Genesis 31:7-16

31:7 but your father has humiliated ¹  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ²  ‘The speckled animals ³  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 ⁴  during breeding season I saw ⁵  in a dream that the male goats mating with ⁶  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 ⁷  that all the male goats mating with ⁸  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, ⁹  where you anointed ¹⁰  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ¹¹  Now leave this land immediately ¹²  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ¹³  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ¹⁴  the money paid for us! ¹⁵  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.”

[31:7]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ³ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

[31:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

[31:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

[31:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

[31:13]  ⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[31:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “arise, leave!” The first imperative draws attention to the need for immediate action.

[31:14]  ⁶ tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”

[31:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.

[31:15]  ⁸ 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.