Genesis 31:19-39

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ¹  Rachel stole the household idols ²  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ³  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ⁴  31:21 He left ⁵  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ⁶  the Euphrates River ⁷  and headed for ⁸  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ⁹  31:23 So he took his relatives ¹⁰  with him and pursued Jacob ¹¹  for seven days. ¹²  He caught up with ¹³  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹⁴  “Be careful ¹⁵  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹⁶ 

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ¹⁷  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ¹⁸  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ¹⁹  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ²⁰  and deceive me? ²¹  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ²²  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ²³  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ²⁴  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ²⁵  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ²⁶  31:30 Now I understand that ²⁷  you have gone away ²⁸  because you longed desperately ²⁹  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ³⁰ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ³¹  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ³²  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ³³  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ³⁴  In the presence of our relatives ³⁵  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ³⁶  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ³⁷ 

31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. ³⁸  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ³⁹  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ⁴⁰  and sat on them.) ⁴¹  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ⁴²  31:35 Rachel ⁴³  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ⁴⁴  my lord. I cannot stand up ⁴⁵  in your presence because I am having my period.” ⁴⁶  So he searched thoroughly, ⁴⁷  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ⁴⁸  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ⁴⁹  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ⁵⁰  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ⁵¹  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ⁵²  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ⁵³ 

31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ⁵⁴  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ⁵⁵  whether it was taken by day or at night.

[31:19]  ¹ tn This disjunctive clause (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb) introduces a new scene. In the English translation it may be subordinated to the following clause.

[31:19]  ² tn Or “household gods.” Some translations merely transliterate the Hebrew term תְּרָפִים (tÿrafim) as “teraphim,” which apparently refers to household idols. Some contend that possession of these idols guaranteed the right of inheritance, but it is more likely that they were viewed simply as protective deities. See M. Greenberg, “Another Look at Rachel’s Theft of the Teraphim,” JBL 81 (1962): 239-48.

[31:20]  ³ tn Heb “stole the heart of,” an expression which apparently means “to deceive.” The repetition of the verb “to steal” shows that Jacob and Rachel are kindred spirits. Any thought that Laban would have resigned himself to their departure was now out of the question.

[31:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.

[31:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he fled.”

[31:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.

[31:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “he set his face.”

[31:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.”

[31:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[31:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:23]  ¹² tn Heb “and he pursued after him a journey of seven days.”

[31:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “drew close to.”

[31:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “said to him.”

[31:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 29, is uncertain. Since Laban proceeded to speak to Jacob at length, it cannot mean to maintain silence. Nor does it seem to be a prohibition against criticism (see vv. 26-30). Most likely it refers to a formal pronouncement, whether it be a blessing or a curse. Laban was to avoid saying anything to Jacob that would be intended to enhance him or to harm him.

[31:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.” The juxtaposition of disjunctive clauses (note the pattern conjunction + subject + verb in both clauses) indicates synchronism of action.

[31:26]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

[31:26]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

[31:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”

[31:27]  ²¹ tn Heb “and steal me.”

[31:27]  ²² tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”

[31:28]  ²³ tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:29]  ²⁴ tn Heb “there is to my hand.”

[31:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:29]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.

[31:30]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ²⁸ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ²⁹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ³⁰ sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.

[31:31]  ³¹ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:31]  ³² tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ³³ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”

[31:32]  ³⁴ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ³⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ³⁶ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ³⁷ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, it has been placed in parentheses in the translation.

[31:33]  ³⁸ tn No direct object is specified for the verb “find” in the Hebrew text. The words “the idols” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:33]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and he went out from the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.”

[31:34]  ⁴⁰ tn The “camel’s saddle” was probably some sort of basket-saddle, a cushioned saddle with a basket bound on. Cf. NAB “inside a camel cushion.”

[31:34]  ⁴¹ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by a vav [ו] conjunction) provides another parenthetical statement necessary to the storyline.

[31:34]  ⁴² tn The word “them” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[31:35]  ⁴³ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[31:35]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “let it not be hot in the eyes of my lord.” This idiom refers to anger, in this case as a result of Rachel’s failure to stand in the presence of her father as a sign of respect.

[31:35]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “I am unable to rise.”

[31:35]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the way of women is to me.” This idiom refers to a woman’s menstrual period.

[31:35]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “thoroughly” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[31:36]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “it was hot to Jacob.” This idiom refers to anger.

[31:36]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘What is my sin?’” The proper name “Jacob” has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation and the order of the introductory clause and direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[31:36]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “What is my sin that you have hotly pursued after me.” The Hebrew verb translated “pursue hotly” is used elsewhere of soldiers chasing defeated enemies (1 Sam 17:53).

[31:37]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “what did you find from all the goods of your house?”

[31:37]  ⁵² tn Heb “your relatives.” The word “relatives” has not been repeated in the translation here for stylistic reasons.

[31:37]  ⁵³ tn Heb “that they may decide between us two.”

[31:39]  ⁵⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.

[31:39]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “from my hand you exacted it.” The imperfect verbal form again indicates that this was a customary or typical action. The words “for every missing animal” are supplied in the translation for clarity; the following clause in Hebrew, “stolen by day or stolen by night,” probably means “stolen by wild beasts” and refers to the same animals “torn by wild beasts” in the previous clause, although it may refer to animals stolen by people. The translation used here, “missing,” is ambiguous enough to cover either eventuality.