the Third Week after Easter
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Genesis 31:21
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- CondensedParallel Translations
So he fled with all that he had. He rose up, passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gil`ad.
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
Then he fled with all that he had, and arose and crossed the Euphrates and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
Jacob and his family left quickly, crossed the Euphrates River, and traveled toward the mountains of Gilead.
So he fled with everything that he had, and got up and crossed the river [Euphrates], and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead [east of the Jordan River].
So he fled with all that he had; and he got up and crossed the Euphrates River, and set out for the hill country of Gilead.
So fled he with all that he had, and he rose vp, and passed the riuer, and set his face towarde mount Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the River and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
When Jacob crossed the Euphrates River and headed for the hill country of Gilead, he took with him everything he owned.
So he fled with everything he had: he departed, crossed the [Euphrates] River and set out for the hill-country of Gil‘ad.
And he fled with all that he had; and he rose up and passed over the river, and set his face [toward] mount Gilead.
Jacob took his family and everything he owned and left quickly. They crossed the Euphrates River and traveled toward the hill country of Gilead.
He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and crossed the river, and set his face toward mount Gilead.
He took everything he owned and left in a hurry. He crossed the Euphrates River and started for the hill country of Gilead.
He fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
And he and all that was to him fled. And he rose up and crossed the River and set his face to Mount Gilead.
So he fled, & all that was his, gat vp, and passed ouer the water, & wente straight towarde the mount Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.
So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead.
So fled he, and all that he had, and made hym selfe redy, and passed ouer the ryuer, and set his face strayght towarde the mounte Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.
So hee fled with all that hee had, and he rose vp and passed ouer the Riuer, and set his face toward the mount Gilead.
And he departed himself and all that belonged to him, and passed over the river, and went into the mountain Galaad.
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.
So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
and whanne he hadde go, as wel he as alle thingis that weren of his riyt, and whanne he hadde passid the water, and he yede ayens the hil of Galaad,
and he fleeth, he and all that he hath, and riseth, and passeth over the River, and setteth his face [toward] the mount of Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; and he arose, and passed over the river, and set his face [towards] the mount Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had. He rose up, passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.
So Jacob took all his possessions with him and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead.
So he left with all he had. He went and crossed the Euphrates River, and turned toward the hill country of Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; starting out he crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
So he fled, the - and all that he had, and he arose, and passed over the River, - and set his face towards the mountain of Gilead.
And when he was gone, together with all that belonged to him, and having passed the river, was going on towards mount Galaad,
He fled with all that he had, and arose and crossed the Euphra'tes, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
passed: Genesis 2:14, Genesis 15:18, Joshua 24:2, Joshua 24:3
set his: Genesis 46:28, Numbers 24:1, 2 Kings 12:17, Jeremiah 50:5, Luke 9:51-53
Gilead: Genesis 31:23, Numbers 32:1, Deuteronomy 3:12, Joshua 13:8, Joshua 13:9, Judges 10:18, 1 Kings 17:1
Reciprocal: Genesis 31:27 - Wherefore Genesis 37:25 - Gilead Genesis 41:1 - the river Deuteronomy 11:29 - General 2 Samuel 24:6 - Gilead Jeremiah 42:15 - If
Cross-References
The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River—
When Jacob saw the look on Laban's face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed.
The Lord said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives. I will be with you."
If he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wage,' then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,' then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring.
In this way God has snatched away your father's livestock and given them to me.
So he took his relatives with him and pursued Jacob for seven days. He caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.
"Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you," Laban said to Jacob.
May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, the gods of their father, judge between us." Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared.
When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
So he fled with all that he had,.... His wives, his children, cattle and substance;
and he rose up, and passed over the river; the river Euphrates, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it, which lay between Mesopotamia and Canaan;
and set his face [toward] the mount Gilead: he travelled and bent his course that way: this, was a mountain on the border of the land of Canaan, adjoining to Lebanon, near which was a very fruitful country, which had its name from it: it is so called here by way of anticipation; for this name was afterwards given it from the heap of stones here laid, as a witness of the agreement between Laban and Jacob, Genesis 31:45.
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 31:21. Passed over the river — The Euphrates, as the Targum properly notices. But how could he pass such a river with his flocks, c.? This difficulty does not seem to have struck critics in general. The rabbins felt it, and assert that God wrought a miracle for Jacob on this occasion, and that he passed over dry shod. As we know not in what other way he could pass, it is prudent to refer it to the power of God, which accompanied him through the whole of his journey. There might, however, have been fords well known to both Jacob and Laban, by which they might readily pass.
The mount Gilead. — What the ancient name of this mountain was, we know not but it is likely that it had not the name of Gilead till after the transaction mentioned Genesis 31:47. The mountains of Gilead were eastward of the country possessed by the tribes of Reuben and Gad; and extended from Mount Hermon to the mountains of Moab.-Calmet. It is joined to Mount Libanus, and includes the mountainous region called in the New Testament Trachonitis. - Dodd.
