the Second Week after Easter
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Brenton's Septuagint
Genesis 31:7
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times, but God didn't allow him to hurt me.
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
and your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not allowed him to harm me.
but he cheated me and changed my pay ten times. But God has not allowed your father to harm me.
but your father has humiliated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm.
"Yet your father has cheated me [as often as possible] and changed my wages ten times; but God did not allow him to hurt me.
"Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to do me harm.
But your father hath deceiued me, & changed my wages tenne times: but God suffred him not to hurt me.
Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to harm me.
and that he keeps cheating me by changing my wages time after time. But God has protected me.
and that your father has belittled me and has changed my wages ten times; but God did not allow him to do me any damage.
And your father has mocked me, and has changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
But he cheated me. He has changed my pay ten times. But during all this time, God protected me from all of Laban's tricks.
yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me.
And yet your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God has not permitted him to hurt me.
Yet he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not let him harm me.
and that he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not let him harm me.
And your father has cheated me and has changed my wages ten times. And God has not let him do evil to me.
And he hath disceaued me, and chaunged my wages now ten tymes. But God hath not suffred him, to do me harme.
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
But your father has not kept faith with me, and ten times he has made changes in my payment; but God has kept him from doing me damage.
But your father hath deceaued me, and chaunged my wages ten tymes: but God suffred hym not to hurt me.
And your father hath mocked me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
And your father hath deceiued mee, and changed my wages ten times: but God suffered him not to hurt me.
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.
but and youre fadir disseyuyde me, and chaungide my meede ten sithis; and netheles God suffride not hym to anoye me.
and your father hath played upon me, and hath changed my hire ten times; and God hath not suffered him to do evil with me.
And your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God didn't allow him to hurt me.
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times: but God suffered him not to hurt me.
Your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times, but God didn't allow him to hurt me.
Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.
but he has cheated me, changing my wages ten times. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm.
Yet your father has not been fair with me. He has changed my pay ten times. But God did not let him hurt me.
yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.
But, your father, hath deceived me, and hath changed my wages ton times, - yet God hath not suffered him to deal harmfully with me.
Yea your father hath also overreached me, and hath changed my wages ten times: and yet God hath not suffered him to hurt me.
yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.
"Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
ten times: The Hebrew, âsereth monim, is literally, as Aquila renders, "ten numbers;" and Symmachus, "ten times in number;" which probably implies an indefinite number. - See note on Genesis 31:41. Leviticus 26:26, Numbers 14:22, Nehemiah 4:12, Job 19:8, Isaiah 4:1, Zechariah 8:23
God: Genesis 31:29, Genesis 20:6, Job 1:10, Psalms 37:28, Psalms 105:14, Psalms 105:15, Isaiah 54:17
Reciprocal: Genesis 29:15 - tell me Genesis 30:43 - General Job 19:3 - ten times Daniel 1:20 - ten
Cross-References
And God said to him in sleep, Yea, I knew that thou didst this with a pure heart, and I spared thee, so that thou shouldest not sin against me, therefore I suffered thee not to touch her.
And Rachel and Lea answered and said to him, Have we yet a part or inheritance in the house of our father?
Are we not considered strangers by him? for he has sold us, and quite devoured our money.
And now my hand has power to hurt thee; but the God of thy father spoke to me yesterday, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not evil words to Jacob.
These twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years among thy sheep, and thou didst falsely rate my wages for ten lambs.
When I afflict you with famine of bread, then ten women shall bake your loaves in one oven, and they shall render your loaves by weight; and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
For all the men who see my glory, and the signs which I wrought in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me this tenth time, and have not hearkened to my voice,
And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us, They are coming up against us from every quarter.
Hast thou not made a hedge about him, and about his household, and all his possessions round about? and hast thou not blessed the works of his hands, and multiplied his cattle upon the land?
Ye speak against me; ye do not feel for me, but bear hard upon me.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And your father hath deceived me,.... In the bargain he had made with him about his wages for keeping his cattle the six years past, after the fourteen years' servitude were ended:
and changed my wages ten times; that is, either very often, many times, as the number ten is sometimes. Used for many, see Leviticus 26:26; or precisely ten times, since he repeats it afterwards in the same form to Laban's face, Genesis 31:41; he had now served him six years upon a new bargain; that he should have all that were of such and such different colours, which were produced out of his flock of white sheep. Laban was at first highly pleased with it, as judging it would be a very good one to him, as he might reasonably think indeed: and it is highly probable he did not attempt any alteration the first year, but observing Jacob's cattle of the speckled sort, c. prodigiously increasing, he did not choose to abide by the any longer. Now it must be observed, that the sheep in Mesopotamia, as in Italy x, brought forth the young twice a year so that every yeaning time, which was ten times in five years, Laban made an alteration in Jacob's wages; one time he would let him have only the speckled, and not the ringstraked; another time the ringstraked, and not the speckled; and so changed every time, according as he observed the prevailing colour was, as may be concluded from
Genesis 31:8:
but God suffered him not to hurt me; to hinder his prosperity, or having justice done him for his service; for whatsoever colour Laban chose for Jacob to have the next season of yeaning, there was always the greatest number of them, or all of them were of that colour, whether speckled or ringstraked, &c.
x "Bis gravidae pecudes.----", Virgil. Georgic. l. 2.
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.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 31:7. Changed my wages ten times — There is a strange diversity among the ancient versions, and ancient and modern interpreters, on the meaning of these words. The Hebrew is עשרת מנים asereth monim, which Aquila translates δεκα αριθμους ten numbers; Symmachus, δεκακις αριτμω, ten times in number; the Septuagint δεκα αμνων, ten lambs, with which Origen appears to agree. St. Augustine thinks that by ten lambs five years' wages is meant: that Laban had withheld from him all the party-coloured lambs which had been brought forth for five years, and because the ewes brought forth lambs twice in the year, bis gravidae pecudes, therefore the number ten is used, Jacob having been defrauded of his part of the produce of ten births. It is supposed that the Septuagint use lambs for years, as Virgil does aristas.
En unquam patrios longo post tempore fines,
Pauperis et tuguri congestum cespite culmen,
Post aliquot mea regna videns mirabor aristas?
Virg. Ec. i., ver. 68.
Thus inadequately translated by DRYDEN:
O must the wretched exiles ever mourn;
Nor, after length of rolling years, return?
Are we condemn'd by Fate's unjust decree,
No more our harvests and our homes to see?
Or shall we mount again the rural throng,
And rule the country, kingdoms once our own?
Here aristas, which signifies ears of corn, is put for harvest, harvest for autumn, and autumn for years. After all, it is most natural to suppose that Jacob uses the word ten times for an indefinite number, which we might safely translate frequently; and that it means an indefinite number in other parts of the sacred writings, is evident from Leviticus 26:26: TEN women shall bake your bread in one oven. Ecclesiastes 7:19: Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than TEN mighty men the city. Numbers 14:22: Because all these men have tempted me now these TEN times. Job 19:3: These TEN times have ye reproached me. Zechariah 8:23: In those days - TEN men shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. Revelation 2:10: Ye shall have tribulation TEN days.
