Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, April 27th, 2025
Second Sunday after Easter
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Brenton's Septuagint

Genesis 31:2

And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Countenance;   Laban;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Rachel;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ancestor-Worship;   Gilead;   Israel;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Laban ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Laban;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Canaan (2);   Leah;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Pa'dan-A'ram;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Esau and Jacob;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Mahanaim;   Number;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Deuteronomy;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Ya`akov saw the expression on Lavan's face, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
King James Version
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
Lexham English Bible
Then Jacob saw the face of Laban and, behold, it was not like it had been in the past.
New Century Version
Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before.
New English Translation
When Jacob saw the look on Laban's face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed.
Amplified Bible
Jacob noticed [a change in] the attitude of Laban, and saw that it was not friendly toward him as before.
New American Standard Bible
And Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as it had been before.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Also Iaakob beheld the countenance of Laban, that it was not towards him as in times past:
Legacy Standard Bible
And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.
Contemporary English Version
Jacob also noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before.
Complete Jewish Bible
He also saw that Lavan regarded him differently than before.
Darby Translation
And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold, it was not toward him as previously.
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been in the past.
English Standard Version
And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before.
George Lamsa Translation
And Jacob saw that Labans countenance toward him was not as it had been yesterday and the day before.
Good News Translation
He also saw that Laban was no longer as friendly as he had been earlier.
Christian Standard Bible®
And Jacob saw from Laban’s face that his attitude toward him was not the same as before.
Literal Translation
And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Iacob behelde Labans countenaunce, & beholde, it was not towarde him as yesterdaye and yeryesterdaye.
American Standard Version
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.
Bible in Basic English
And Jacob saw that Laban's feeling for him was no longer what it had been before.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iacob behelde the countenaunce of Laban, and beholde, it was not towardes hym as it was wont to be.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.
King James Version (1611)
And Iacob behelde the countenance of Laban, and behold, it was not toward him as before.
English Revised Version
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime.
Berean Standard Bible
And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Also Jacob perseyuede the face of Laban, that it was not ayens hym as yistirdai, and the thridde dai agoon,
Young's Literal Translation
and Jacob seeth the face of Laban, and lo, it is not with him as heretofore.
Update Bible Version
And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and, look, it was not toward him as formerly.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and behold, it [was] not towards him as before.
World English Bible
Jacob saw the expression on Laban's face, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.
New King James Version
And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before.
New Living Translation
And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban's attitude toward him.
New Life Bible
Jacob saw that Laban did not show him as much favor as he did before.
New Revised Standard
And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him as favorably as he did before.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Jacob looked upon the face of Laban, - and lo! it was not with him as afore-time.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And perceiving also, that Laban’s countenance was not towards him as yesterday and the other day.
Revised Standard Version
And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.

Contextual Overview

1 And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and of our father’s property has he gotten all this glory. 2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before. 3 And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy father, and to thy family, and I will be with thee. 4 And Jacob sent and called Lea and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were. 5 And he said to them, I see the face of your father, that it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father was with me. 6 And ye too know that with all my might I have served your father. 7 But your father deceived me, and changed my wages for the ten lambs, yet God gave him not power to hurt me. 8 If he should say thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be thy reward, then would all the cattle bear white. 9 So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me. 10 And it came to pass when the cattle conceived and were with young, that I beheld with mine eyes in sleep, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

countenance: Genesis 4:5, Deuteronomy 28:54, 1 Samuel 18:9-11, Daniel 3:19

it was: Genesis 30:27

as before: Heb. as yesterday and the day before, Exodus 4:10, Deuteronomy 19:4, 1 Samuel 19:7, *marg.

Reciprocal: Genesis 31:5 - I see Joshua 3:4 - heretofore

Cross-References

Genesis 4:5
but Cain and his sacrifices he regarded not, and Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his countenance fell.
Genesis 30:27
And Laban said to him, If I have found grace in thy sight, I would augur well, for the Lord has blessed me at thy coming in.
Genesis 31:9
So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Genesis 31:11
And the angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob; and I said, What is it?
Exodus 4:10
And Moses said to the Lord, I pray, Lord, I have not been sufficient in former times, neither from the time that thou hast begun to speak to thy servant: I am weak in speech, and slow-tongued.
Deuteronomy 19:4
And this shall be the ordinance of the manslayer, who shall flee thither, and shall live, whosoever shall have smitten his neighbour ignorantly, whereas he hated him not in times past.
Deuteronomy 28:54
He that is tender and very delicate within thee shall look with an evil eye upon his brother, and the wife in his bosom, and the children that are left, which may have been left to him;
1 Samuel 19:7
And Jonathan called David, and told him all these words; and Jonathan brought David in to Saul, and he was before him as in former times.
Daniel 3:19
Then Nabuchodonosor was filled with wrath, and the form of his countenance was changed toward Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago: and he gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than usual, until it should burn to the uttermost.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban,.... Upon this he observed Laban's looks, that he might gather from thence how he took his prosperity; what were his thoughts about it, and what he might expect from him on that account:

and, behold, it [was] not towards him as before; he said nothing to Jacob, nor charged him with robbing of him, or any false dealing with him, yet was uneasy at his growing prosperity; he put on sour looks, and an envious countenance, sad, and surly, and lowering; so that Jacob saw it foreboded no good to him, and therefore thought it most advisable to depart as soon as he could; though perhaps he first sought the Lord about it, who spoke to him as in Genesis 31:3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob’s Flight from Haran

19. תרפים terāpı̂ym, Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means “to live well,” intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), “to nourish,” transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls them his gods. They seem to have been busts (προτομαί protomai, Aquila) of the human form, sometimes as large as life 1 Samuel 19:13. Those of full size were probably of wood; the smaller ones may have been of metal. In two passages Judges 17:1-13; Judges 18:0; Hosea 3:4 they are six times associated with the ephod. This intimates either that they were worn on the ephod, like the Urim and Thummim, or more probably that the ephod was worn on them; in accordance with which they were employed for the purposes of divination Genesis 30:27; Zechariah 10:2. The employment of them in the worship of God, which Laban seems to have inherited from his fathers Joshua 24:2, is denounced as idolatry 1 Samuel 15:23; and hence, they are classed with the idols and other abominations put away by Josiah 2 Kings 23:24.

47. שׂהדוּתא יגר yegar-śâhădûtā', Jegar-sahadutha, “cairn of witness” in the Aramaic dialect of the old Hebrew or Shemite speech. גלעד gal‛ēd, Gal‘ed; and גלעד gı̂l‛ād, Gil‘ad, “cairn of witness” in Hebrew especially so called (see Genesis 11:1-9).

49. מצפה mı̂tspâh, Mizpah, “watch-tower.”

Jacob had now been twenty years in Laban’s service, and was therefore, ninety-six years of age. It has now become manifest that he cannot obtain leave of Laban to return home. He must, therefore, either come off by the high hand, or by secret flight. Jacob has many reasons for preferring the latter course.

Genesis 31:1-13

Circumstances at length induce Jacob to propose flight to his wives. His prosperity provokes the envy and slander of Laban’s sons, and Laban himself becomes estranged. The Lord now commands Jacob to return, and promises him his presence to protect him. Jacob now opens his mind fully to Rachel and Leah. Rachel, we observe, is put first. Several new facts come out in his discourse to them. Ye know - Jacob appeals to his wives on this point - “that with all my might I served your father.” He means, of course, to the extent of his engagement. During the last six years he was to provide for his own house, as the Lord permitted him, with the full knowledge and concurrence of Laban. Beyond this, which is a fair and acknowledged exception, he has been faithful in keeping the cattle of Laban. “Your father deceived me, and changed my wages ten times;” that is, as often as he could.

If, at the end of the first year, he found that Jacob had gained considerably, though he began with nothing, he might change his wages every following half-year, and so actually change them ten times in five years. In this case, the preceding chapter only records his original expedients, and then states the final result. “God suffered him not to hurt me.” Jacob, we are to remember, left his hire to the providence of God. He thought himself bound at the same time to use all legitimate means for the attainment of the desired end. His expedients may have been perfectly legitimate in the circumstances, but they were evidently of no avail without the divine blessing. And they would become wholly ineffectual when his wages were changed. Hence, he says, God took the cattle and gave them to me. Jacob seems here to record two dreams, the former of which is dated at the rutting season. The dream indicates the result by a symbolic representation, which ascribes it rather to the God of nature than to the man of art. The second dream makes allusion to the former as a process still going on up to the present time. This appears to be an encouragement to Jacob now to commit himself to the Lord on his way home. The angel of the Lord, we observe, announces himself as the God of Bethel, and recalls to Jacob the pillar and the vow. The angel, then, is Yahweh manifesting himself to human apprehension.

Genesis 31:14-19

His wives entirely accord with his view of their father’s selfishness in dealing with his son-in-law, and approve of his intended departure. Jacob makes all the needful preparations for a hasty and secret flight. He avails himself of the occasion when Laban is at a distance probably of three or more days’ journey, shearing his sheep. “Rachel stole the teraphim.” It is not the business of Scripture to acquaint us with the kinds and characteristics of false worship. Hence, we know little of the teraphim, except that they were employed by those who professed to worship the true God. Rachel had a lingering attachment to these objects of her family’s superstitious reverence, and secretly carried them away as relics of a home she was to visit no more, and as sources of safety to herself against the perils of her flight.

Genesis 31:20-24

Laban hears of his flight, pursues, and overtakes him. “Stole the heart,” κλέπτειν νοῦν kleptein noun. The heart is the seat of the understanding in Scripture. To steal the heart of anyone is to act without his knowledge. The river. The Frat, near which, we may conclude, Jacob was tending his flocks. Haran was about seventy miles from the river, and therefore, Laban’s flocks were on the other side of Haran. “Toward mount Gilead;” about three hundred miles from the Frat. “On the third day.” This shows that Laban’s flocks kept by his sons were still three days’ journey apart from Jacob’s. His brethren - his kindred and dependents. “Seven days’ journey.” On the third day after the arrival of the messenger, Laban might return to the spot whence Jacob had taken his flight. In this case, Jacob would have at least five days of a start; which, added to the seven days of pursuit, would give him twelve days to travel three hundred English miles. To those accustomed to the pastoral life this was a possible achievement. God appears to Laban on behalf of Jacob, and warns him not to harm him. “Not to speak from good to bad” is merely to abstain from language expressing and prefacing violence.

Genesis 31:25-32

Laban’s expostulation and Jacob’s reply. What hast thou done? Laban intimates that he would have dismissed him honorably and affectionately, and therefore, that his flight was needless and unkind; and finally charges him with stealing his gods. Jacob gives him to understand that he did not expect fair treatment at his hands, and gives him leave to search for his gods, not knowing that Rachel had taken them.

Genesis 31:33-42

After the search for the teraphim has proved vain, Jacob warmly upbraids Laban. “The camel’s saddle.” This was a pack-saddle, in the recesses of which articles might be deposited, and on which was a seat or couch for the rider. Rachel pleads the custom of women as an excuse for keeping her seat; which is admitted by Laban, not perhaps from the fear of ceremonial defilement Leviticus 15:19-27, as this law was not yet in force, but from respect to his daughter and the conviction that in such circumstances she would not sit upon the teraphim. “My brethren and thy brethren” - their common kindred. Jacob recapitulates his services in feeling terms. “By day the drought;” caused by the heat, which is extreme during the day, while the cold is not less severe in Palestine during the night. “The fear of Isaac” - the God whom Isaac fears. Judged - requited by restraining thee from wrong-doing.

Genesis 31:43-47

Laban, now pacified, if not conscience-stricken, proposes a covenant between them. Jacob erects a memorial pillar, around which the clan gather a cairn of stones, which serves by its name for a witness of their compact. “Jegar-sahadutha.” Here is the first decided specimen of Aramaic, as contradistinguished from Hebrew. Its incidental appearance indicates a fully formed dialect known to Jacob, and distinct from his own. Gilead or Galeed remains to this day in Jebel Jel’ad, though the original spot was further north.

Genesis 31:48-54

The covenant is then completed. And Mizpah. This refers to some prominent cliff from which, as a watch-tower, an extensive view might be obtained. It was in the northern half of Gilead Deuteronomy 3:12-13, and is noticed in Judges 11:29. It is not to be confounded with other places called by the same name. The reference of this name to the present occurrence is explained in these two verses. The names Gilead and Mizpah may have arisen from this transaction, or received a new turn in consequence of its occurrence. The terms of the covenant are now formally stated. I have cast. The erection of the pillar was a joint act of the two parties; in which Laban proposes, Jacob performs, and all take part. “The God of Abraham, Nahor, and Terah.” This is an interesting acknowledgment that their common ancestor Terah and his descendants down to Laban still acknowledged the true God even in their idolatry. Jacob swears by the fear of isaac, perhaps to rid himself of any error that had crept into Laban’s notions of God and his worship. The common sacrifice and the common meal ratify the covenant of reconciliation.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile