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Genesis 31:19
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Now Lavan had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the terafim that were her father's.
And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.
Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the idols that belonged to her father.
While Laban was gone to cut the wool from his sheep, Rachel stole the idols that belonged to him.
When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel [went inside the house and] stole her father's household gods.
Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.
Whe Laban was gone to shere his sheepe, Then Rahel stole her fathers idoles.
Now Laban had gone to shear his flock. Then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.
Before Rachel left, she stole the household idols while Laban was out shearing his sheep.
Now Lavan had gone to shear his sheep, so Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father,
And Laban had gone to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the teraphim that [belonged] to her father.
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.
Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.
Now Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel stole the images that belonged to her father.
Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and during his absence Rachel stole the household gods that belonged to her father.
When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
And Laban went to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the household idols which were her father's.
Laba was gone to clyppe his flocke, and Rachel stale hir fathers ymages.
Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.
Now Laban had gone to see to the cutting of the wool of his sheep; so Rachel secretly took the images of the gods of her father's house.
But Laban was gone to sheare his sheepe: and Rachel had stolen her fathers images.
Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.
And Laban went to sheare his sheepe: and Rachel had stollen the Images that were her fathers.
And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel stole her father’s images.
Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.
Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household idols.
In that tyme Laban yede to schere scheep, and Rachel stal the idols of hir fadir.
And Laban hath gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stealeth the teraphim which her father hath;
Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the talismans that were her father's.
And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel had stolen the images that [were] her father's.
Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.
Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father's.
At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father's household idols and took them with her.
Laban had gone to cut the wool from his flock. And Rachel stole the gods of her father's house.
Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.
Now, Laban, had gone, to shear his sheep, - so Rachel stole the household gods that belonged to her father,
At that time Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole away her father’s idols.
Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.
Laban was off shearing sheep. Rachel stole her father's household gods. And Jacob had concealed his plans so well that Laban the Aramean had no idea what was going on—he was totally in the dark. Jacob got away with everything he had and was soon across the Euphrates headed for the hill country of Gilead.
When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
images: Heb. teraphim, Genesis 31:30, Genesis 31:32, Genesis 35:2, Joshua 24:2, Judges 17:4, Judges 17:5, Judges 18:14-24, Judges 18:31, 1 Samuel 19:13, Ezekiel 21:21, Hosea 3:4, These might have been images devoted to superstitious or idolatrous purposes, as they are termed gods by Laban, in Genesis 31:30. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan render it, tzalmanaya, "images;" the LXX and Theodoret, ××××××× [Strong's G1497], "idols;" Aquilla, ××סצש××פ×, "figures;" and the Persian, asterlabha, "astrolabes."
Reciprocal: Genesis 24:38 - my father's Genesis 31:34 - had taken Genesis 38:12 - in process of time Deuteronomy 27:15 - and putteth 2 Kings 23:24 - images Isaiah 44:13 - that it may Zechariah 10:2 - the idols
Cross-References
So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah to come to the field where his flocks were.
There he said to them, "I can tell that your father's attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me.
Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, "Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father's house?
But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, "Be careful that you neither bless nor curse Jacob."
Now I understand that you have gone away because you longed desperately for your father's house. Yet why did you steal my gods?"
Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! In the presence of our relatives identify whatever is yours and take it." (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.)
(Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel's saddle and sat on them.) Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them.
So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.
Joshua told all the people, "Here is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘In the distant past your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped other gods,
They worshiped Micah's carved image the whole time God's authorized shrine was in Shiloh.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Laban went to shear his sheep,.... Which were under the care of his sons, and were three days' distance from Jacob's flocks; this gave Jacob a fair opportunity to depart with his family and substance, since Laban and his sons were at such a distance, and their servants with them also:
and Rachel had stolen the images that [were] her father's; afterwards called gods, which he made use of in an idolatrous and superstitious manner, one way or other: they seem to be a kind of "penates", or household gods; in the Hebrew they are called "teraphim"; and which De Dieu thinks were the same with "seraphim" z; and were images of angels, consulted on occasion, and placed in the house for the protection of it, and to increase the substance thereof: some take them to be plates of brass describing the hours of the day, a sort of sundials; or were such forms, that at certain times were made to speak, and show things to come: but they rather seem to be images of an human form, as say the Jewish writers, and as seems from 1 Samuel 19:13; and which it is supposed were made under certain constellations, and were a sort of talismans, and were consulted as oracles, and in high esteem with the Chaldeans and Syrians, a people given to astrology, and by which they made their divinations; 1 Samuel 19:13- : and also
1 Samuel 19:13- :; and therefore Rachel took them away, that her father might not consult them, and know which way Jacob fled, as Aben Ezra; but this looks as if she had an opinion of them, and that they had such a power of discovering persons and things that were attributed to them: and indeed some think she took them away from an affection and veneration for them, supposing she should not be able to meet with such in Canaan in Isaac's family; and what is observed in
Genesis 35:2 seems to countenance this; but one would think she had been better instructed by Jacob during his twenty years' conversation with her; and besides, had she been tinctured with such sort of superstition and idolatry, she would never have used them so indecently, as to have sat upon them in the circumstances in which she was, Genesis 31:34; it is more to her credit and character to say with Jarchi, that she did this to take off her father from the idolatrous worship of them, and to convince him that they were no gods; since they could not inform him of the designs of Jacob, and of his flight, nor secure themselves from being carried away by her; unless it can be thought that she took them because of the metal of which they were made, gold or silver, being willing to have something of her father's goods as her portion, which she thought she had a right unto, or in recompence of her husband's service. Dr. Lightfoot a thinks she took them for a civil use, to preserve the memory of some of her ancestors, of which these were the pictures, and Laban had idolized; but whether pictures were so early is questionable.
z So Hyde, Hist. Relig. Ver. Pers. c. 20. p. 272. a Works, vol. 1. p. 696.
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 31:19. Laban went to shear his sheep — Laban had gone; and this was a favourable time not only to take his images, but to return to Canaan without being perceived.
Rachel had stolen the images — תרפ×× teraphim. What the teraphim were is utterly unknown. In Genesis 31:30 they are termed ×××× elohai, gods; and to some it appears very likely that they were a sort of images devoted to superstitious purposes, not considered as gods, but as representatives of certain Divine attributes, Dr. Shuckford supposes them to be a sort of tiles, on which the names or figures of their ancestors were engraven. Theodoret, in his 89th question, calls them idols; and says that Rachel, who was a type of the true Church, stole them from her father that he might be delivered from idolatry. R. S. Jarchi gives nearly the same reason.
The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel gives a strange turn to the whole passage. "And Rachel stole the images of her father: for they had murdered a man, who was a first-born son; and having cut off his head, they embalmed it with salt and spices, and they wrote divinations upon a plate of gold, and put it under his tongue; and placed it against the wall, and it conversed with them, and Laban worshipped it. And Jacob stole the science of Laban the Syrian, that it might not discover his departure."
If the word be derived from ×¨×¤× rapha, to heal or restore, then the teraphim may be considered as a sort of talismans, kept for the purpose of averting and curing diseases; and probably were kept by Laban for the same purpose that the Romans kept their lares and penates. It is however possible that תרפ×× teraphim is the same as שרפ×× seraphim, the ת tau and ש sin being changed, which is very frequent in the Syrian or Chaldee language; and we know that Laban was an Aramean or Syrian. FIRE has been considered from the earliest ages as a symbol of the Deity; and as the word seraphim comes from שרף saraph, to burn, it has been conjectured that the teraphim of Laban were luminous forms, prepared of burnished brass, c., which he might imagine a proper medium of communication between God and his worshippers. Mr. Parkhurst has observed that the teraphim were in use among believers and unbelievers. Among the former, see this chapter for he denies that Laban was an idolater. See also Judges 17:5; Judges 18:14, Judges 18:18, Judges 18:20; 1 Samuel 19:13, 1 Samuel 19:16. Among the latter, see 2 Kings 23:24; Ezekiel 21:21; Zechariah 10:2. Compare 1 Samuel 15:23, and Hosea 3:4. These are all the places in which the original word is found.
The Persian translator seems to have considered these teraphim as tables or instruments that served for purposes of judicial astrology, and hence translates the word [Persian] asterlabha, astrolabes. As the astrolabe was an instrument with which they took the altitude of the pole-star, the sun, &c., it might, in the notion of the Persian translator, imply tables, &c., by which the culminating of particular stars might be determined, and the whole serve for purposes of judicial astrology. Now as many who have professed themselves to be believers in Christianity, have nevertheless addicted themselves to judicial astrology, we might suppose such a thing in this case, and still consider Laban as no idolater. If the Persian translator has not hit on the true meaning, he has formed the most likely conjecture.
