Genesis 31:1-16

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ¹  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ²  at our father’s expense!” ³  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ⁴ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ⁵  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ⁶  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ⁷  to come to the field ⁸  where his flocks were. ⁹  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ¹⁰  but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, ¹¹  31:7 but your father has humiliated ¹²  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ¹³  ‘The speckled animals ¹⁴  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

31:10 “Once ¹⁵  during breeding season I saw ¹⁶  in a dream that the male goats mating with ¹⁷  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ¹⁸  that all the male goats mating with ¹⁹  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ²⁰  where you anointed ²¹  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ²²  Now leave this land immediately ²³  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ²⁴  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ²⁵  the money paid for us! ²⁶  31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

[31:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ² sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ³ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[31:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.

[31:3]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

[31:3]  ⁶ sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.

[31:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “sent and called for Rachel and for Leah.” Jacob did not go in person, but probably sent a servant with a message for his wives to meet him in the field.

[31:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “the field.” The word is an adverbial accusative, indicating that this is where Jacob wanted them to meet him. The words “to come to” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “to his flock.”

[31:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”

[31:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with all my strength.”

[31:7]  ¹² tn This rare verb means “to make a fool of” someone. It involves deceiving someone so that their public reputation suffers (see Exod 8:25).

[31:8]  ¹³ tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.

[31:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.

[31:10]  ¹⁵ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

[31:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:13]  ²⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ²¹ sn You anointed the sacred stone. In Gen 28:18 the text simply reported that Jacob poured oil on top of the stone. Now that pouring is interpreted by the Lord as an anointing. Jacob had consecrated the place.

[31:13]  ²² sn And made a vow to me. The second clause reminds Jacob of the vow he made to the Lord when he anointed the stone (Gen 28:20-22). God is now going to take him back to the land, and so he will have to fulfill his vow.

[31:13]  ²³ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:14]  ²⁴ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[31:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.