Genesis 31

Introduction

Genesis 31 is the great escape — the chapter in which Jacob finally breaks free from twenty years of servitude under Laban and begins the long journey home to Canaan. The chapter is dense with dialogue, deception, and divine intervention, and it brings the Haran cycle of Jacob's life to a dramatic close. Three major scenes unfold: Jacob's secret departure with his family and flocks (vv. 1-21), Laban's furious pursuit and confrontation (vv. 22-42), and the covenant-making at Galeed/Mizpah that establishes a permanent boundary between the two men (vv. 43-55).

Throughout the chapter, the narrator weaves together human scheming and divine sovereignty. God commands Jacob to return home (v. 3), protects him from Laban's wrath (v. 24), and vindicates his twenty years of labor (v. 42). Yet Jacob still acts with characteristic cunning — fleeing secretly, timing his departure during Laban's absence at sheep-shearing. And Rachel, in a final ironic twist, steals her father's household gods and hides them with a deception worthy of the family she married into. The chapter is a portrait of a deeply flawed family in which God's purposes advance despite — and sometimes through — human duplicity.

Jacob's Decision to Leave (vv. 1-16)

¹ Now Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father's expense." ² And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed. ³ Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you." ⁴ So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were, ⁵ and he told them, "I can see from your father's countenance that his attitude toward me has changed; but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that I have served your father with all my strength. ⁷ And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me. ⁸ If he said, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then the whole flock bore streaked offspring. ⁹ Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me. ¹⁰ When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. ¹¹ In that dream the angel of God said to me, 'Jacob!' And I replied, 'Here I am.' ¹² 'Look up,' he said, 'and see that all the males that are mating with the flock are streaked, spotted, or speckled; for I have seen all that Laban has done to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up, leave this land at once, and return to your native land.'" ¹⁴ And Rachel and Leah replied, "Do we have any portion or inheritance left in our father's house? ¹⁵ Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? Not only has he sold us, but he has certainly squandered what was paid for us. ¹⁶ Surely all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you."

¹ Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father, and from what belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth." ² And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and it was not toward him as it had been before. ³ Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you." ⁴ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, ⁵ and said to them, "I see your father's face, that it is not toward me as before. But the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ You know that with all my strength I have served your father. ⁷ Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not allow him to harm me. ⁸ If he said, 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled. And if he said, 'The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore striped. ⁹ Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me. ¹⁰ In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and look — the male goats mating with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. ¹¹ And the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob!' And I said, 'Here I am.' ¹² And He said, 'Lift up your eyes and see — all the male goats mating with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now rise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.'" ¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, "Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? ¹⁵ Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has also completely consumed our money. ¹⁶ For all the wealth that God has taken away from our father — it belongs to us and to our children. So now, do whatever God has told you."

Notes

הַכָּבֹד ("wealth/glory") — Laban's sons complain that Jacob has acquired all this כָּבוֹד, which literally means "glory, honor, weight." The word commonly refers to God's glory, but here it denotes material wealth — possessions of such substance that they carry "weight." The KJV translates it as "glory," while modern translations use "wealth." The sons' accusation is both true and false: Jacob has grown wealthy, but it was God, not theft, that caused it.
אֵינֶנּוּ עִמּוֹ כִּתְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם ("it was not toward him as before") — Literally "it was not with him as yesterday and the day before." This Hebrew idiom for "as formerly, as in the past" appears twice (vv. 2, 5). Jacob reads Laban's face and sees hostility where there had been (calculated) warmth. The shift in Laban's countenance is the human trigger for departure; God's command in v. 3 is the divine trigger.
Jacob's dream (vv. 10-13) provides the theological explanation for the breeding strategy of Genesis 30:37-42. What appeared there as folk magic is here revealed as divine guidance: the angel showed Jacob which animals were mating, and God Himself directed the outcome. The angel identifies Himself as הָאֵל בֵּית אֵל ("the God of Bethel"), connecting this moment to Jacob's original encounter with God twenty years earlier (Genesis 28:10-22). God is now calling in the vow Jacob made: it is time to return.
הֵתֶל בִּי ("he has cheated me") — Jacob uses a strong word: תָּלַל means "to mock, deceive, deal treacherously." Combined with "changed my wages ten times" (עֲשֶׂרֶת מֹנִים — "ten times," where "ten" may be a round number for "many times"), Jacob paints a picture of sustained exploitation. The irony is thick: Jacob the deceiver has been thoroughly deceived.
Rachel and Leah's unified response (vv. 14-16) is remarkable — the rival sisters agree on something for once. They feel alienated from their father, who has treated them as נָכְרִיּוֹת ("foreigners, outsiders") rather than daughters. The phrase מְכָרָנוּ ("he has sold us") refers to the bride-price arrangement: Jacob's fourteen years of labor was the payment for them, but Laban consumed the proceeds rather than setting aside a dowry or inheritance for his daughters. Both women recognize that their future lies with Jacob, not with Laban.

The Secret Flight and Rachel's Theft (vv. 17-21)

¹⁷ Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels, ¹⁸ and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. ¹⁹ Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household idols. ²⁰ Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away. ²¹ So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

¹⁷ Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on the camels. ¹⁸ He drove away all his livestock and all the property he had acquired — the livestock of his own getting that he had acquired in Paddan-aram — to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. ¹⁹ Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father. ²⁰ And Jacob stole the heart of Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. ²¹ So he fled with all that he had, and he rose and crossed the River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

Notes

הַתְּרָפִים ("the household idols") — Rachel's theft of Laban's תְּרָפִים is one of the most debated actions in Genesis. Terafim were household gods — small figurines associated with family religion and, in some Mesopotamian legal traditions, with inheritance rights. Several explanations have been proposed: (1) Rachel wanted to ensure inheritance claims; (2) she was still attached to her father's religion; (3) she wanted to deprive Laban of his source of oracular guidance; (4) she intended to deny Laban's gods any power over Jacob's family. The text does not explain her motive, and the irony of a woman married to the covenant heir stealing pagan idols is left unresolved. Jacob will later command his household to put away foreign gods before returning to Bethel (Genesis 35:2-4).
וַיִּגְנֹב יַעֲקֹב אֶת לֵב לָבָן ("Jacob stole the heart of Laban") — The Hebrew idiom "to steal someone's heart" means to deceive them, to slip away without their knowledge. The BSB translates it as "deceived," which captures the meaning. The narrator uses the same verb גָּנַב ("to steal") for both Rachel's theft of the terafim (v. 19) and Jacob's "theft" of Laban's awareness (v. 20) — a deliberate parallelism. Father and daughter are both thieves in this scene, and neither knows about the other's action.
Jacob times his departure during sheep-shearing, which was a festive, labor-intensive season when Laban would be occupied and distracted (cf. 1 Samuel 25:4, 2 Samuel 13:23). The shearing grounds would have been some distance from home, giving Jacob a head start. Crossing הַנָּהָר ("the River") — referring to the Euphrates — would have taken Jacob's enormous caravan considerable time, but once across, he was beyond Laban's immediate reach and heading toward Gilead in Transjordan.

Laban Pursues and Confronts Jacob (vv. 22-42)

²² On the third day Laban was informed that Jacob had fled. ²³ So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad." ²⁵ Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war! ²⁷ Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps. ²⁸ But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing. ²⁹ I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' ³⁰ Now you have gone off because you long for your father's house. But why have you stolen my gods?" ³¹ "I was afraid," Jacob answered, "for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. ³² If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols. ³³ So Laban went into Jacob's tent, then Leah's tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken Laban's household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing. ³⁵ Rachel said to her father, "Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period." So Laban searched but could not find the household idols. ³⁶ Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. "What is my crime?" he said. "For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me? ³⁷ You have searched all my goods! Have you found anything that belongs to you? Put it here before my brothers and yours, that they may judge between the two of us. ³⁸ I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock. ³⁹ I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night. ⁴⁰ As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ Thus for twenty years I have served in your household — fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks — and you have changed my wages ten times! ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment."

²² On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. ²³ So he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days' journey and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad." ²⁵ Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched camp in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done? You have stolen my heart and carried off my daughters like captives of the sword! ²⁷ Why did you flee in secret and steal away from me, and not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with tambourine and lyre? ²⁸ You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. Now you have acted foolishly. ²⁹ It is in the power of my hand to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' ³⁰ And now — you have gone because you longed greatly for your father's house — but why did you steal my gods?" ³¹ Jacob answered and said to Laban, "Because I was afraid, for I said to myself, 'Perhaps you would seize your daughters from me by force.' ³² Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen, identify what is yours that is with me, and take it." For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. ³³ So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two servants, but he did not find them. He went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. Laban felt through the whole tent but did not find them. ³⁵ She said to her father, "Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me." So he searched but did not find the household idols. ³⁶ Then Jacob was angry and berated Laban. Jacob answered and said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? ³⁷ You have felt through all my goods — what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may judge between us two. ³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. ³⁹ What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you — I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ This was my lot: by day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands, and He rebuked you last night."

Notes

הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן תְּדַבֵּר עִם יַעֲקֹב מִטּוֹב עַד רָע ("Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad") — God's warning to Laban in the dream is a formula meaning "do not say anything at all" — the merism "from good to bad" covers the entire range. The phrase does not forbid Laban from speaking but from taking any coercive action, whether through threats or false promises. Laban himself acknowledges the warning (v. 29), admitting that his restraint is not voluntary but divinely imposed. Once again, God intervenes to protect Jacob, as He did at Bethel (Genesis 28:15) and during the breeding contest (Genesis 31:7).
דֶּרֶךְ נָשִׁים לִי ("the way of women is upon me") — Rachel's excuse for not standing before Laban is that she is menstruating. Whether true or a deception is unclear — the narrator does not say. Either way, the scene is deeply ironic: the pagan household gods are rendered impotent by being sat upon by a woman claiming ritual impurity. In later Israelite law, anything a menstruating woman sat upon was considered unclean (Leviticus 15:20). Rachel's act — intentionally or not — subjects the terafim to the ultimate indignity.
Jacob's speech in vv. 36-42 is one of the most impassioned defenses in the Hebrew Bible. It moves from righteous indignation ("What is my offense? What is my sin?") to a detailed account of his faithful service, to a climactic appeal to divine justice. The poetry of v. 40 is particularly vivid: הָיִיתִי בַיּוֹם אֲכָלַנִי חֹרֶב וְקֶרַח בַּלָּיְלָה וַתִּדַּד שְׁנָתִי מֵעֵינָי ("by day the heat consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes"). The balanced structure — heat/frost, day/night — captures the relentless hardship of a shepherd's life.
פַחַד יִצְחָק ("the Fear of Isaac") — This is one of the most distinctive divine titles in the Hebrew Bible, appearing only here and in v. 53. The word פַּחַד can mean "fear, dread, terror" but may also mean "kinsman" (from a related root attested in other Semitic languages). If "Fear," the title emphasizes God as the one Isaac feared/revered — the God who commands awe. If "Kinsman," it parallels the concept of God as protector of the family. Most English translations retain "Fear" (ESV, KJV, BSB). Jacob swears by this title rather than by God's name — a personal identification with his father's faith that shows Jacob's own relationship with God is still developing.

Interpretations

Jacob's invocation of "the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac" (v. 42) has generated interpretive discussion:

Two divine titles view: Most interpreters see "the God of Abraham" and "the Fear of Isaac" as two titles for the same God, emphasizing different aspects of the patriarchs' relationship with Him. Abraham knew God as the one who called and promised; Isaac knew Him as the one who inspires awe and reverence.
Progressive revelation view: Some scholars note that each patriarch knows God by a slightly different name or experience — El Shaddai, the Fear of Isaac, the Mighty One of Jacob (Genesis 49:24). These are not different gods but progressive revelations of the one God who meets each person where they are.
Kinsman-protector view: A minority of scholars translate פַּחַד as "kinsman" (based on comparative Semitic evidence), yielding "the Kinsman of Isaac" — God as the protecting relative of the family. This reading fits the context of family disputes and divine protection.

The Covenant at Galeed (vv. 43-55)

⁴³ But Laban answered Jacob, "These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me." ⁴⁵ So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar, ⁴⁶ and he said to his relatives, "Gather some stones." So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸ Then Laban declared, "This mound is a witness between you and me this day." Therefore the place was called Galeed. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me." ⁵¹ Laban also said to Jacob, "Here is the mound, and here is the pillar I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me. ⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Early the next morning, Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and daughters and blessed them. Then he left to return home.

⁴³ Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks — everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine, or for the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me." ⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." So they took stones and made a mound, and they ate there by the mound. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸ Laban said, "This mound is a witness between you and me today." Therefore he called its name Galeed, ⁴⁹ and Mizpah, for he said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we are out of each other's sight. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters — though no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me." ⁵¹ Then Laban said to Jacob, "See this mound and see this pillar, which I have set between you and me. ⁵² This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this mound to you, and you will not pass beyond this mound and this pillar to me, to do harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor — the God of their father — judge between us." And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Early in the morning Laban rose, kissed his grandchildren and his daughters, and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Notes

יְגַר שָׂהֲדוּתָא and גַּלְעֵד — Laban names the mound in Aramaic, while Jacob names it in Hebrew. Both mean the same thing: "mound of witness." This bilingual naming is one of the clearest indicators that Laban's family spoke Aramaic while Jacob's family was developing the Hebrew linguistic identity. The moment captures the cultural and linguistic boundary between the patriarchal family and its Mesopotamian relatives — a boundary now being formalized as a geographical one.
הַמִּצְפָּה ("Mizpah") — From צָפָה ("to watch, look out"). Laban's prayer — "May the LORD watch between you and me" — is often quoted as a benediction of blessing and fellowship. In context, however, it is not a warm sentiment but a warning: "May God watch us when we cannot watch each other, because I don't trust you." The Mizpah "blessing" is actually a covenant of mutual suspicion enforced by divine surveillance.
The covenant of Galeed establishes a boundary: neither party will cross the mound to harm the other (v. 52). This serves a dual function — it is both a peace treaty and a divorce. Jacob and Laban are formally separating their families, their flocks, and their futures. The meal they share (v. 54) and Laban's final kiss and blessing (v. 55) give the parting a note of bittersweet finality. For all his faults, Laban is losing his daughters and grandchildren. The narrator allows him a moment of genuine paternal affection at the end.
Laban invokes "the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor" (v. 53) — a curious formulation that suggests Nahor's family may have worshiped a different deity than Abraham's God, or at least had a distinct religious tradition. The addition "the God of their father" (Terah) may attempt to find common theological ground. Significantly, Jacob does not swear by "the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor" but by "the Fear of his father Isaac" — maintaining the distinctiveness of the covenant God. The two parties share a meal and a boundary, but not necessarily the same faith.