Laban, anyway. As the following verses reveal, they have no financial reason to stay near their homeland.

Even more dramatically, the following verses will show that Leah and Rachel feel just as cheated as Jacob does. They see how their father’s actions were taken for his benefit, not theirs, proving that they have no real reason to stay. Despite their bitter rivalry (Genesis 30:8), Laban’s greed is crystal clear, even to his own daughters.

Verse 15. Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money.

Rachel and Leah are telling Jacob why they will support him in the move away from their father and homeland to travel to live among his people in Canaan. For one thing, they don’t believe they have any future inheritance coming from their father.

Now they express that they, too, feel they’ve been mistreated by Laban. It’s not immediately clear why they say that he has treated them as foreigners, though it might mean he was distant or cold to them once they were married to Jacob (Genesis 29:20–28). It’s possible they are identifying with Jacob. Their father claimed him as family but then mistreated him as one would a foreigner. In the process, he mistreated his own daughters, as well (Genesis 30:31–43).

On the other hand, it’s not hard to understand what the women mean—that their father sold them and devoured their money. Laban used trickery and his daughter’s marriages to get 14 years of labor out of Jacob. That was good for Laban, but it also meant withholding money from his own daughters and grandchildren. The two sisters had been married to a man who became an indentured servant, a kind of property, belonging to Laban. In that sense, they were sold into slavery, as well, to their own father. Apparently, any money paid to a father by a bridegroom would customarily be saved and given to the bride in the inheritance when the father died. Jacob’s only dowry was his service, so there was no money waiting for Rachel and Leah when their father died. He had already “devoured” it all in using up Jacob’s work for him.

Further, Laban’s most recent attempt to cheat Jacob meant yet another moment where the interests of Laban’s own daughters came second to his greed. Despite Leah and Rachel’s intense rivalry (Genesis 30:8), they are in agreement on this issue.

Verse 16. All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”

Rachel and Leah are telling Jacob why they will support him in what will become a quick and secret move away from Laban, and toward Jacob’s homeland in Canaan (Genesis 31:3). Both feel their father has mistreated them, in part, by treating Jacob so badly (Genesis 30:31–36). From their perspective, their father more or less sold them to gain free labor from Jacob (Genesis 29:20–28), leaving them no gain, and has continued to cheat their husband, further harming their finances. He might also have been cold or unfriendly to them after their marriage. Neither woman expects to receive any inheritance from Laban when he dies.

Finally, in this verse, they declare they already have their father’s wealth, anyway. They repeat what Jacob has already said: God took Laban’s wealth and gave it to them. In fact, they say their father’s wealth already “belongs to us and our children.” In other words, they have no financial incentive not to run away from their father never to return again.

It’s interesting to note that Rachel and Leah focus their reply on financial issues. This might be a deliberate slam against Laban—since his interests are purely about money, they can make a good case to leave him, based on money. It might also reveal how little emotional attachment they have to their father or brothers or homeland. They offer no reason not to support Jacob in this move. They conclude by saying he should do whatever God has said to do—a welcome point of unity between sisters who are also bitter rivals (Genesis 30:8).

Did Jacob feel he needed their permission to do what God had told him? It’s not clear, but Jacob’s wives did give him their support. That was the last piece he was waiting for to take action.

Verse 17. So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels.

Jacob and his wives, Leah and Rachel, have agreed to leave the women’s father, Laban, due to his persistent cheating and mistreatment of their family (Genesis 29:20–28; 30:31–36). Despite their long-running feud (Genesis 30:8), these sisters and wives to the same husband agree that their father cares nothing for them. They are ready to support Jacob, and to follow God’s instruction to move back to Canaan.

Scripture does not explicitly indicate if Jacob packed up his family and left immediately after hearing that his wives would support him in the move away from Laban. We’re not told how much time it took, but the implication is that they moved with some haste. Jacob wanted to get away without Laban knowing he was gone.

Jacob had become wealthy. He had acquired camels, the preferred method of travel for women and children at the time. He apparently had enough camels to carry four wives and 11 sons. This caravan of Jacob’s family and worldly goods would become very long.

Verse 18. He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.

Jacob has come to an agreement with his wives, to leave the land of their father Laban, and return to Canaan (Genesis 31:3). All three are agreed that Laban has treated them deceitfully, dishonestly, and greedily (Genesis 31:4–16). The prior verse suggests that the preparations to leave were conducted quickly.

After Jacob succeeded in getting all of his wives and sons on camels, he added the rest of his possessions to the caravan out of Paddan-aram. Their destination is their new home in Canaan, with Jacob’s father Isaac. Jacob’s property now includes much livestock “on the hoof,” as well as servants, donkeys, and belongings. They can’t move too quickly, for that reason.

Jacob seemingly left Canaan with next to nothing: sleeping alone on a rock (Genesis 28:11) and having no dowry to offer for a wife (Genesis 29:18). He will return to his homeland a wealthy man with a large family. God had blessed Jacob, just as He said He would (Genesis 28:12–15).

Verse 19. Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father ‘s household gods.

The previous verses describe Jacob loading his family on camels and driving all of his possessions away from Laban’s estate. The family is heading in the direction of Jacob’s father Isaac in the land of Canaan (Genesis 31:3). This verse steps back to let us know that, before they pulled out, Rachel went to her father’s house while he was out, and stole his “household gods.” These household gods were, apparently, a collection of small, commonly used idols; these are referred to in the original Hebrew using the word teraphiym. Similar objects are referred to in Judges 17:5 and 2 Kings 23:24.

This raises a question: why would Rachel steal them? Several possibilities are suggested by scholars. Perhaps Rachel’s reasons were spiritual; she might have thought these gods provided protection or fertility and didn’t want to lose that by leaving them behind. We know that Rachel worshiped the God of Jacob, at least at times, but it’s likely that she and others in her family also worshiped other gods, as well, hoping to be blessed by all of them.

It’s also possible that Rachel was emotionally attached to these household idols, as familiar items from her childhood. She perhaps thought that having them would comfort her in leaving behind her homeland. A few scholars even suggest that possessing these idols would allow a family member to claim an inheritance when the time came.

Most simply, and probably most likely, Rachel took these items simply as one last act of rebellion and revenge against her father.

Whatever her reason, stealing them will soon endanger her life.

Verse 20. And Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he intended to flee.

Jacob tricked Laban. Literally, he deceived the deceiver. Jacob somehow managed to pack up his family and all of his belongings and leave without Laban knowing that it was happening. The previous verse may hold a clue to how Jacob pulled it off: Laban had gone to shear his sheep—a flock he had moved three days’ journey away from Jacob specifically as an attempt to keep Jacob’s profits low (Genesis 30:31–36).

It’s hard to feel too badly for Laban. He had famously deceived Jacob on his wedding night twenty years earlier (Genesis 29:20–28). More recently, he had repeatedly attempted to cheat the father of his own grandchildren in business (Genesis 31:4–13). Even his own daughters recognized that their father prized his money over his own family (Genesis 31:14–16).

Still, would Jacob not have been able to leave if he told Laban he was going? Depending on the exact nature of their relationship, Jacob might or might not have been able to freely go, at least not along with his wives and children. Legal or not, we will later learn both that Jacob feared Laban might take his wives and children by force, and such a fear will be justified by Laban’s own statements.

So, once again, Jacob is running away (Genesis 27:41–45; 28:1–5), but this time only as quickly as a long, large caravan could travel.

Verse 21. He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

For some two decades, Jacob has been abused and cheated by Laban. This began with a jaw-dropping betrayal, tricking Jacob into marrying Leah, and coercing him into working a second stint of seven years as a result (Genesis 29:20–28). It continued with Laban’s repeated efforts to take advantage of Jacob, including unfair tactics (Genesis 30:31–36), and an attempt to change their agreement several times (Genesis 31:4–13). Even Laban’s feuding daughters (Genesis 30:8), now the wives of Jacob, recognized that their father was a dishonest, greedy man who held no real love for them (Genesis 31:14–16). So, with the blessing of his wives, Jacob has pushed his caravan of family, camels, donkeys, servants, belongings, and livestock as quickly as he could. He wanted to put real distance between himself and Laban before his father-in-law realized he was gone.

Jacob’s strategy here strongly implies that Laban wouldn’t have voluntarily allowed them to leave. In fact, based on Laban’s own words later on, Jacob might have had reason to fear violence (Genesis 31:29).

By waiting until Laban was a few days away, shearing his own flock (Genesis 31:19), Jacob achieved some distance, reaching and crossing the Euphrates River and heading toward Gilead. It would not be enough, however, to keep Laban from catching up to him.

Verse 22. When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled,

We’re not told exactly what Jacob did to deceive Laban about his departure (Genesis 31:20). The deception, most likely, refers to Jacob’s leaving without warning, and only when Laban had left the area to shear his sheep (Genesis 31:19). Whatever it was, three days passed before Laban realized Jacob and all he owned were gone. This time delay makes sense—Laban had ordered his sons to take livestock three days away from Jacob (Genesis 30:35–36), specifically as an attempt to further cheat his son-in-law (Genesis 30:31–34). If someone left to tell Laban about Jacob’s departure, three days marks the approximate time it would have taken the news to arrive.

Specifically, this verse describes Jacob as having “fled.” He was running away—knowing that Laban would not have peaceably let him go. Even Laban’s daughters had agreed that their father was no longer worthy of loyalty (Genesis 31:14–16), so the family simply left and began to journey back to Jacob’s family in Canaan. As one would expect, however, Laban would come after them.

Context Summary
Genesis 31:22–42 recounts Laban’s pursuit of Jacob and his large company, after learning his son-in-law has left for Canaan without telling him. It takes a week, but Laban catches up. Warned by God in a dream not to say anything to Jacob ”either good or bad,” Laban instead expresses his hurt to Jacob and accuses him of stealing Laban’s house idols. When a search for the idols—cleverly hidden by Rachel without Jacob’s knowledge—turns up nothing, Jacob finally expresses all of his complaints about Laban’s unfair treatment of him in spite of twenty years of faithful service.

Verse 23. he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead.

Three days passed before Laban realized that Jacob and all of his flocks and family were gone. This delay is, ironically, Laban’s own fault. Previously, in an effort to further cheat his son-in-law, Laban had ordered his sons to move the livestock three days away from Jacob (Genesis 30:31–36). Most likely, this was the location Laban had gone to when Jacob and his family decided to flee. In that three-day span, Jacob’s huge caravan made it all the way to and across the Euphrates River and was heading toward the hill country of Gilead.

Laban gathered some kinsman and gave chase. With a smaller group, Laban could move much more quickly. Still, it took a full week before Laban caught up within sight of Jacob’s caravan. For Jacob, this would have been the tenth day of his journey. Jacob had good reasons to be concerned—he seems to have already known that Laban would never have agreed to let Jacob’s family go. Laban’s own words, recorded here, indicate that Jacob might also have been concerned about a violent reaction (Genesis 31:29).

Verse 24. But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

Jacob and his wives are hoping to escape without confronting his father-in-law, or risking that Laban could stop him somehow. Laban has been in pursuit for a week and has now found Jacob’s large caravan on the route to Gilead (Genesis 31:21–23).

What will he do? We don’t know what he might have had in mind, because it is at this point that God intervenes once again on Jacob’s behalf. This time, the Lord speaks directly to Laban in a dream. He warns Laban not to say anything good or bad to Jacob. The originally-understood meaning of this phrasing is that Laban is not to contradict Jacob in any way; he is to “go easy” on him. Laban will apparently take that to heart when he reaches Jacob. He’s already seen the influence of God in Jacob’s success, so he has good reason to assume God’s protection comes with just as much potency.

Verse 25. And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead.

Jacob served Laban for twenty years, a period during which he was repeatedly and grossly cheated (Genesis 29:20–28; Genesis 30:31–36). Even Laban’s own daughters, now Jacob’s wives, agreed that their father cared about his money, and not his own family (Genesis 31:14–16). After consulting with his wives, Jacob abruptly left, taking along all of his family and possessions, while Laban was away shearing sheep (Genesis 31:19),. News of this departure would not reach Laban for three days (Genesis 31:22).

After a week-long pursuit and a warning from the Lord about not contradicting Jacob, Laban finally catches up with his fleeing son-in-law. He and his men set up camp near Jacob’s camp in the hill country of Gilead. Laban settles in to properly engage with Jacob and his daughters about their unexplained and unannounced departure from his lands and business.

Verse 26. And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword?

Jacob had fled from Laban in response to Laban’s continual abuse. Not only did Laban lie and cheat Jacob when it came to marrying his daughters (Genesis 29:20–28), he attempted to take advantage of Jacob by accepting a ridiculous payment scheme, one which Laban tried to make even more lopsided (Genesis 30:31–36). Unfortunately for Laban, this deal was actually part of God’s restoration of Jacob (Genesis 31:10–12), and it backfired spectacularly (Genesis 30:37–43). Seeing Laban’s displeasure, Jacob and his wives—Laban’s own daughters—agreed to leave abruptly and without notice, heading to Jacob’s family in Canaan.

After a three-day delay in hearing news of Jacob’s flight, and a seven-day chase, Laban’s harsh confrontation of Jacob finally begins. In spite of God’s warning to Laban in a dream not to say anything to Jacob, good or bad, Laban has prepared a speech for his lying, fleeing son-in-law. Now he unleashes it.

He begins, ironically, with the same words Jacob said to him on Jacob’s wedding night some 13 years earlier: “What have you done?” Laban’s first two accusations are that Jacob tricked him in this sudden departure and, worse, that Jacob had carried Laban’s two daughters away as if they were captives or prisoners. Laban does not know, yet, that both Rachel and Leah expressed their full support for Jacob’s plan to leave Laban and return to his own homeland.

Verse 27. Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre?

Laban is confronting Jacob about secretly running away with his wives and children without saying a word. Jacob was inspired to leave, abruptly, thanks to Laban’s cheating and scheming. First, Jacob was tricked into marrying both of Laban’s daughters, and working unpaid for fourteen years (Genesis 29:20–28). Then, Laban accepted a payment system that he thought would greatly benefit himself, at Jacob’s expense (Genesis 30:31–36). As it turns out, this deal was superintended by God (Genesis 31:10–12), who used it to greatly benefit Jacob, rather than Laban (Genesis 30:37–43). Seeing Laban’s anger at a backfiring scheme, Jacob and his wives agreed that it was time to leave for Canaan (Genesis 31:3). After ten days, Laban and his men have discovered what happened, and caught up to the fleeing family.

Now Laban suggests that if Jacob had only told him ahead of time, Laban would have thrown a huge and happy goodbye party with music and laughter and celebration. This is almost certainly false; even if Laban convinced himself that he would have responded in such a way, Jacob would have known better. This comes across as the kind of manipulation Laban was known for. His prior actions certainly don’t support a view of Laban as loving and supportive. Rather, he could be expected to be manipulative and greedy (Genesis 31:14–16).

Verse 28. And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly.

Laban is confronting Jacob about secretly running away, with his wives and children, and all of Jacob’s possessions, without saying a word. He has suggested that if Jacob would have only told him, they could have celebrated with a festive goodbye party. Jacob would have known better than to expect that. As repeatedly demonstrated, it was much more likely that Laban would have responded with some form of manipulation to keep Jacob from leaving or to take from Jacob some of the wealth he had accumulated. Even Laban’s own daughters had admitted that their father didn’t really care about them—he was only interested in wealth (Genesis 31:14–16).

The objection from Laban in this verse, however, is at least somewhat more believable. Jacob had left without giving Laban the chance to kiss his daughters and sons—a term including grandsons—farewell, something that would break any father’s heart. Laban’s daughters did not seem to mind leaving without saying goodbye to their father, but Laban’s appeal here is not entirely amiss.

Laban concludes by saying that Jacob has done foolishly. One thing that helps Genesis to resonate so deeply is stories like these, in which readers can see the validity of both points of view. Was Jacob wise to run without warning and give Laban no chance to try to manipulate him in some new way? Is Laban right that such action is dishonorable, no matter how dishonorable Laban himself had been? Human conversations very similar to this one continue to happen in families in every generation.

Verse 29. It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

Laban is confronting Jacob about secretly running away. Jacob has fled with his wives and children and all of his possessions without saying a word to his father-in-law and employer, Laban. Laban concludes here by saying that it is in his power to do Jacob harm. Perhaps he means that he has the capability to physically harm Jacob and/or take by force from Jacob what Laban does not wish to release. Or Laban could mean that it would be within his legal rights to restrain Jacob or his wives, children, or belongings as escaped property that rightly belongs to him.

Whatever he might mean, he tells Jacob he won’t do it. Why? The God of Jacob’s father warned him not to say anything good or bad to Jacob (Genesis 31:24). The point of that expression is that God does not want Laban to contradict Jacob. By this statement, from Laban, Jacob receives more evidence that God is with him, protecting him, even from his own father-in-law.

It’s interesting that Laban recognizes the Lord as the God of Jacob’s father, Isaac. Laban would well remember when Abraham’s servant came to his household many years earlier to find a wife for Isaac. The servant had proclaimed repeatedly that his master’s God was providing for his master. Laban continued to believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob was a powerful God who provided for their best interests.

Verse 30. And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father ‘s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

After delivering his initial confrontation against Jacob for fleeing with no warning, Laban now expresses a hint of sympathy for Jacob. He decides that Jacob longed greatly—or “yearned”—for his father’s house. Laban seems to understand that his son-in-law wanted to go home. As angry as he might be, and as much as his reputation suggests he’s more interested in money than family (Genesis 31:14–16), Laban seems resolved to set other issues aside and allow Jacob to leave. This, in no small part, comes due to God’s message to Laban, mentioned in verse 24: don’t interfere with Jacob.

Before they part ways, however, Laban has one more accusation for Jacob: Why did you steal my gods? This is a reference to the idols stolen by Rachel (Genesis 31:19), an act no one—including Jacob—was aware of at the time. These idols were common in that era, and were probably intended to bring luck or protection to the family. This accusation, far more than the others, carries some legal heft. There is no question that stealing those objects, idols or not, was a theft of something of real value to Laban. In addition to spiritual issues, the house idols may have been seen as a kind of legal marker indicating who was the true owner or inheritor of the estate. Laban might be legitimately concerned that Jacob will return after his death and demand to take an inheritance.

Verse 31. Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.

After pursuing Jacob for a week, Laban has finally caught up to his fleeing son-in-law and angrily unloaded all of his accusations. Most serious of these is that Jacob stole Laban’s house gods. These were small idols that might have been seen as protection totems, or even as a way to prove one’s right to claim an inheritance. What Jacob does not know is that the idols were stolen, by his beloved wife, Rachel (Genesis 31:19). Given Jacob’s response, it’s crystal clear that he was oblivious to her theft.

Here, Jacob responds to Laban’s confrontation. He explains why he didn’t tell Laban before he left; his motivation for tricking his father-in-law to try to get away without Laban knowing. In short, Jacob was afraid Laban would tear Rachel and Leah away from him by force. In other words, Jacob believed he had a better chance of keeping his wives and children by sneaking away than by openly telling Laban he was going.

Coming at this point in the story of Genesis, Jacob’s point resonates with the reader. We have seen Laban continually cheat, lie, manipulate, and threaten (Genesis 29:20–28; 30:31–36). Legally speaking, in that era, it’s also possible that Laban had legal footing to claim that everything belonging to Jacob—who’d lived as an indentured servant for years—was actually Laban’s property.

Jacob will rashly answer Laban’s accusation about stealing the house gods in the following verse.

Verse 32. Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

Jacob does not know that his wife Rachel stole the house idols from her father, Laban, before the family left town (Genesis 31:19). Why did Rachel do it? We’re not told exactly. It may be that, in addition to worshiping Jacob’s God, Rachel still felt the need to rely on the gods she grew up with for protection and provision. It may be that she felt possessing the idols would give her a stake in the family inheritance. Or maybe she was just angry at her father (Genesis 31:14–16) and took them as an act of petty revenge.

In any case, Jacob is incensed by Laban’s unexpected accusation about stealing the gods. The implication is that Jacob was in on the theft; to counter that assumption, Jacob rashly declares the death penalty upon anyone in his company who may be found with the stolen idols. He calls on the gathered relatives of Laban to serve as witnesses to a search by Laban for anything that belongs to him among the company’s possessions.

Jacob has shown nothing but slavish devotion to Rachel (Genesis 29:18–20). This declaration all but proves that he knew nothing of her crime. Nevertheless, it appears Rachel is about to be in huge trouble.

Verse 33. So Laban went into Jacob ‘s tent and into Leah ‘s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah ‘s tent and entered Rachel ‘s.

Laban has been warned by God not to interfere with Jacob’s return to Canaan (Genesis 31:24). However, Laban has also accused Jacob of stealing his household idols, to which Jacob would have had no claim whatsoever. Neither man knows the identity of the actual thief, but Jacob has rashly invited Laban to search among all of his company’s belongings. Specifically, Jacob has declared that if any of his people have Laban’s house idols, that person will be killed (Genesis 31:32).

Jacob does not know, of course, that it was his cherished wife, Rachel, who stole the idols from her father and has them in her tent (Genesis 31:19). Thus begins a high-stakes search, first in Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s, and then Jacob’s two servant wives. No house idols are found. Finally, Laban enters Rachel’s tent to search for the idols. He’s getting warmer, but doesn’t anticipate that his daughter has learned from her father’s trickery. Rachel has a scheme in mind to avoid being caught.

Verse 34. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel ‘s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them.

Laban is searching, tent by tent, for his stolen house idols. He is convinced Jacob has stolen them, since they went missing when Jacob fled. And, Laban is right, in the sense that they were stolen by someone in Jacob’s camp (Genesis 31:19). However, Jacob knows he did not take them, does not know anyone in his family to have them, and is convinced nobody in his company has them. Unfortunately, Jacob is wrong. His wife Rachel has stolen them, and now faces a death sentence if they are found during a search (Genesis 31:32).

Laban has searched the other tents and now arrives at Rachel’s. She has hidden them in a camel saddle in her tent and is sitting on the saddle as her father searches. Laban is thorough. He doesn’t just look around; Laban sticks his hands on and under things, feeling around to see if the idols have been stashed somewhere tricky. Does he suspect that Rachel may have taken them, after all?

Verse 35. And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.

Laban is thoroughly searching Rachel’s tent for the house idols stolen from his tent. Jacob was so convinced that nobody in his company took them that he rashly declared a death sentence on anyone found with them (Genesis 31:32). What neither Jacob nor Laban knew was that Rachel, Laban’s daughter and Jacob’s adored wife, had secretly taken the idols while her father was gone (Genesis 31:19). As Laban searches, Rachel is literally sitting on the stolen goods while her father examines and feels every object in the tent.

Laban’s deception and trickery, in pursuit of greed, have been so obvious that his own daughters feel cheated by him (Genesis 31:14–16). As it turns out, Rachel might have learned a thing or two about deception from her father. Here, she speaks very respectfully to her father, more respectfully than we have heard her speak thus far either to Jacob or about her father. She calls him “lord” and then deceives him. She asks that he not be angry that she doesn’t stand up in his presence since, she says, the “way of women” is on her.

Rachel is claiming that she is having her menstrual period, so she can’t get up from where she is sitting. Though Israel’s laws regarding ceremonial cleanliness would not be given for many centuries (Leviticus 15:19–21), this would have agreed with the cultural views of her era. Her clothes, and anything she sat on, would have been considered “untouchable” at that time. Laban would not have dared touch her, or her saddle, or have asked her to stand, as a result.

Laban apparently believes his daughter, at least to the extent that he never searches the saddle she’s sitting on. And so, he never finds his stolen idols. Thanks to Rachel’s lie, not only is Laban’s accusation left unproven, Laban appears very foolish for making it. Jacob will take advantage of this moment to get the upper hand in their final confrontation.

Verse 36. Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?

At Jacob’s invitation, Laban has made a thorough search of all of the possessions of Jacob’s company. He is looking for house idols—small spiritual statuettes—which went missing precisely when Jacob and his family fled. What neither Laban nor Jacob know is that Rachel had stolen the idols (Genesis 31:19), and has successfully hidden them in her saddle (Genesis 31:34). By claiming to be menstruating, Rachel fooled Laban into assuming that she could not stand, and that he could not touch her or her seat (Genesis 31:35). As a result, Laban has come up empty and looking foolish for his accusation against Jacob.

Now Jacob will begin a long, angry speech against Laban. He will finally tell his father-in-law off in a way that we, as readers, may have wanted to hear him do much sooner. He will lay out all of his frustration with Laban, making the case for why Laban did not deserve better treatment from Jacob, and why Jacob attempted to escape without a confrontation.

Jacob will start by asking Laban, rhetorically, to point to any offense, any sin, that Jacob has done against him. In doing so, Jacob is declaring his innocence to Laban’s relatives standing as witnesses. Next he will declare Laban’s longstanding guilt.

Verse 37. For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.

Jacob is finally expressing all of his frustration to Laban, laying out exactly how his father-in-law has mistreated him for the last twenty years. He starts with Laban’s false accusation about the stealing of his house idols. Of course, it was not completely false. Accusing Jacob was unwise, since Jacob was not involved in the theft. Jacob does not know that his wife, Rachel, actually did steal her father’s house idols (Genesis 31:19). Nor does he know that she sat on them in her tent in order to deceive Laban from finding them (Genesis 31:34–35).

Jacob fully and sarcastically expresses his rage, demanding that Laban set in front of the witnesses the stolen goods he claimed Jacob had taken from him. Jacob knows Laban doesn’t have anything to show. He is demonstrating how (apparently) false Laban’s accusation really was. Given the opportunity to hammer Laban for a dishonorable act, one which Laban cannot defend, Jacob does not hold back.

Verse 38. These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.

Jacob is finally expressing all of his frustration to Laban, laying out exactly how his father-in-law has mistreated him for the last twenty years. This mistreatment was so obvious, and so abusive, that even Laban’s daughters—locked in a bitter rivalry with each other (Genesis 30:8)—agreed that their father cared nothing for them, in comparison to his greed (Genesis 31:14–16). After mocking Laban for not finding the house idols he claimed Jacob had stolen (Genesis 31:30), Jacob now turns to older complaints from their history together.

First, during Jacob’s two decades of faithful and diligent service as a manager of Laban’s flocks of sheep and goats, there were no miscarriages as new animals were born. Laban benefitted from Jacob’s skill and the Lord’s blessing on Jacob, as Laban himself admitted (Genesis 30:27).

In addition, Jacob refused to eat the full-grown rams. In other words, he didn’t dip into his father-in-law’s profits by skimming animals for food. Jacob had a long track record of honest and exemplary service, which made Laban’s seemingly false accusation about the stolen idols even harder to take.

Verse 39. What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

Jacob is finally expressing all of his frustration to Laban, laying out exactly how his father-in-law has mistreated him for the last twenty years. Jacob’s point is that he is the one who has been cheated by Laban, not the other way around. In fact, Jacob is insisting, he has always operated above reproach as Laban’s servant. In the previous verse, he said he never took any of the full-grown rams as food for himself. Now he says that he even had to cover the loss of sheep and goats killed by predators, sparing Laban from that expense.

Apparently, it was common in this era for shepherds to be protected from the theft or destruction of animals in their care, especially if those animals were killed at night. In Jacob’s case, however, Laban never paid for any of those losses. Even though Laban was a fraud (Genesis 29:20–28), and a cheat (Genesis 30:31–36), Jacob had served him with integrity far above and beyond what was owed.

Verse 40.There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

Jacob is describing his twenty years of faithful and diligent service to Laban, who had condemned him for leaving without notice. Worse, Laban had accused Jacob of outright theft, a claim seemingly disproven when Laban’s search comes up empty (Genesis 31:30–35). Seizing the opportunity to put Laban in his place, Jacob blasts his father-in-law for his abusive, dishonest, cheating ways (Genesis 29:20–28; 30:31–36). In part, Jacob makes the point that he served Laban far better than any employer had a right to expect, even though Laban took repeated advantage of him.

In addition to protecting Laban’s flocks and paying for losses due to animal attacks himself, Jacob points out that the work was difficult. As a shepherd, he endured blistering hot days, freezing cold nights, and too little sleep. Jacob’s purpose point in all of this is to prove that he never cheated Laban in any way, but served him well. He did not deserve the mistreatment Laban had given to him, nor the accusations Laban has brought.

Verse 41. These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

Jacob is describing his twenty years of faithful and diligent service to Laban, who had condemned him for leaving without notice. Worse, Laban accused Jacob of theft, not knowing that it was Rachel, Laban’s daughter and Jacob’s wife, who had taken his household idols (Genesis 31:19). When a search for those good came up empty (Genesis 31:30–35), Jacob began to respond by detailing how he had been honest, while Laban had been a cheat and fraud. Jacob has described his work as faithful, effective, self-sacrificing, and difficult.

Now he presents the math of his argument to Laban: He worked fourteen years for Laban’s two daughters, because of Laban’s trickery and Jacob’s love for Rachel (Genesis 29:20–28). He worked 6 years for the flock he had received, as payment from Laban, according to a deal they had both agreed upon. Laban actually attempted to poison that bargain by sneaking away with some of the flock as soon as the deal was done (Genesis 30:31–36).

Instead of being kind and treating Jacob well in response to this faithful service, Laban had tried to change Jacob’s wages ten times (Genesis 31:6–7). More specifically, as this chapter earlier revealed, Laban had tried to change the terms of their arrangement to reduce the number of animals that would belong to Jacob. Laban had said that Jacob could claim only the spotted goats as his own. Then the Lord would cause all the goats to be born spotted. So Laban would change Jacob’s goats to the striped ones, and the Lord would cause only striped goats to be born.

Laban couldn’t out-cheat the Lord’s ability to bless Jacob by giving to him Laban’s own flock (Genesis 31:10–12).

Verse 42. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

Jacob had served Laban for some twenty years, during which time he was mistreated, cheated, and abused (Genesis 29:20–28; 30:31–36). Even Laban’s two daughters, both wives of Jacob, agreed that their father was greedy and loveless (Genesis 31:14–16). When Jacob chose to leave, Laban confronted him and accused him of theft, not knowing that it was Rachel who’d stolen his house idols (Genesis 31:19). Jacob responds by denouncing Laban’s abuse, especially given Jacob’s exemplary record of service.

Here, Jacob is making the same closing argument he had made to his wives about Laban’s mistreatment. He has said that Laban had changed his wages 10 times in hopes of reducing the number of animals that would belong to Jacob. Now Jacob shows how the Lord protected him from his own father-in-law.

It is a stinging rebuke both of Laban’s faithlessness and God’s ability to make Laban powerless. No matter how Laban tried to harm and cheat Jacob, the Lord would not allow it. If not for the Lord, Jacob says, Laban would still send Jacob away with nothing even after two decades of difficult and faithful service.

Jacob refers to the Lord as the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac. The name “Fear of Isaac” appears only in this chapter in the Bible. It may be a reference to the fear Laban himself experienced when the Lord told him to, in essence, leave Jacob alone. If the Lord had not seen Jacob’s faithful and difficult service and his mistreatment by Laban—and had not stepped in even now to protect Jacob from Laban—Jacob understood he would have nothing.

With his condemnation of Laban’s selfishness, greed, mistreatment, and now fearful powerlessness, Jacob ends his speech. How will Laban respond to this?

Verse 43. Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?

Jacob has laid out his case against his father-in-law Laban. He has angrily described his twenty years of faithful, honest, effective, and difficult service. He has shown that if the Lord had not stepped in to protect him, Laban’s cheating and greed would have left Jacob with nothing. God has been faithful; Laban has been faithless and now has become powerless.

How does Laban respond to this confrontation? He simply asserts both his rights and his inability to claim them. Laban seems committed to casting himself as a victim to the end. He insists that Jacob’s wives, children, flocks, and possessions are all legally his. He believes he is the rightful owner, since Jacob came to possess them all as a kind of indentured servant belonging to Laban. In other words, everything that Jacob owns is ultimately owned by Laban, in his eyes.

However, Laban has been visited by the “Fear of Isaac” in a dream. God has warned him, in essence, not to harm Jacob. Laban concludes by giving up: “What can I do” to save or protect my daughters and grandchildren? In the end, Laban refuses to acknowledge that his daughters are running away from him (Genesis 31:14–16) and are not being dragged away against their will.

Context Summary
Genesis 31:43–55 describes the final agreement reached between Jacob and Laban. Laban declares that he will not claim his right to Jacob’s wives and children and property. Instead, he and Jacob agree to make a covenant of separation and peace. They build a heap of stones, swear oaths, conduct a sacrifice, and eat a meal together. Finally, Laban kisses his daughters and grandchildren goodbye and rides back to his home. Jacob and his family turn to face the Promised Land.

Verse 44. Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.”

Jacob and Laban have both, apparently, said what they needed to say. Jacob has made the case that he served Laban faithfully and honestly for twenty years. Only the Lord’s protection and blessing kept Laban’s mistreatment from leaving Jacob with nothing (Genesis 31:10–12). Laban has confirmed that he believes he has the legal right to Jacob’s wives, children, flocks, and possessions, since all were acquired while Jacob was a kind of indentured servant belonging to Laban. Laban has conceded, however, that he can do nothing to claim what he sees as rightfully his because Jacob’s God has warned Laban, in essence, to leave Jacob alone (Genesis 31:24).

Now Laban suggests they make a covenant to fully resolve their dispute. In part, the point of this covenant will be to establish a permanent separation between Laban and Jacob. Laban knows that he cannot compete against the blessing and protection of Jacob’s God. He decides it will be better to simply keep his distance from now on and to keep Jacob from returning to claim any more of his property or inheritance.

Verse 45. So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.

Laban has suggested a covenant between himself and Jacob. They have aired their differences, including Jacob’s extensive abuse at the hands of Laban’s greedy manipulations. Laban, for his part, sees all of Jacob’s wealth as his own, since Jacob was his servant, and refuses to accept the fact that his daughters are leaving him voluntarily. However, thanks to a warning from God (Genesis 31:24), Laban is not willing to use force to stop Jacob from leaving.

After all of this, the two men have come to an agreement to simply part ways. Jacob agrees to this contract and uses a stone to set up a pillar to mark this pact. This pillar is similar to the one Jacob erected from his stone pillow, after the Lord appeared to him in a dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:18). He will set up another pillar after Rachel dies (Genesis 35:14, 20). These pillars mark significant events in Jacob’s life.

Verse 46. And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

Laban has suggested a covenant between himself and Jacob. Jacob has taken his wives, flocks, and children to return to Canaan. Laban, Jacob’s father-in-law and employer, sees all of those as his possessions, though Jacob disagrees and describes the many ways in which Laban has cheated him over the last twenty years. Ultimately, they have agreed to disagree, in particular since Laban has been warned directly by God not to interfere with Jacob (Genesis 31:24).

Jacob responds to this pact by first building a pillar that will serve as a lasting witness to the event. Now he recruits the gathered “kinsmen” to also build a “heap” or cairn. Literally, a cairn is a pile of rocks built up to clearly indicate they have been placed by human hands, often as a waypoint or marker of a grave or, as in this case, a border. Jacob calls the kinsmen to participate in this covenant ceremony. It is between Jacob and Laban, but also between their clans. The ceremony included both groups eating a meal together by the cairn or “heap” of stones.

Verse 47. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

Jacob fled from Laban, along with his wives and family, in response to some twenty years of cheating and abuse at the hands of his father-in-law. Laban caught up with Jacob and accused him of abducting his daughters—Jacob’s wives—and of stealing Laban’s household idols. When a search for the idols came up empty, Jacob clearly described Laban’s dishonesty and greed as his reasons for leaving. Laban disagrees, but has been warned directly by God not to interfere with Jacob (Genesis 31:24). The two men make a pact to establish their separation.

The covenant between Jacob and Laban, and their respective clans, has been marked by both a pillar and a pile of stones, as well as a ceremonial meal eaten together. Now the covenant is marked by naming the location. Laban has been referred to as an Aramean, and his name for the place is Aramaic: Jegar-sahadutha. Jacob calls it Galeed, in Hebrew. Both names mean “cairn of stones” or “cairn of witness.”

Verse 48. Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed,

Jacob and Laban are making a covenant together, establishing their peaceful separation. Jacob has been cheated and abused by Laban for the past twenty years, yet was able to prosper thanks to God’s direct intervention (Genesis 31:10–12). Even Laban’s own daughters, Jacob’s wives, agree that their father is motivated by greed, and has no love for them (Genesis 31:14–16). As much as Laban might like to force Jacob to stay, he was explicitly warned by God not to interfere with Jacob (Genesis 31:24). So, the two clans have established an agreement, and markers to commemorate it. These verses explain the details of that arrangement.

Both groups have given the place of their meeting names which mean “cairn (or heap) of witness.” Now Laban says that this heap of stones will serve as a witness to their agreement. Galeed is the Hebrew term for “cairn of stones,” or “cairn of witness,” which is equivalent to the Aramaic name given by Laban in the prior verse: Jegar-sahadutha. The following verse gives another Hebrew title for this important location.

Verse 49. and Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another ‘s sight.

Jacob and Laban and their kinsmen have heaped up a pile of stones to serve as a permanent witness to the covenant they’re about to make together. This formally separates the two camps, leaving no obligations from one to the other. Both have given the place a name which means “cairn of stones” or “cairn of witness.”

Now Laban also gives the place a second name, or possibly refers to an existing name for this location. Mizpah is a Hebrew word meaning “watchtower.” Laban indicated it as a prayer of sorts that the Lord would watch the behavior of both parties to ensure they stick to the agreement once they are out of sight of each other.

This stipulation is almost comical, coming from Laban. The entire reason Jacob left, taking his wives, children, and flocks, is that Laban has repeatedly cheated, lied, and manipulated him. For some twenty years, Jacob and his family—including Laban’s own daughters (Genesis 31:14–16)—have suffered for the sake of Laban’s greed. But now, Laban invokes God as a witness, as if Jacob is the one who need to be monitored and held in check.

Verse 50. If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

After all the ceremonial aspects of making a covenant are complete, Laban begins to name the terms of this agreement. This will establish their peaceful separation, allowing Jacob and his family to return to Canaan. Laban’s first stipulation is that Jacob not oppress Laban’s daughters or take any other wives in addition to his daughters. Laban calls on God to be a witness in this and/or for Jacob to be accountable to God. Apparently it was common for a covenant between a man and the foreign husband of his daughter to make this agreement. In theory, Laban intends this as a protection for his daughters. Women were often seen as vulnerable and in need of special layers of care in that era.

Of course, this rings hollow to readers of Genesis. Laban has, arguably, been guilty of both oppression and causing Jacob to marry multiple women. Even Laban’s daughters—now Jacob’s wives—agree that their father has practically sold them (Genesis 29:20–28), and made no provision for their inheritance (Genesis 31:14–16). Given his prior history, this seems like nothing more than an attempt to save face—one last chance for Laban to pretend that he only has his family’s best interests at heart.

Verse 51. Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me.

The previous verses have described in detail the building of and naming of both the pillar and heap—or “cairn”—of stones. It has been stated quite clearly that the pile of stones is meant to serve as a witness of the covenant between Laban and Jacob. This covenant is meant to establish a formal, peaceful separation between the two men. Jacob has served Laban for some twenty years, enduring hard work in addition to Laban’s outrageous acts of fraud and cheating. Comically, Laban has invoked God as a witness to Jacob’s conduct in the future, as if Jacob, and not Laban, has shown a preference for greed over family over the last two decades.

Now Laban calls Jacob’s attention to both the pillar and the heap once more. He is about to spell out in detail what the two of them are agreeing to. In short, this stone formation marks a boundary between them—neither will cross that spot with intent to do harm to the other. As long as they remain separated, they will be at peace.

Verse 52. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm.

Jacob and Laban have agreed to part ways, allowing Jacob to return to his homeland in Canaan, along with his wives and flock. This covenant was marked by a pillar, an arrangement of stones, and a ceremonial meal. Previous verses described in detail the building of and naming of both the pillar and heap—or “cairn”—of stones. Now Laban describes both heap and pillar as witness to an agreement: that neither man will pass over these landmarks to do harm to the other. In other words, the heap and the pillar would become a border and boundary between the men and their people, at least as far as evil or harmful intent is concerned. So long as they remain on their respective sides of this marker, there will be peace between their camps.

Laban wants to ensure that Jacob, armed with the blessing and power of God, will never come riding back into his territory to do him harm or make war against him. Jacob will agree.

Verse 53. The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,

Laban has stipulated the meaning of the heap of stones and the pillar erected where they stood in the hill country of Gilead. These will mark a boundary between himself and Jacob, and their respective peoples. According to this agreement, neither party will cross that boundary with intent to harm the other. Laban has also insisted that Jacob will be accountable to God not to oppress Rachel and Leah and not to marry any other wives. Coming from any other man, this would be a sensible and caring remark. However, Laban tricked Jacob into marrying one of his daughters, took advantage of him in order to marry off the other (Genesis 29:20–28), and repeatedly cheated his own daughters’ family for personal gain (Genesis 31:14–16). These pious remarks, on Laban’s part, seem more like an attempt to save face, and to deny the truth, than sincere requests.

Laban’s choice of oaths to uphold his end of the covenant is interesting. He is a polytheist, including the use of household idols as part of his religion (Genesis 31:19; 31:30–35). Still, Laban has acknowledged the power of the God of Abraham (Genesis 30:27). In fact, God has acknowledged Laban, as well, visiting him in a dream (Genesis 31:24). Laban also worships “the God (or gods) of Nahor.” He swears by both of them. Jacob, however, swears only by God, using the title “Fear of Isaac.” This name for God is used only twice in the Bible, both times in this chapter. It is used in connection with Laban and God’s direct intervention to keep Laban from harming Jacob.

Verse 54. and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

Laban and Jacob have agreed on the terms of a covenant that would keep both on their own side of the heap or boundary marker they have built. To seal this agreement, Laban has sworn an oath on the gods he recognizes, including the God of Abraham. Jacob has sworn an oath by God, as well, calling Him the “Fear of Isaac.”

Now Jacob concludes the agreement by offering a sacrifice upon an altar and by sharing another meal with Laban and his kinsman. This eating of bread was likely more than just a meal, but part of the covenant process itself.

Finally, everyone retreats to their tents and goes to bed, ending what must have been a momentous, emotional, and exhausting day.

Verse 55. Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home.

Genesis 31 ends with a poignant scene. The long feared and awaited confrontation between Laban and Jacob has taken place. Both have made their case. They have made a covenant that will officially separate Jacob and his family from Laban on either side of the marker stones they have built together.

Now Laban bids farewell to his daughters and grandchildren. He has proved himself a hard and often dishonest man, but he has also expressed his affection for his family. He kisses them and blesses them, and then he rides off with his sons in the opposite direction.

The conflict between Laban and Jacob has been resolved, though with great fear, pain, and heartache. Jacob is now free to begin his life again in the Promised Land of Canaan.

End of Chapter 31.

Please Note:

The material use in this post, video is from BibleRef.com which is from Got Questions Ministries and is posted here to be read by Immersive reader in the Edge Browser. If you copy this material please follow these rules:

•Content from BibleRef.com may not be used for any commercial purposes, or as part of any commercial work, without explicit prior written consent from Got Questions ministries.

•Any use of our material should be properly credited; please make it clear the content is from BibleRef.com.

•BibleRef.com content may not be altered, modified, or otherwise changed unless such changes are specifically noted.