62 | Genesis 31:3
3
Then the Lord said to Ja cob,“ Go back to the land of your fa thers and to your rel a tives, and I will be with you.”
4
So Ja cob sent word to Ra chel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. 5 He said to them,“ I see that your fa ther’ s at ti tude to ward me is not what it was be fore, but the God of my fa ther has been with me. 6 You know that I’ ve worked for your fa ther with all my strength, 7 yet your fa ther has cheat ed me by chang ing my wag es ten times. How ev er, God has not al lowed him to harm me. 8 If he said,‘ The speck led ones will be your wag es,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speck led young; and if he said,‘ The streaked ones will be your wag es,’ then all the flocks bore streaked young.
9
So God has tak en away your fa ther’ s live stock and has giv en them to me.
10
“ In breed ing sea son I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mat ing with the flock were streaked, speck led or spot ted. 11 The an gel of God said to me in the dream,‘ Ja cob.’ I an swered,‘ Here I am.’ 12 And he said,‘ Look up and see that all the male goats mat ing with the flock are streaked, speck led or spot ted, for I have seen all that La ban has been do ing to you. 13 I am the God of Beth el, where you anoint ed a pil lar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your na tive land.’”
14
Then Ra chel and Leah re plied,“ Do we still have any share in the in her i tance of our fa ther’ s es tate? 15 Does he not re gard us as for eign ers? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. 16 Sure ly all the wealth that God took away from our fa ther be longs to us and our children. So do what ev er God has told you.”
17
Then Ja cob put his chil dren and his wives on cam els, 18 and he drove all his live stock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had ac cu mu lat ed in Pad dan Aram, a to go to his fa ther Isaac in the land of Ca naan.
19
When La ban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her fa ther’ s house hold gods. 20 More over, Ja cob de ceived La ban the Ar a me an by not tell ing him he was run ning away. 21 So he fled with all he had, crossed the Eu phra tes Riv er, and head ed for the hill coun try of Gil e ad.
Laban Pursues Jacob
22
On the third day La ban was told that Ja cob had fled. 23 Tak ing his rel a tives with him, he pur sued Ja cob for sev en days and caught up with him in the hill coun try of Gil e ad. 24 Then God came to La ban the Ar a me an in a dream at night and said to him,“ Be care ful not to say any thing to Ja cob, ei ther good or bad.”
25
Ja cob had pitched his tent in the hill coun try of Gil e ad when La ban over took him, and La ban and his rel a tives camped there too. 26 Then La ban said to Ja cob,“ What have you done? You’ ve deceived me, and you’ ve car ried off my daugh ters like cap tives in war. 27 Why did you run off se cretly and de ceive me? Why didn’ t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and sing ing to the mu sic of tim brels and harps? 28 You didn’ t even let me kiss my grand chil dren and my daugh ters
a
18 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
31:3 Go back to the land of your fathers In view of Laban’ s negative disposition toward Jacob, this is both a command and a warning. 31:7 by changing my wages ten times This is a rhetorical expression that essentially means time and again. 31:11 angel of God See note on 21:17. 31:12 streaked, speckled or spotted See note on 30:37 – 43. 31:13 you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow See 28:18 – 22; note on 28:18. 31:17 on camels See note on 12:16. 31:18 Paddan Aram This could be another name for what the Hebrew text refers to as aram naharayim( see note on 24:10) or a town in that region( see Hos 12:12). The identification of Laban with both place names indicates that it is near Harran( see Ge 27:43). See the map“ Patriarchal Journeys to and From Haran” on p. 2251. 31:19 household gods The Hebrew text here uses the term teraphim. The precise meaning of this Hebrew term is uncertain, but it seems to refer to household gods, idols or figurines that were thought to represent residents of the unseen, spiritual world. The teraphim could have been used in household worship, which would have been idolatrous. However, it is also possible that they served another purpose that would not be thought of as idolatry: In 1Sa 19:13 – 16 the term teraphim occurs without any suggestion of idolatry. Ancient Near Eastern legal documents from Nuzi, and other ancient Near Eastern parallels, suggest that worshiping and honoring departed spirits of the dead was practiced, and that household gods were part of a person’ s inheritance. But this does not mean that Laban’ s teraphim were intended for ancestor worship; they may also have been used as tokens to remember the dead— the ancient equivalent of expressing grief or respect for the dead by leaving gifts at grave sites. In Jacob’ s subsequent demand that his household put away its foreign gods( Ge 35:2), the word used is not teraphim. Nevertheless, any image of something or someone could be used in an idolatrous way, so it is understandable that such items would be opposed by Biblical writers elsewhere( see 1Sa 15:23; 2Ki 23:24; Zec 10:2). 31:20 Laban the Aramean See note on Ge 24:29; 25:20 and note. 31:21 hill country of Gilead Harran and Paddan Aram, where Laban is departing from, is located in the bend of the Fertile Crescent, north of Canaan. Gilead would be the first region travelers would encounter in the Transjordan. 31:27 with joy and singing Laban’ s claims of wanting to wish farewell to Jacob and his daughters with a festive celebration seem disingenuous.