the Second Week after Easter
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
Brenton's Septuagint
Genesis 31:9
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BridgewayEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
Thus God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.
So God has taken the animals away from your father and has given them to me.
In this way God has snatched away your father's livestock and given them to me.
"Thus God has taken away the flocks of your father and given them to me.
"So God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.
Thus hath God taken away your fathers substance, and giuen it me.
Thus God has delivered your father's livestock and given them to me.
That's how God has taken sheep and goats from your father and given them to me.
This is how God has taken away your father's animals and given them to me.
And God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given [them] to me.
So God has taken the animals away from your father and has given them to me.
Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
Thus God has selected some of your fathers cattle, and given them to me.
God has taken flocks away from your father and given them to me.
God has taken away your father’s herds and given them to me.
And God has taken away the livestock of your father and has given to me.
Thus hath God with drawen youre fathers goodes from him, and geuen them vnto me.
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
So God has taken away your father's cattle and has given them to me.
Thus hath God taken away the increase of your fathers flocke, and geuen it to me.
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Thus God hath taken away the cattell of your father, and giuen them to mee.
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.
and God took a wey the substaunce of youre fadir, and yaf to me.
and God taketh away the substance of your father, and doth give to me.
Thus God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given [them] to me.
Thus God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
In this way, God has taken your father's animals and given them to me.
So God has taken away your father's animals and has given them to me.
Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father, and given them to me.
So hath God stripped away the herds of your father, and given them to me.
And God hath taken your father’s substance, and given it to me.
Thus God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
"Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Genesis 31:1, Genesis 31:16, Esther 8:1, Esther 8:2, Psalms 50:10, Proverbs 13:22, Matthew 20:15
Reciprocal: Genesis 30:35 - the hand Genesis 30:37 - Jacob Genesis 30:39 - brought forth Genesis 32:14 - General Exodus 11:2 - borrow Psalms 107:38 - suffereth
Cross-References
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.
And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before.
All the wealth and the glory which God has taken from our father, it shall be our’s and our children’s; now then do whatsoever God has said to thee.
For all the wild beasts of the thicket are mine, the cattle on the mountains, and oxen.
A good man shall inherit children’s children; and the wealth of ungodly men is laid up for the just.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father,.... Not all of them, see Genesis 31:19; but a great part of them; his flock was much lessened by those means, and more were taken away, and came to Jacob's share, than if Laban had abode by the original agreement:
and gave [them] to me; who has the disposing of all things in the world, whose the world, and all in it, are, and gives of it to the sons of men as he pleases. Jacob takes no notice of any artifice of his, or of any means and methods he made use of, but wholly ascribes all to the providence of God, and points to his wives the hand of God only; and indeed it seems to be by his direction that he took the method he did, as appears from Genesis 31:11.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacobâs Flight from Haran
19. תרפ×× teraÌpıÌym, 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 âto live well,â intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), âto nourish,â transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls them his gods. They seem to have been busts (ÏÏοÏÎ¿Î¼Î±Î¹Ì 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. ש××××Ö¼×ª× ××ר yegar-sÌaÌhaÌduÌtaÌ', Jegar-sahadutha, âcairn of witnessâ in the Aramaic dialect of the old Hebrew or Shemite speech. ×××¢× galâeÌd, Galâed; and ×××¢× gıÌlâaÌd, Gilâad, âcairn of witnessâ in Hebrew especially so called (see Genesis 11:1-9).
49. ××¦×¤× mıÌtspaÌh, Mizpah, âwatch-tower.â
Jacob had now been twenty years in Labanâs 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 Labanâs 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 - âthat with all my might I served your father.â 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. âYour father deceived me, and changed my wages ten times;â 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. âGod suffered him not to hurt me.â 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 fatherâs 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 daysâ journey, shearing his sheep. âRachel stole the teraphim.â 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 familyâs 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. âStole the heart,â κλεÌÏÏειν Î½Î¿Ï Íν 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, Labanâs flocks were on the other side of Haran. âToward mount Gilead;â about three hundred miles from the Frat. âOn the third day.â This shows that Labanâs flocks kept by his sons were still three daysâ journey apart from Jacobâs. His brethren - his kindred and dependents. âSeven daysâ journey.â 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. âNot to speak from good to badâ is merely to abstain from language expressing and prefacing violence.
Genesis 31:25-32
Labanâs expostulation and Jacobâs 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. âThe camelâs saddle.â 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. âMy brethren and thy brethrenâ - their common kindred. Jacob recapitulates his services in feeling terms. âBy day the drought;â caused by the heat, which is extreme during the day, while the cold is not less severe in Palestine during the night. âThe fear of Isaacâ - 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. âJegar-sahadutha.â 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 Jelâad, 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. âThe God of Abraham, Nahor, and Terah.â 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 Labanâs notions of God and his worship. The common sacrifice and the common meal ratify the covenant of reconciliation.
