Genesis 31:39

31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ¹  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ²  whether it was taken by day or at night.

Genesis 40:15

40:15 for I really was kidnapped ³  from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”

Genesis 31:19

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ⁴  Rachel stole the household idols ⁵  that belonged to her father.

Genesis 31:30

31:30 Now I understand that ⁶  you have gone away ⁷  because you longed desperately ⁸  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ⁹ 

Genesis 31:20

31:20 Jacob also deceived ¹⁰  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ¹¹ 

Genesis 31:26-27

31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ¹²  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ¹³  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ¹⁴  and deceive me? ¹⁵  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ¹⁶ 

Genesis 44:8

44:8 Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?

Genesis 30:33

30:33 My integrity will testify for me ¹⁷  later on. ¹⁸  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ¹⁹  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ²⁰ 

Genesis 31:32

31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ²¹  In the presence of our relatives ²²  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ²³  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ²⁴ 

[31:39]  ¹ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates that this was a customary or typical action.

[31:39]  ² 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.

[40:15]  ³ tn The verb גָּנַב (ganav) means “to steal,” but in the Piel/Pual stem “to steal away.” The idea of “kidnap” would be closer to the sense, meaning he was stolen and carried off. The preceding infinitive absolute underscores the point Joseph is making.

[31:19]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[31:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ⁸ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ¹⁰ 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.

[31:20]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fleeing,” which reflects Jacob’s viewpoint.

[31:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

[31:26]  ¹² tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

[31:27]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and steal me.”

[31:27]  ¹⁵ 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?”

[30:33]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

[30:33]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

[30:33]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

[30:33]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”

[31:32]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “With whomever you find your gods, he will not live.”

[31:32]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[31:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “recognize for yourself what is with me and take for yourself.”

[31:32]  ²⁰ 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.