the Third Week after Easter
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Genesis 31:40
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Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
There I was, during the day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
In the daytime the sun took away my strength, and at night I was cold and could not sleep.
I was consumed by scorching heat during the day and by piercing cold at night, and I went without sleep.
"This was my situation: by day the heat consumed me and by night the cold, and I could not sleep.
"This is how I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
I was in the day consumed with heate, and with frost in the night, and my sleepe departed from mine eyes.
Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
I sweated every day, and I couldn't sleep at night because of the cold.
Here's how it was for me: during the day thirst consumed me, and at night the cold — my sleep fled from my eyes.
Thus it was with me: in the day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes.
There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
Thus by day I was scorched by the heat, and at night suffered from cold; and my sleep departed from my eyes.
Many times I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was not able to sleep.
There I was—the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
I was there; by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night. And my sleep fled from my eyes.
On the daye tyme the heate cosumed me, and the frost on the night, and my slepe departed fro myne eyes.
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes.
This was my condition, wasted by heat in the day and by the bitter cold at night; and sleep went from my eyes.
I was in suche case, that by day the heate consumed me, and the frost by nyght, and my slepe departed from mine eyes.
Thus I was: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes.
Thus I was in ye day, the drought consumed mee, and the frost by night, aud my sleep departed from mine eyes.
I was parched with heat by day, and chilled with frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes.
As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
Y was angwischid in dai and nyyt with heete and frost, and sleep fledde fro myn iyen;
I have been [thus]: in the day consumed me hath drought, and frost by night, and wander doth my sleep from mine eyes.
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.
[Thus] I was; in the day the drouth consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from my eyes.
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.
There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.
"I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights.
This is the way it was for me. I suffered from heat during the day, and from cold during the night. And I could not sleep.
It was like this with me: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
Thus have I been - By day, drought hath consumed me, And, frost, by, night, - So that my sleep fled away from mine eyes.
Day and night was I parched with heat, and with frost, and sleep departed from my eyes.
Thus I was; by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
"Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Exodus 2:19-22, Exodus 3:1, Psalms 78:70, Psalms 78:71, Hosea 12:12, Luke 2:8, John 21:15-17, Hebrews 13:7, 1 Peter 5:2-4
Reciprocal: Genesis 30:39 - brought forth Deuteronomy 26:5 - ready Job 24:7 - no covering Proverbs 31:18 - her candle Ecclesiastes 8:16 - there is that Song of Solomon 5:2 - my head Jeremiah 36:30 - and his John 10:11 - giveth
Cross-References
Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been in the past.
So Jacob told Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where he kept his flocks of sheep and goats.
He treated us like strangers. He sold us to you, and then he spent all the money that should have been ours.
So Jacob prepared for the trip. He put his children and his wives on camels.
While Laban was gone to cut the wool from his sheep, Rachel went into his house and stole the false gods that belonged to her father.
Three days later Laban learned that Jacob had run away.
Moses' father-in-law was named Jethro. Jethro was a priest of Midian. Moses took care of Jethro's sheep. One day Moses led the sheep to the west side of the desert. He went to a mountain called Horeb, the mountain of God.
"Jacob ran away to the land of Aram. There Israel worked for a wife. He kept sheep to get another wife.
That night, some shepherds were out in the fields near Bethlehem watching their sheep.
Remember your leaders. They taught God's message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
[Thus] I was,.... In such a situation, as well as in the following uncomfortable plight and condition:
in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night: the violent heat in the daytime scorched him, and the severe frosts in the night pinched him: that is, in the different seasons of the year, the heat of the day in the summertime, and the cold of the night in the wintertime; for it cannot well be thought that there should be excessive heat in the day and sharp frosts in the night, in the same season of the year: it looks as if Laban did not allow Jacob the proper conveniencies of clothes, and of tents to secure him from the inclemency of the weather, which other shepherds usually had:
and my sleep departed from mine eyes; through diligent care and watchfulness of the flocks in the night season, which on some occasions were necessary; see Luke 2:8.
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.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 31:40. In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night — The being exposed to the heat by day, and frost by night, is made part of the heaviest punishment of Promethus by AEschylus.
ΣÏÎ±Î¸ÎµÏ ÏÎ¿Ï Î´' ηÌÎ»Î¹Î¿Ï ÏÎ¿Î¹Î²Î·Í Ïλογι,
ΧÏÎ¿Î¹Î±Ï Î±Î¼ÎµÏ ÏειÏΠαÏμενÏÍ Î´Îµ Ïοι
ÎÌ ÏοικιλεμÏν Î½Ï Î¾ αÏοκÏÏ Ïει ÏαοÏÎ
ΠαÏνην θ' εÌÏÍ Î±Î½ ηÌÎ»Î¹Î¿Ï ÏÎºÎµÎ´Î±Í Ïαλιν.
AEschyl. Prom. Vinc., v. Genesis 31:22.
Opposed to the sun's most fervid beam,
The hue of beauty changed; till parch'd by heat
The night with spangled stole shall hide its light
From thee rejoicing, but again the sun
Chases the hoar frost from thy harass'd form.
J. B. B. C.
