Genesis 31 commentary

GE ESIS 31 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
Jacob Flees From Laban
1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying,
“Jacob has taken everything our father owned
and has gained all this wealth from what belonged
to our father.”
BAR ES, "Gen_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.

CLARKE, "And he heard the words of Laban’s sons - The multiplication of
Jacob’s cattle, and the decrease and degeneracy of those of Laban, were sufficient to
arouse the jealousy of Laban’s sons. This, with Laban’s unfair treatment, and the
direction he received from God, determined him to return to his own country.
Hath he gotten all this glory - All these riches, this wealth, or property. The
original word ‫כבד‬ signifies both to be rich and to be heavy; and perhaps for this simple
reason, that riches ever bring with them heavy weight and burden of cares and anxieties.
GILL, "And he heard the words of Laban's sons,.... That is, Jacob, as is expressed
in the Septuagint and Syriac versions, either with his own ears, overhearing their
discourse in their tents, or in the field, or from the report of others, his wives or some of
his friends, who thought proper to acquaint him with it; these were the sons of Laban,
who had the care of the cattle committed to them, separated by the direction of Jacob,
and with the consent of Laban, Gen_30:35,
saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; meaning not precisely
all that their father had, for that would have been a downright lie; for what was become
of them that were committed to their care? besides, we afterwards read of Laban's
shearing his sheep, Gen_31:19; but that all that Jacob had was their father's, and he had
taken it away from him, if not by force and stealth, yet by fraud; and so Jacob might fear
he would treat him in an ill manner, and therefore began to think it was high time for
him to be gone:
and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all the glory; his many
servants, numerous cattle, sheep, camels and asses, in which carnal men place all their
happiness; or those riches, as the Targum of Jonathan, by which he got the name and
glory of a rich man among men: and it was so far true what they say, that it was out of
their father's flock that Jacob got all his increase; but then it was according to a covenant
that Laban and he entered into, and therefore was obtained in a just and lawful manner.
HE RY, "Jacob is here taking up a resolution immediately to quit his uncle's service,
to take what he had and go back to Canaan. This resolution he took up upon a just
provocation, by divine direction, and with the advice and consent of his wives.
I. Upon a just provocation; for Laban and his sons had become very cross and ill-
natured towards him, so that he could not stay among them with safety or satisfaction.
1. Laban's sons showed their ill-will in what they said, Gen_31:1. It should seem they
said it in Jacob's hearing, with a design to vex him. The last chapter began with Rachel's
envying Leah; this begins with Laban's sons envying Jacob. Observe, (1.) How greatly
they magnify Jacob's prosperity: He has gotten all this glory. And what was this glory
that they made so much ado about? It was a parcel of brown sheep and speckled goats
(and perhaps the fine colours made them seem more glorious), and some camels and
asses, and such like trading; and this was all this glory. Note, Riches are glorious things
in the eyes of carnal people, while to all those that are conversant with heavenly things
they have no glory in comparison with the glory which excelleth. Men's over-valuing
worldly wealth is that fundamental error which is the root of covetousness, envy, and all
evil. (2.) How basely they reflect upon Jacob's fidelity, as if what he had he had not
gotten honestly: Jacob has taken away all that was our father's. Not all, surely. What

had become of those cattle which were committed to the custody of Laban's sons, and
sent three days' journey off? Gen_30:35, Gen_30:36. They mean all that was committed
to him; but, speaking invidiously, they express themselves thus generally. Note, [1.]
Those that are ever so careful to keep a good conscience cannot always be sure of a good
name. [2.] This is one of the vanities and vexations which attend outward prosperity,
that it makes a man to be envied of his neighbors (Ecc_4:4), and who can stand before
envy? Pro_27:4. Whom Heaven blesses hell curses, and all its children on earth.
JAMISO , "Gen_31:1-21. Envy of Laban and sons.
he heard the words of Laban’s sons — It must have been from rumor that Jacob
got knowledge of the invidious reflections cast upon him by his cousins; for they were
separated at the distance of three days’ journey.
K&D 1-5, "The Flight. - Through some angry remarks of Laban's sons with reference
to his growing wealth, and the evident change in the feelings of Laban himself towards
him (Gen_31:1, Gen_31:2), Jacob was inwardly prepared for the termination of his
present connection with Laban; and at the same time he received instructions from
Jehovah, to return to his home, together with a promise of divine protection. In
consequence of this, he sent for Rachel and Leah to come to him in the field, and
explained to them (Gen_31:4-13), how their father's disposition had changed towards
him, and how he had deceived him in spite of the service he had forced out of him, and
had altered his wages ten times; but that the God of his father had stood by him, and had
transferred to him their father's cattle, and now at length had directed him to return to
his home.
BENSON, ". He heard the words of Laban’s sons — For it seems they spoke them in
Jacob’s hearing. The last chapter began with Rachel’s envying Leah; this begins with
Laban’s sons envying Jacob. Hath taken away all that was our father’s — Not all, sure:
what was become of those cattle which were committed to the custody of Laban’s sons,
and sent three days’ journey off? He has gotten all this glory — And what was this glory?
It was a parcel of brown sheep, and speckled goats, and some camels and asses. But they
meant wealth, which the possessors usually glory in, and whereby they gain much
esteem from others.
CALVI ,"1.And he heard the words. Although Jacob ardently desired his own
country, and was continually thinking of his return to it; yet his admirable patience
appears in this, that he suspends his purpose till a new occasion presents itself. I do
not, however, deny, that some imperfection was mixed with this virtue, in that he
did not make more haste to return; but that the promise of God was always retained
its his mind will shortly appear. In this respect, however, he showed something of
human nature, that for the sake of obtaining wealth he postponed his return for six
years: for when Laban was perpetually changing his terms, he might justly have
bidden him farewell. But that he was detained by force and fear together, we infer
from his clandestine flight. ow, at least, he has a sufficient cause for asking his
dismissal; because his riches had become grievous and hateful to the sons of Laban:
nevertheless he does not dare openly to withdraw himself from their enmity, but is

compelled to flee secretly. Yet though his tardiness is in some degree excusable, it
was probably connected with indolence; even as the faithful, when they direct their
course towards God, often do not pursue it with becoming fervor. Wherefore,
whenever the indolence of the flesh retards us, let us learn to fan the ardor of our
spirits into a flame. There is no doubt that the Lord corrected the infirmity of his
servant, and gently spurred him on as he proceeded in his course. For if Laban had
treated him kindly and pleasantly, his mind would have been lulled to sleep; but
now he is driven away by adverse looks. So the Lord often better secures the
salvation of his people, by subjecting them to the hatred, the envy, and the
malevolence of the wicked, than by suffering them to be soothed with bland address.
It was far more useful to holy Jacob to have his father-in-law and his sons opposed,
than to have them courteously obsequious to his wishes; because their favor might
have deprived him of the blessing of God. We also have more than sufficient
experience of the power of earthly attractions, and of the ease with which, when
they abound, the oblivion of celestial blessings steals over us. Wherefore let us not
think it hard to be awakened by the Lord, when we fall into adversity, or receive but
little favor from the world; for hatred, threats, disgrace, and slanders, are often
more advantageous to us than the applause of all men on every side. Moreover, we
must notice the inhumanity of Laban’s sons, who complain throughout as if they
had been plundered by Jacob. But sordid and avaricious men labor under the
disease of thinking that they are robbed of everything with which they do not gorge
themselves. For since their avarice is insatiable, it follows of necessity that the
prosperity of others torments them, as if they themselves would be thereby reduced
to want. They do not consider whether Jacob acquired this great wealth justly or
unjustly; but they are enraged and envious, because they conceive that so much has
been abstracted from them. Laban had before confessed, that he had been enriched
by the coming of Jacob, and even that he had been blessed by the Lord for Jacob’s
sake; but now his sons murmur, and he himself is tortured with grief, to find that
Jacob also is made a partaker of the same blessing. Hence we perceive the blindness
of avarice which can never be satisfied. Whence also it is called by Paul the root of
all evil; because they who desire to swallow up everything must be perfidious, and
cruel, and ungrateful, and in every way unjust. Besides, it is to be observed that the
sons of Laban, in the impetuosity of their younger years, give vent to their vexation;
but the father, like a cunning old fox, is silent, yet betrays his wickedness by his
countenance.
PULPIT, "And he—Jacob had now served twenty years with Laban, and must
accordingly have been in his ninety-seventh or seventy-seventh year (vide Genesis
27:1)—heard the words of Laban's sons,—who were not at this time only small
youths about fourteen years of ago (Delitzsch), since they were capable of being
entrusted with their father's flocks (Genesis 30:35)—saying (probably in a
conversation which had been over. heard by Jacob), Jacob hath taken away (by
fraud is what they meant, an opinion in which Kalisch agrees; but it is not quite
certain that Jacob was guilty of dishonesty in acting as he did) all that was our
father's;—this was a manifest exaggeration; sed hoe morbo laborant sordidi et
nimium tenaces, ut sibi ereptum esse putent quicquid non ingurgitant (Calvin)—and

of that which was our father's hath he gotten (literally, made, in the sense of
acquiring, as in Genesis 12:5; 1 Samuel 14:48) all this glory. ‫ָבוֹד‬‫כּ‬ (from ‫ַד‬‫ב‬ָ‫כּ‬, to be
heavy, hence to be great in the sense of honored, and also to be abundant) signifies
either glory, splendor, renown, δόξα (LXX.), as in Job 14:21; or, what seems the
preferable meaning here, wealth, riches, facultates (Vulgate), as in Psalms 49:13;
ahum 2:10. The two ideas appear to be combined in 2 Corinthians 4:17; βάρος
δόξης (cf. Wordsworth, in loco).
BI 1-12, "And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers
Jacob’s departure for Canaan
I. IT WAS HASTENED BY PERSECUTION.
II. IT WAS PROMPTED BY A SENSE OF OFFENDED JUSTICE.
III. IT WAS AT THE COMMAND OF GOD.
IV. IT ILLUSTRATES THE IMPERFECTIONS AS WELL AS THE VIRTUES OF
JACOB’S CHARACTER. (T. H. Leale.)
The stirring-up of the nest
Jacob was becoming too contented in that strange land. Like Ulysses and his crews, he
was in danger of forgetting the land of his birth; the tents of his father; and the promises
of which he was the heir. He was fast losing the pilgrim-spirit, and settled into a citizen
of that far country. His mean and crafty arts to increase his wealth were honeycombing
his spirit, and eating out his nobler nature, prostituting it to the meanest ends. His
wives, infected with the idolatry of their father’s house, were in danger of corrupting the
minds of his children; and how then would fare the holy seed, destined to give the world
the messages of God? It was evident that his nest must be broken up in Haran; that he
must be driven back into the pilgrim-life—to become a stranger and a sojourner, as his
fathers were. And this was another step nearer the moment when he became an Israel, a
prince with God.
I. THE SUMMONS TO DEPART. Whether there was voice audible to the outward ear I
cannot tell; but there was certainly the uprising of a strong impulse within his heart.
Sometimes on a sultry summer day we suddenly feel the breeze fanning our faces, and
we say that the wind is rising; but we know not whence it comes, or whither it goes: so
does the Spirit of God frequently visit us with strong and holy impulses. There is a
Divine restlessness; a noble discontent; a hunger created in the heart, which will not be
satisfied with the husks on which the swine feed. We cannot always understand
ourselves; but it is the Lord saying to us, Arise and depart; for this is not your rest.
II. THE TENACITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES. When the pilgrim-spirit essays to obey the
voice of God, the house is always filled with neighbours to dissuade from the rash
resolve. “As Christian ran, some mocked; others threatened; and some cried after him to
return.” There was something of this in Jacob’s case. The bird-lime clung closely to him,
as he began to plume his wings for his homeward flight. He was evidently afraid that his
wives would hinder his return. It would have been natural if they had. Was it likely that
they would at once consent to his proposal to tear them from their kindred and land?
This fear may have greatly hindered Jacob. He at least thought it necessary to fortify

himself with a quiverful of arguments, in order to carry his point. In those arguments we
catch another glimpse of his cowardly and crafty nature. They are a strange medley of
lies and cant and truth. He might have saved himself from all this, if he had only trusted
God to roll away the stones from the path of obedience. For God had been at work before
him; and had prepared their hearts, so that they at once assented to his plan, saying:
“We have no further ties to home; now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do?” If
we would only go forward in simple obedience, we should find that there would be no
need for our diplomacy; He would go before us, making the crooked straight, and the
rough smooth. In the endeavours of Laban to retain Jacob, we have a vivid picture of the
eager energy with which the world would retain us, when we are about to turn away from
it for ever. It pursues us, with all its allies, for seven days and more (Gen_31:23). It asks
us why we are not content to abide with it (Gen_31:27). It professes its willingness to
make our religion palatable, by mingling with it its own tabret and dance (Gen_31:27). It
appeals to our feelings, and asks us not to be too cruel (Gen_31:28). It threatens us
(Gen_31:29). It jeers us with our sudden compunction, after so many years of
contentment with its company (Gen_31:30). It reproaches us with our inconsistency in
making so much of our God, and yet harbouring some cunning sin. “Wherefore hast
thou stolen my gods?” (Gen_31:30). All, friends, how sad it is, when we, who profess so
much, give occasion to our foes to sneer, because of the secret idols which they know we
carry with us!
III. THE DIVINE CARE. Well might Jacob have thrilled with joy, as he said to his wives,
“The God of my father has been with me.” When God is for us, and with us, who can be
against us? Blessed is he who is environed by God, and for whom God fights. He must be
more than a conqueror. So Jacob found it; and, at the end of his encounter with Laban,
he was able to repeat his assurance, that the God of his father had been with him (Gen_
31:42). (F. B.Meyer, B. A.)
Jacob and Laban
I. JACOB’S ARRIVAL AND RECEPTION AT HARAN.
1. God’s revelations of Himself, of His love and purposes, are incentives to action and
encouragements to duty.
2. Notice the similarity and difference between Eliezer’s arrival at Haran and
reception by Laban, and Jacob’s.
(1) Both met the object of their quest as well.
(2) Laban welcomed Eliezer because of his presents, and sent Rebekah away
with him. He welcomed Jacob as a kinsman, but, with keen foresight that he
should not be a loser, practically enslaved the heir of Isaac.
II. THE LESSONS OF JACOB’S SERVITUDE AND PROSPERITY AT HARAN
1. Even a wise custom is no justification of untruth or deceit (Gen_29:26).
2. There is a law of retribution and of compensation in life. Jacob’s love for Rachel
sweetened his servitude.
3. The danger of taking narrow views of life.
4. Faith is proved by patience rather than by retaliation (Gen_30:37-43).

5. The faithfulness of God is irrespective of man’s desert.
III. JACOB’S FLIGHT FROM HARAN, LABAN’S PURSUIT OF HIM, AND THE
COVENANT WITH WHICH THEY SEPARATED.
1. Mutual distrust produces estrangement.
2. Suspicion leads to angry accusation and recrimination.
3. The use and misuse of solemn words (Gen_31:47-48). (A. F.Joscelyne, B. A.)
Lessons
1. Prosperity usually draweth on envy to the best of men.
2. It is no rare thing that the saints of God should hear ill of evil men for their best
doings.
3. Slanderous tongues are usually to be found in the houses of the wicked.
4. Children are the natural heirs of parents’ corruptions; Laban’s sons have Laban’s
heart.
5. Covetousness is discontented at any good that passeth unto others.
6. Heat of wicked youth is apt to break forth into railing upon the most upright.
7. Covetous, envious spirits transfer the blessing of God on His to base reproaches
(Gen_31:1)
8. Old subtle sinners keep their tongues and vent their hatred in their looks.
9. As God changeth His providences from one to another, so the wicked change their
carriages.
10. It is Christian prudence to observe the discontented and angry faces of wicked
rulers.
11. Carnal respects from the wicked to the righteous are but momentary (Gen_31:2).
12. God sometimes useth the unjust carriages of wicked men to move His saints unto
respect of Him.
13. God calleth His saints at last in His set time out of bondage to the wicked.
14. God’s call alone warrants souls as to leaving of their stations.
15. God’s gracious presence is ever with them, who are obedient to His call (Gen_
31:3). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lessons
1. God’s call will put men upon honest endeavours to accomplish it.
2. It beseems godly husbands to communicate God’s will to their wives about
household affairs.
3. Prudence imparts counsel in fittest places.
4. Sedulity in men’s calling will not suffer them to lose time (Gen_31:4). (G. Hughes,

B. D.)
Lessons
1. Just occasions of moving place may be urged by husbands to wives for their
concurrence to and comfort in it.
2. Real and undeserved disrespects from men are justly to be complained of, though
fathers.
3. The gracious presence of God with His innocent ones is enough to counterpoise
the frowns of men.
4. It is rational to leave fathers with their unjust frowns, and follow God with His
smiles (Gen_31:5). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lessons
1. No fraud, lying, or deceit, come amiss to covetous worldly spirits for their own
ends.
2. Multiplied falsehoods and oppressions are usual with wicked men, to oppress the
innocent and to help themselves.
3. The greatest service is of no account with wicked worldly men.
4. Safe are those faithful ones who are taken into God’s charge.
5. Men may invent many ways to hurt the righteous, but God giveth them not up to
their hand (Gen_31:7).
6. God’s power and justice turneth the very purposes of the wicked to His saints’
good and their evil.
7. The subtlety of man can never prevent the power and wisdom of God (Gen_31:8).
(G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lessons
1. Providence orders the best seasons of comforting His servants against their fears.
2. Saints must take their comforts in the way wherein God will impart them. In
dreams, if God will.
3. The saints have real proof of God’s care of them, and goodness in suiting to them
their consolations (Gen_31:10).
4. God alone is the comforter of His people.
5. God calls by name to poor souls, in application of comfort, to prepare them
thereunto.
6. God’s servants answer at His call to receive His consolations (Gen_31:11).
7. God showeth His afflicted ones the way of His consolations for their support.

8. God’s observation of the oppressions of men cannot but stir Him up to work His
saints’ relief (Gen_31:12). (G. Hughes, B. D. )
GUZIK 1-2, "A. Jacob’s disputes with Laban and his sons.
1. (Genesis 31:1-2) Contention with Laban’s sons causes Laban to look differently at
Jacob.
Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that
was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.”
And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward
him as before.
a. Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s: It wasn’t that Jacob had taken
anything belonging to Laban. Rather, it was that his wealth was increasing in
proportion to Laban’s wealth. The problem wasn’t that Jacob stole, it was that
Laban’s sons were filled with envy.
i. Envy will distort the truth. Jacob had not taken anything of Laban’s, but envy will
lie.
b. The countenance of Laban . . . was not favorable toward him: The envy of Laban’s
sons poisoned Laban’s heart against Jacob. Before, he was entirely pleased with the
agreement.
i. Envy is bad not only on its own, but also for the company it keeps: for you are still
carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal
and behaving like mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:3) For where envy and self-seeking
exist, confusion and every evil thing are there (James 3:16).
ii. Instead, Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy (1 Corinthians 13:4).
iii. God wants to deliver us from envy: For we ourselves were also once foolish,
disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy,
hateful and hating one another (Titus 3:3).
iv. Is envy a small sin? It put Jesus on the cross: For he knew that they had handed
Him over because of envy (Matthew 27:18).

PULPIT, "Genesis 31:1-21
Jacob's flight from Laban.
I. THE HOMEWARD DESIRE. The longing to revisit Canaan, which six years
previously Laban's exactions and Joseph's birth (Genesis 30:25) had combined to
inspire within the heart of Jacob, returned upon him with an intensity that could no
longer be resisted. Accelerated in its vehemence partly by the interposed delay to
which it had been subjected, partly by his further acquaintance with the meanness
and craft of his uncle, and partly by his own rapidly- accumulating wealth, it was now
brought to a head by—
1. The calumnious remarks of Laban's sons. Inheriting the sordid and avaricious
nature of their parent, they were filled with envy at the remarkable prosperity which
had attended Jacob during the past six years. If good men are sometimes "envious at
the foolish," it is not surprising that wicked men should occasionally begrudge the
success of saints. Then from sinful desires they passed to wicked thoughts, accusing
Jacob of having by superior craft out-maneuvered their designing father, and
appropriated the flocks and herds that ought to have been his; which, however, was a
manifest exaggeration, since Jacob bad not taken away all their father's "glory," and
an unjustifiable calumny, since it was not Jacob's stratagem, but God's blessing, that
had multiplied the parti-colored flocks. And lastly, from wicked thoughts they
advanced to evil words, not only accusing Jacob in their minds, but openly vilifying
him with their tongues, adding to the sin of private slander that of public
defamation—conduct which the word of God severely reprehends (Proverbs 30:10; 1
Corinthians 6:10; Titus 3:2; James 4:11).
2. The manifest displeasure of Laban. During the fourteen years that Jacob kept the
flocks for Rachel and Leah, Laban regarded him with evident satisfaction; not
perhaps for his own sake, but for the unprecedented increase in his (Laban's)
pastoral wealth which had taken place under Jacob's fostering care. He was even
disposed to be somewhat pious so long as the flocks and herds continued multiplying
(Genesis 30:27). But now, when at the end of six years the relative positions of
himself and Jacob are reversed,—when Jacob is the rich man and he, comparatively
speaking at least, the poor one,—not only does his piety towards God disappear, but
his civility towards man does not remain. There are many Labans in the Church,
whose religion is but the shadow that waits upon the sun of their prosperity, and
many Labans in the world, whose amiability towards others is only the reflection of
their complacent feeling towards themselves.
3. The explicit command of God. Twenty years before, at Bethel, God had promised
to bring Jacob back again to Canaan, and now he issues formal instructions to his
servant to return. As really, though not as visibly and directly, God orders the
footsteps of all his children (Psalms 32:8; Psalms 37:23). If it is well not to run
before God's providence, as Jacob would have done had he returned to Canaan at the

end of the fourteenth year, it is also well not to lag behind when that providence has
been clearly made known. The assurance given to Jacob of guidance on his
homeward journey is extended to all who, in their daily goings forth, obey the Divine
instructions and follow the Divine leadings.
II. THE CONFERENCE IN THE FIELD.
1. The explanation of Jacob. Three con- trusts complete the sum of Jacob's
announcements to his wives. First, between the growing displeasure of Laban their
father and the manifest favor of the Elohim of his father (Genesis 31:5); second,
between the unwearied duplicity of their father, notwithstanding Jacob's arduous
service, and the ever-watchful protection of God against his injurious designs
(Genesis 31:6, Genesis 31:7); and third, between the diminishing herds of Laban and
the multiplying flocks of himself, Jacob, both of which were traceable to Divine
interposition (Genesis 31:8, Genesis 31:10, Genesis 31:12). After enlarging on these
contrasts, he informs them of the Divinely-given order to return (Genesis 31:13).
2. The answer of Rachel and Leah. Acknowledging the mean and avaricious spirit of
their father, who had not only sold them as slaves, but unjustly deprived them of the
portions to which, as the daughters of a chieftain, they were entitled (Genesis 31:14,
Genesis 31:15), they first confess that Jacob's wealth was nothing more than it would
have been had they been honorably dowered at the first; second, recognize the hand
of God in thus punishing their father and restoring to their husband what was
practically his; and, third, encourage him to yield complete and prompt obedience to
the Divine commandment (Genesis 31:16).
III. THE HASTY DEPARTURE. In this there were four things discernible.
1. Faith. In setting his face towards Canaan he was acting in obedience to Divine
instructions; and respect unto God's commandments is an essential characteristic of
living faith.
2. Love. In determining "to go to Isaac his father" he was actuated by a true spirit of
filial piety.
3. Wisdom. In stealing away unawares to Laban, while Laban was providentially
detained at the sheep-shearing, there was commendable prudence, which, if
possible, a good man should never lack.
4. Sin. Not indeed on Jacob's part, but on that of Rachel, who, taking advantage of
her father's absence, carried off his Penates or household images.

Learn—
1. That the love of country and friends is deeply implanted in the human breast.
2. That it is a great trial for worldly men to see good fortune go past their doors.
3. That the love of money, or the greed of gain, is the root of every kind of evil.
4. That the promises of God, however long delayed, are certain of fulfillment.
5. That loving husbands should consult their wives in all important steps in life.
6. That daughters should avoid speaking ill of parents, even should those parents
deserve it.
7. That wives should always study to encourage their husbands in doing God's will.
8. That those who flee from oppression should seek for safety in paths of God's
appointing.
9. That thriving and prosperous sons should not forget their parents in old age.
10. That daughters should not steal from their fathers, even to the extent of pilfering
worthless images.
2 And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward
him was not what it had been.

GILL, "And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban,.... Upon this he observed
Laban's looks, that he might gather from thence how he took his prosperity; what were
his thoughts about it, and what he might expect from him on that account:
and, behold, it was not towards him as before; he said nothing to Jacob, nor
charged him with robbing of him, or any false dealing with him, yet was uneasy at his
growing prosperity; he put on sour looks, and an envious countenance, sad, and surly,
and lowering; so that Jacob saw it foreboded no good to him, and therefore thought it
most advisable to depart as soon as he could; though perhaps he first sought the Lord
about it, who spoke to him as in Gen_31:3.
HE RY, "2. Laban himself said little, but his countenance was not towards Jacob as
it used to be; and Jacob could not but take notice of it, Gen_31:2, Gen_31:5. He was but
a churl at the best, but now he was more churlish than formerly. Note, Envy is a sin that
often appears in the countenance; hence we read of an evil eye, Pro_23:6. Sour looks
may do a great deal towards the ruin of peace and love in a family, and the making of
those uneasy of whose comfort we ought to be tender. Laban's angry countenance lost
him the greatest blessing his family ever had, and justly.
JAMISO , "And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban — literally, “was not
the same as yesterday, and the day before,” a common Oriental form of speech. The
insinuations against Jacob’s fidelity by Laban’s sons, and the sullen reserve, the churlish
conduct, of Laban himself, had made Jacob’s situation, in his uncle’s establishment,
most trying and painful. It is always one of the vexations attendant on worldly
prosperity, that it excites the envy of others (Ecc_4:4); and that, however careful a man
is to maintain a good conscience, he cannot always reckon on maintaining a good name,
in a censorious world. This, Jacob experienced; and it is probable that, like a good man,
he had asked direction and relief in prayer.
CALVI ,"22.And it was told Laban. The Lord gave to his servant the interval of a
three-days’ journey, so that having passed the Euphrates, he might enter the
boundaries of the promised land. And perhaps, in the mean time, he cooled the rage
of Laban, the assault of which, in its first heat, might have been intolerable severe.
(95) By afterward permitting Jacob to be intercepted in the midst of his journey,
God intended to tender his own interposition the more illustrious. It seemed
desirable that Jacob’s course should not be interrupted, and that he should not be
filled with alarm by the hostile approach of his father-in-law; but when Laban, like
a savage wild beast, breathing nothing but slaughter, is suddenly restrained by the
Lord, this was far more likely to confirm the faith of the holy man, and therefore far
more useful to him. For, as in the very act of giving assistance, the power of God
shone forth more clearly; so, relying on divine help, he passed more courageously
through remaining trials. Whence we learn, that those perturbations which, at the
time, are troublesome to us, yet tend to our salvation, if only we obediently submit to
the will of God; who purposely thus tries us, that he may indeed show more fully the
care which he takes of us. It was a sad and miserable sight, that Jacob, taking so
large a family with him, should flee as if his conscience had accused him of evil: but

it was far more bitter and more formidable, that Laban, intent on his destruction,
should threaten his life. Yet the method of his deliverance, which is described by
Moses, was more illustrious than any victory. For God, descending from heaven to
bring assistance to his servant, places himself between the parties, and in a moment
assuages the indomitable fury with which Laban was inflamed.
GUZIK, "2. (Genesis 31:3) God tells Jacob to go back home.
Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your
family, and I will be with you.”
a. Return to the land of your fathers: Even if Jacob never knew it, God prepared
him for this time. First, God gave him the desire to go back home (Genesis 30:25).
Then his present circumstances became unbearable. Finally, the LORD gave
personal direction to Jacob. God often leads us in the same pattern.
b. And I will be with you: This confirmed the direction of God in Jacob’s life.
PULPIT, "And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, Behold, it (i.e. either
Laban or his countenance) was not toward him (literally, with him) as before—
literally, as yesterday and the day before. The evident change in Laban's
disposition, which had previously been friendly, was obviously employed by God to
direct Jacob's mind to the propriety of returning to the land of his inheritance; and
the inclination thus started in his soul was further strengthened and confirmed by a
revelation which probably soon after, if not the night following, was sent for his
direction.
3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the
land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I
will be with you.”
CLARKE, "And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return - and I will be with thee -
I will take the same care of thee in thy return, as I took of thee on thy way to this place.

The Targum reads, My Word shall be for thy help, see Gen_15:1. A promise of this kind
was essentially necessary for the encouragement of Jacob, especially at this time; and no
doubt it was a powerful means of support to him through the whole journey; and it was
particularly so when he heard that his brother was coming to meet him, with four
hundred men in his retinue, Gen_32:6. At that time he went and pleaded the very words
of this promise with God, Gen_32:9.
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Jacob,.... In answer to a prayer of his; or seeing
what difficulties and discouragements Jacob laboured under, he appeared unto him for
his encouragement and instruction how to proceed:
return unto the land of thy fathers; the land of Canaan, given to Abraham and
Isaac by promise:
and to thy kindred: his father and mother, and brother, who all dwelt in the land of
Canaan at this time, or as many as were living: or "to thy nativity" (w), the place where
he was born, and to which he must have a natural desire to return: and
I will be with thee; to protect him from any injury that might be attempted to be done
unto him, either by Laban or Esau.
HE RY, "II. By divine direction and under the convoy of a promise: The Lord said
unto Jacob, Return, and I will be with thee, Gen_31:3. Though Jacob had met with very
hard usage here, yet he would not quit his place till God bade him. He came thither by
orders from Heaven, and there he would stay till he was ordered back. Note, It is our
duty to set ourselves, and it will be our comfort to see ourselves, under God's guidance,
both in our going out and in our coming in. The direction he had from Heaven is more
fully related in the account he gives of it to his wives (Gen_31:10-13), where he tells them
of a dream he had about the cattle, and the wonderful increase of those of his colour; and
how the angel of God, in that dream (for I suppose the dream spoken of Gen_31:10 and
that Gen_31:11 to be the same), took notice of the workings of his fancy in his sleep, and
instructed him, so that it was not by chance, or by his own policy, that he obtained that
great advantage; but, 1. by the providence of God, who had taken notice of the hardships
Laban had put upon him, and took this way to recompense him: “For I have seen all the
Laban doeth unto thee, and herein I have an eye to that.” Note, There is more of equity
in the distributions of the divine providence than we are aware of, and by them the
injured are recompensed really, though perhaps insensibly. Nor was it only by the justice
of providence that Jacob was thus enriched, but, 2. In performance of the promise
intimated in what is said Gen_31:13, I am the God of Beth-el, This was the place where
the covenant was renewed with him. Note, Worldly prosperity and success are doubly
sweet and comfortable when we see them flowing, not from common providence, but
from covenant-love, to perform the mercy promised - when we have them from God as
the God of Beth-el, from those promises of the life which now is that belong to godliness.
Jacob, even when he had this hopeful prospect of growing rich with Laban, must think
of returning. When the world begins to smile upon us we must remember it is not our
home. Now arise (Gen_31:13) and return, (1.) To thy devotions in Canaan, the
solemnities of which had perhaps been much intermitted while he was with Laban. The
times of this servitude God had winked at; but now, “Return to the place where thou
anointedst the pillar and vowedst the vow. Now that thou beginnest to grow rich it is

time to think of an altar and sacrifices again.” (2.) To thy comforts in Canaan: Return to
the land of thy kindred. He was here among his near kindred; but those only he must
look upon as his kindred in the best sense, the kindred he must live and die with, to
whom pertained the covenant. Note, The heirs of Canaan must never reckon themselves
at home till they come thither, however they may seem to take root here.
JAMISO , "the Lord said ... Return unto the land of thy fathers —
Notwithstanding the ill usage he had received, Jacob might not have deemed himself at
liberty to quit his present sphere, under the impulse of passionate fretfulness and
discontent. Having been conducted to Haran by God (Gen_28:15) and having got a
promise that the same heavenly Guardian would bring him again into the land of
Canaan, he might have thought he ought not to leave it, without being clearly persuaded
as to the path of duty. So ought we to set the Lord before us, and to acknowledge Him in
all our ways, our journeys, our settlements, and plans in life.
CALVI ,"3.And the Lord said unto Jacob. The timidity of the holy man is here
more plainly seen; for he, perceiving that evil was designed against him by his
father-in-law, still dared not to move a foot, unless encouraged by a new oracle. But
the Lord, who, by facts, had shown him already that no longer delay was to be
made, now also urges him by words. Let us learn from this example, that although
the Lord may incite us to duty by adversity, yet we shall thereby profit little, unless
the stimulus of the word be added. And we see what will happen to the reprobate;
for either they become stupefied in their wickedness, or they break out into fury.
Wherefore, that the instruction conveyed by outward things may profit us, we must
ask the Lord to shine upon us in his own word. The design, however, of Moses
chiefly refers to this point, that we may know that Jacob returned to his own
country, under the special guidance of God. ow the land of Canaan is called the
land of Abraham and Isaac, not because they had sprung from it; but because it had
been divinely promised to them as their inheritance. Wherefore, by this voice the
holy man was admonished, that although Isaac had been a stranger, yet, in the sight
of God, he was the heir and lord of that land, in which he possessed nothing but a
sepulcher.
BE SO , 'Genesis 31:3-4. The Lord said unto Jacob, Return — God, who orders
all things aright, having blessed Jacob with greater substance in the house of Laban
than he could have obtained in his father’s house, without great inconveniences,
perhaps irreconcilable, fatal hatred between him and his brother Esau, now orders
him to return. For, though Jacob had met with very hard usage, yet he would not
quit his place till God bid him. The direction he had from Heaven is more fully
related to his wives afterward. Unto the land of thy fathers — ot which was
properly theirs, but only that in which they had sojourned, and which was promised
to them in their seed. And, as Jacob was an inheritor of the promise, it was proper
that he should sojourn in the land, to keep alive the hopes of it in his posterity.
Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to the field — That he might discourse with them
more privately.

PULPIT, "And the Lord—Jehovah; since the entire journey to Padan-aram had
been conducted under his special care, vide Genesis 28:15 (Hengstenberg), and not
because the first three verses of this chapter have been inserted or modified by the
Jehovist (Tuch, Block, et al.)—said unto Jacob, probably in a dream (cf. Genesis
28:5, Genesis 28:10, Genesis 28:11). Return unto the land of thy fathers (i.e.
Canaan), and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. So Jehovah had promised at
Bethel twenty years before (Genesis 28:15).
4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come
out to the fields where his flocks were.
CLARKE, "Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah - He had probably been at
some considerable distance with the flocks; and for the greater secrecy, he rather sends
for them to the field, to consult them on this most momentous affair, than visit them in
their tents, where probably some of the family of Laban might overhear their
conversation, though Laban himself was at the time three days’ journey off. It is possible
that Jacob shore his sheep at the same time; and that he sent for his wives and
household furniture to erect tents on the spot, that they might partake of the festivities
usual on such occasions. Thus they might all depart without being suspected.
GILL, "And Jacob sent,.... Having this encouragement and direction from the Lord,
which seems to have been given him in the field, while he was attending his flocks, he
dispatched a messenger home to his wives, one of his servants or under shepherds. The
Targum of Jonathan says it was his son Naphtali, whom he sent, because he was a swift
messenger; the Targumist alludes to Gen_49:21; but the former is more probable:
and called Rachel and Leah; Rachel is mentioned first, as being his proper and
lawful wife, and is only called so, Gen_46:19; and it was for her sake Jacob had Leah.
Jacob, like a prudent man and an affectionate husband, thought proper to acquaint his
wives with his case, and advise with them, and neither leave them nor take them away
suddenly and by force; and therefore sent for them:
to the field unto his flock; where he was feeding his flock: this he might do for divers
reasons; he might not judge it so proper and convenient to go home to them, since it

might be difficult to get one of them to come to the apartment of the other; and it was
proper they should be together, and that might cause some suspicion in Laban's family,
who might listen to overhear what passed between them; and besides, he might be afraid
of Laban and his sons, that being in such an ill temper they would lay violent hands on
him, and do him a mischief; and therefore he sent for his wives to him in the field, where
they could more privately and freely converse together, without being overheard or
interrupted, and the flock in the mean while not neglected.
HE RY 4-13, "III. With the knowledge and consent of his wives. Observe,
1. He sent for Rachel and Leah to him to the field (Gen_31:4), that he might confer
with them more privately, or because one would not come to the other's apartment and
he would willingly talk with them together, or because he had work to do in the field
which he would not leave. Note, Husbands that love their wives will communicate their
purposes and intentions to them. Where there is a mutual affection there will be a
mutual confidence. And the prudence of the wife should engage the heart of her husband
to trust in her, Pro_31:11. Jacob told his wives, (1.) How faithfully he had served their
father, Gen_31:6. Note, If others do not do their duty to us, yet we shall have the comfort
of having done ours to them. (2.) How unfaithfully their father had dealt with him Gen_
31:7. He would never keep to any bargain that he made with him, but, after the first year,
still as he saw Providence favour Jacob with the colour agreed on, every half year of the
remaining five he changed it for some other colour, which made it ten times; as if he
thought not only to deceive Jacob, but the divine Providence, which manifestly smiled
upon him. Note, Those that deal honestly are not always honestly dealt with. (3.) How
God had owned him notwithstanding. He had protected him from Laban's ill-will: God
suffered him not to hurt me. Note, Those that keep close to God shall be kept safely by
him. He had also provided plentifully for him, notwithstanding Laban's design to ruin
him: God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me, Gen_31:9.
Thus the righteous God paid Jacob for his hard service out of Laban's estate; as
afterwards he paid the seed of Jacob for their serving the Egyptians, with their spoils.
Note, God is not unrighteous to forget his people's work and labour of love, though men
be so, Heb_6:10. Providence has ways of making those honest in the event that are not
so in their design. Note, further, The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just, Pro_
13:22. (4.) He told them of the command God had given him, in a dream, to return to his
own country (Gen_31:13), that they might not suspect his resolution to arise from
inconstancy, or any disaffection to their country or family, but might see it to proceed
from a principle of obedience to his God, and dependence on him.
JAMISO , "Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah — His wives and family
were in their usual residence. Whether he wished them to be present at the festivities of
sheep shearing, as some think; or, because he could not leave his flock, he called them
both to come to him, in order that, having resolved on immediate departure, he might
communicate his intentions. Rachel and Leah only were called, for the other two wives,
being secondary and still in a state of servitude, were not entitled to be taken into
account. Jacob acted the part of a dutiful husband in telling them his plans; for
husbands that love their wives should consult with them and trust in them (Pro_31:11).
CALVI ,"4.And Jacob sent. He sends for his wives, in order to explain to them his
intention, and to exhort them to accompany him in his flight; for it was his duty as a
good husband to take them away with him; and therefore it was necessary to inform

them of his design. And he was not so blind as to be unmindful of the many dangers
of his plan. It was difficult to convey women, who had never left their father’s
house, to a remote region, by an unknown journey. Moreover, there was ground to
fear lest they, in seeking protection for themselves, might betray their husband to
his enemies. The coverage of many would so far have failed them, in such a state of
perturbation, that they would have disregarded conjugal fidelity, to provide for
their own safety. Jacob, therefore, acted with great constancy in choosing rather to
expose himself to danger than to fail in the duty of a good husband and master of a
family. If his wives had refused to accompany him, the call of God would have
compelled him to depart. But God granted him what was far more desirable, that
his whole family, with one consent, were prepared to follow him: moreover, his
wives, with whose mutual strifes his house before had rung, now freely consent to go
with him into exile. So the Lord, when in good faith we discharge our duty, and
shun nothing which he commands, enables us to succeed, even in the most doubtful
affairs. Further, from the fact that Jacob calls his wives to him into the field, we
infer what an anxious life he led. Certainly it would have been a primary
convenience of his life, to dwell at home with his wives. He was already advanced in
age, and worn down with many toils; and therefore he had the greater need of their
service. Yet satisfied with a cottage in which he might watch over his flock, he lived
apart from them. If, then, there had been a particle of equity in Laban and his sons,
they would have found no cause for envy.
GUZIK, "3. (Genesis 31:4-13) Jacob explains the situation and his plan to his wives.
So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, and said to them,
“I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but
the God of my father has been with me. And you know that with all my might I have
served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten
times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be
your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked
shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. So God has taken away the
livestock of your father and given them to me. And it happened, at the time when
the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams
which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. Then the
Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ And
He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are
streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to
Me. ow arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ “
a. But the God of my father has been with me: Even though Laban tried to cheat
Jacob, God protected him all the time. We don’t have to fear what man can do to us
when God is on our side.
i. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalms 118:6)

b. You know that with all my might I have served your father: This shows Jacob
knew his wives were aware of his righteous conduct and Laban’s unfair treatment
of him.
c. I am the God of Bethel: God told Jacob to go back to Bethel, back to the place
where he first encountered the LORD in a personal way. This is a way of returning
to one’s first love and first works (Revelation 2:4-5).
i. I am the God of Bethel: it is good for us to remember times and places where the
LORD did great works for us, and met us in wonderful ways. As we remember
them, God reminds us He is still the same God Who met our needs then and wants
to meet our needs now.
d. The Angel of God spoke to me in a dream: Significantly, there is much more to
what the LORD said to Jacob than what was reported in Genesis 31:3. Genesis 31:3
is completely true, but there was more to it than this simple bare word from the
LORD.
4. (Genesis 31:14-16) Leah and Rachel support Jacob in his desire to move back to
Canaan.
Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still any portion or
inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not considered strangers by him?
For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. For all these riches
which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then,
whatever God has said to you, do it.”
a. Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Their
support was significant. This is a huge undertaking, moving such a massive family
so far. If not for the support of his wives, Jacob perhaps would not have done what
the LORD had told him to do.
b. Whatever God has said to you, do it: This may be the first time in quite a while
when the sisters Leah and Rachel agreed on anything. They can agree in uniting
against a common foe - their father Laban.
PULPIT, "And Jacob went—being unwilling to approach the house lest Laban
should discover his design (Rosenmüller)—and called Rachel and Leah—Rachel
may be placed first as the beloved wife of Jacob (Wordsworth, Lange), scarcely as
the principal wife in comparison with Leah, who was adventitia (Rosenmüller; cf.
Genesis 31:14)—to the field unto his flock. The expression "his flock" indicates that
Jacob had abandoned Laban's sheep and taken possession of those which belonged
to himself—probably in preparation for his departure.

5 He said to them, “I see that your father’s
attitude toward me is not what it was before, but
the God of my father has been with me.
GILL, "And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not
towards me as before,.... See Gill on Gen_31:2; no notice is taken of what their
brethren, the sons of Laban, had said:
but the God of my father hath been with me; not only by affording him his
gracious presence with him, which supported him under all his troubles; but by his good
providence prospering and succeeding him in his outward affairs, as well as he had lately
appeared to him, and encouraged him to return to his own country.
CALVI ,"5.I see your father’s countenance. This address consists of two parts. For
first, he speaks of his own integrity, and expostulates concerning the perfidy of his
father-in-law. He next testifies that God is the author of his prosperity, in order that
Rachel and Leah may the more willingly accompany him. And whereas he had
become very rich in a short space of time, he purges himself from all suspicion; and
even appeals to them as witnesses of his diligence. And though Moses does not
minutely relate everything; yet there is no doubt that the honesty of their husband
had been made clear to them by many proofs, and that, on the other hand, the
injuries, frauds, and rapacity of their father, were well known. When he complains
that his wages had been changed ten times, it is probable that the number ten is
simply put for many times. evertheless it may be, that within six years Laban
might thus frequently have broken his agreements; since there would be twice as
many seasons of breeding lambs, namely, at spring and autumn, as we have said.
But this narration of the dream, although it follows in a subsequent part of the
history, shows that holy Jacob had undertaken nothing but by the Divine command.
Moses had before related the transaction simply, saying nothing respecting the
counsel from which it had proceeded; but now, in the person of Jacob himself, he
removes all doubt respecting it; for he does not intimate that Jacob was lying, in
order, by this artifice, to deceive his wives; but he introduces the holy servant of
God, avowing truly, and without pretense, the case as it really was. For otherwise he
would have abused the name of God, not without abominable impiety, by
connecting this vision with that former one, in which we see that the gate of heaven
was opened unto him.

PULPIT, "And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward
me as before (vide supra); but the God of my father—literally, and the Elohim of
my father, the term Elohim employed by Jacob not being due to "the vagueness of
the religious knowledge" possessed by his wives (Hengstenberg), but to a desire on
his own part either to distinguish the God of his father from the gods of the nations,
or the idols which Laban worshipped ('Speaker's Commentary'), or perhaps, while
using an expression exactly equivalent to Jehovah, to bring out a contrast between
the Divine favor and that of Laban (Quarry)—hath been with me—literally, was
with me; not the night before simply, but during the past six years, as he explains in
Genesis 31:7.
6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with
all my strength,
GILL, "And ye know, that with all my power I have served your father. With
all faithfulness and uprightness; with all diligence and industry; with all wisdom and
prudence; with all my might and main, contriving the best methods, and sparing no
pains by day or night to take care of his flocks, and increase his substance: of this his
wives had been witnesses for twenty years past, and to them he appeals for the truth of
it; so that there was no just reason for their father's behaviour towards him.
JAMISO , "ye know that ... I have served your father — Having stated his
strong grounds of dissatisfaction with their father’s conduct and the ill requital he had
got for all his faithful services, he informed them of the blessing of God that had made
him rich notwithstanding Laban’s design to ruin him; and finally, of the command from
God he had received to return to his own country, that they might not accuse him of
caprice, or disaffection to their family; but be convinced, that in resolving to depart, he
acted from a principle of religious obedience.
K&D 6-8, "‫ה‬ָ‫נ‬ ֵ ፍ: the original form of the abbreviated ‫ן‬ ֵ ፍ, which is merely copied from
the Pentateuch in Exo_13:11, Exo_13:20; Exo_34:17.

PULPIT, "And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. The term
Jacob here uses for power is derived from an unused onomatopoetic root, signifying to
pant, and hence to exert one's strength. If, therefore, the assertion now made to his
wives was not an unblushing falsehood, Jacob could not have been the monster of craft
and deception depicted by some (Kalisch); while, if it was, it must have required
considerable effrontery to appeal to his wives' knowledge for a confirmation of what they
knew to be a deliberate untruth. The hypothesis that Jacob first acquired his great
wealth by "consummate cunning," and then piously "abused the authority of God in
covering or justifying them" (Kalisch), presupposes on the part of Jacob a degree of
wickedness inconceivable in one who had enjoyed the sublime theophany of Bethel.
7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my
wages ten times. However, God has not allowed
him to harm me.
CLARKE, "Changed my wages ten times - There is a strange diversity among
the ancient versions, and ancient and modern interpreters, on the meaning of these
words. The Hebrew is ‫מנים‬ ‫עשרת‬ asereth monim, which Aquila translates δεκα αριθµους ten
numbers; Symmachus, δεκακις αριτµሩ, ten times in number; the Septuagint δεκα αµνων,
ten lambs, with which Origen appears to agree. St. Augustine thinks that by ten lambs
five years’ wages is meant: that Laban had withheld from him all the party-coloured
lambs which had been brought forth for five years, and because the ewes brought forth
lambs twice in the year, bis gravidae pecudes, therefore the number ten is used, Jacob
having been defrauded of his part of the produce of ten births. It is supposed that the
Septuagint use lambs for years, as Virgil does aristas.
En unquam patrios longo post tempore fines,
Pauperis et tuguri congestum cespite culmen,
Post aliquot mea regna videns mirabor aristas?
Virg. Ec. i., ver. 68.
Thus inadequately translated by Dryden:
O must the wretched exiles ever mourn;
Nor, after length of rolling years, return?
Are we condemn’d by Fate’s unjust decree,
No more our harvests and our homes to see?
Or shall we mount again the rural throng,

And rule the country, kingdoms once our own?
Here aristas, which signifies ears of corn, is put for harvest, harvest for autumn, and
autumn for years. After all, it is most natural to suppose that Jacob uses the word ten
times for an indefinite number, which we might safely translate frequently; and that it
means an indefinite number in other parts of the sacred writings, is evident from Lev_
26:26 : Ten women shall bake your bread in one oven. Ecc_7:19 : Wisdom strengtheneth
the wise more than Ten mighty men the city. Num_14:22 : Because all these men have
tempted me now these Ten times. Job_19:3 : These Ten times have ye reproached me.
Zec_8:23 : In those days - Ten men shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. Rev_
2:10 : Ye shall have tribulation Ten days.
GILL, "And your father hath deceived me,.... In the bargain he had made with
him about his wages for keeping his cattle the six years past, after the fourteen years'
servitude were ended:
and changed my wages ten times; that is, either very often, many times, as the
number ten is sometimes. Used for many, see Lev_26:26; or precisely ten times, since he
repeats it afterwards in the same form to Laban's face, Gen_31:41; he had now served
him six years upon a new bargain; that he should have all that were of such and such
different colours, which were produced out of his flock of white sheep. Laban was at first
highly pleased with it, as judging it would be a very good one to him, as he might
reasonably think indeed: and it is highly probable he did not attempt any alteration the
first year, but observing Jacob's cattle of the speckled sort, &c. prodigiously increasing,
he did not choose to abide by the any longer. Now it must be observed, that the sheep in
Mesopotamia, as in Italy (x), brought forth the young twice a year; so that every yeaning
time, which was ten times in five years, Laban made an alteration in Jacob's wages; one
time he would let him have only the speckled, and not the ringstraked; another time the
ringstraked, and not the speckled; and so changed every time, according as he observed
the prevailing colour was, as may be concluded from Gen_31:8,
but God suffered him not to hurt me; to hinder his prosperity, or having justice
done him for his service; for whatsoever colour Laban chose for Jacob to have the next
season of yeaning, there was always the greatest number of them, or all of them were of
that colour, whether speckled or ringstraked, &c.
BENSON, "Genesis 31:7-8. Hath changed my wages ten times — That is, oft-times, as is
often the signification of the number ten. It appears that Laban, through envy and
covetousness, often broke his agreement made with Jacob, and altered it as he thought
fit, and that Jacob patiently yielded to all such changes Then all the cattle bare speckled
— This seems to put it out of doubt, that, as Jacob says in the following verse, it was
indeed God who ordered this matter; for it can scarcely be supposed that any natural
causes whatever, without his peculiar providence, could produce so many different
changes in a thing of this nature, without once failing.
PULPIT, "And your father hath deceived me,— ‫ל‬ ֵ‫ת‬ ֵ‫,ה‬ the hiph. of ‫ל‬ ַ‫ל‬ ָ , means to rob or

plunder (Furst), or to cause to fall, as in the cognate languages, whence to deceive (Gesenius)—
and changed my wages ten times ;—i.e. many times, as in Numbers 14:22; Job 19:3 (Rosenmüller,
Bush, Kalisch, Lange); as often as possible, the number ten expressing the idea of completeness
(Keil, Murphy)—but God (Elohim, Jacob purposing to say that he had been protected, not by
human stratagem, but by Divine interposition) suffered him not to hurt me—literally, to do evil
to me. The verb here construed with ‫ד‬ ָ ִ‫ע‬=‫ם‬ ִ‫ע‬ is sometimes followed by ‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬)1 Kings 17:20), and
sometimes by ְ)1 Chronicles 16:22).
8 If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your
wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled
young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be
your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked
young.
GILL, "If he said thus, the speckled shall be thy wages,.... Sometimes Laban
would say to Jacob, only the speckled lambs which the ewes shall bring forth shall be
thine hire, and not the spotted; or the ringstraked, or the brown, which according to the
bargain should have been his, the one and the other:
then all the cattle bare speckled; that season, God ordering it so in his providence,
that Laban might be disappointed, and Jacob might have his full hire; that is, the
greatest part of the cattle bore such, as Ben Melech observes:
and if he said thus, the ringstraked shall be thine hire; observing the cattle to
bring forth only speckled, or the greatest part such, then he changed his hire, and would
have it be not the speckled, nor the brown, only the ringstraked, there being none or few
of that colour the last yeaning time:
then bare all the cattle ringstraked; or the greatest part of them were such; so that
let Laban fix on what colour he would as Jacob's wages, there were sure to be the
greatest part of that colour; which shows the hand of God in it, as is next observed by
Jacob.

PULPIT, "If he (i.e. Laban) said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages;—by the original
contract Jacob had been promised all the parti-colored animals (Genesis 30:32);" here it
seems as if Laban, struck with the remarkable increase of these, took the earliest
opportunity of so modifying the original stipulation as to limit Jacob's portion to one
sort only, viz. the speckled. Yet this dishonorable breach of faith on the part of Laban
was of no avail; for, when the next lambing season came—then (it was discovered that)
all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus (changing the sort of animals assigned to
his son-in-law), The ringstraked shall be thy hire (the result was as before); then bare all
the cattle ringstraked.
9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock
and has given them to me.
GILL, "Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father,.... Not all of them,
see Gen_31:19; but a great part of them; his flock was much lessened by those means,
and more were taken away, and came to Jacob's share, than if Laban had abode by the
original agreement:
and gave them to me; who has the disposing of all things in the world, whose the
world, and all in it, are, and gives of it to the sons of men as he pleases. Jacob takes no
notice of any artifice of his, or of any means and methods he made use of, but wholly
ascribes all to the providence of God, and points to his wives the hand of God only; and
indeed it seems to be by his direction that he took the method he did, as appears from
Gen_31:11.
K&D 9-13, "‫ם‬ ֶ‫יכ‬ ִ‫ב‬ ֲ‫:א‬ for ‫ן‬ ֶ‫יכ‬ ִ‫ב‬ ֲ‫א‬ as in Gen_32:16, etc. - “Ten times:” i.e., as often as
possible, the ten as a round number expressing the idea of completeness. From the
statement that Laban had changed his wages ten times, it is evident that when Laban
observed, that among his sheep and goats, of one colour only, a large number of mottled
young were born, he made repeated attempts to limit the original stipulation by
changing the rule as to the colour of the young, and so diminishing Jacob's wages. But
when Jacob passes over his own stratagem in silence, and represents all that he aimed at
and secured by crafty means as the fruit of God's blessing, this differs no doubt from the
account in Gen 30. It is not a contradiction, however, pointing to a difference in the
sources of the two chapters, but merely a difference founded upon actual fact, viz., the
fact that Jacob did not tell the whole truth to his wives. Moreover self-help and divine
help do not exclude one another. Hence his account of the dream, in which he saw that
the rams that leaped upon the cattle were all of various colours, and heard the voice of
the angel of God calling his attention to what had been seen, in the words, “I have seen

all that Laban hath done to thee,” may contain actual truth; and the dream may be
regarded as a divine revelation, which was either sent to explain to him now, at the end
of the sixth year, “that it was not his stratagem, but the providence of God which had
prevented him from falling a victim to Laban's avarice, and had brought him such
wealth” (Delitzsch); or, if the dream occurred at an earlier period, was meant to teach
him, that “the help of God, without any such self-help, could procure him justice and
safety in spite of Laban's selfish covetousness” (Kurtz). It is very difficult to decide
between these two interpretations. As Jehovah's instructions to him to return were not
given till the end of his period of service, and Jacob connects them so closely with the
vision of the rams that they seem contemporaneous, Delitzsch's view appears to deserve
the preference. But the ‫ה‬ ֶ‫ּשׂ‬‫ע‬ in Gen_31:12, “all that Laban is doing to thee,” does not
exactly suit this meaning; and we should rather expect to find ‫ה‬ ָ‫שׂ‬ ָ‫ע‬ used at the end of the
time of service. The participle rather favours Kurtz's view, that Jacob had the vision of
the rams and the explanation from the angel at the beginning of the last six years of
service, but that in his communication to his wives, in which there was no necessity to
preserve a strict continuity or distinction of time, he connected it with the divine
instructions to return to his home, which he received at the end of his time of service.
But if we decide in favour of this view, we have no further guarantee for the objective
reality of the vision of the rams, since nothing is said about it in the historical account,
and it is nowhere stated that the wealth obtained by Jacob's craftiness was the result of
the divine blessing. The attempt so unmistakeably apparent in Jacob's whole
conversation with his wives, to place his dealing with Laban in the most favourable light
for himself, excites the suspicion, that the vision of which he spoke was nothing more
than a natural dream, the materials being supplied by the three thoughts that were most
frequently in his mind, by night as well as by day, viz., (1) his own schemes and their
success; (2) the promise received at Bethel; (3) the wish to justify his actions to his own
conscience; and that these were wrought up by an excited imagination into a visionary
dream, of the divine origin of which Jacob himself may not have had the slightest doubt.
- In Gen_31:13 ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ה‬ has the article in the construct state, contrary to the ordinary rule; cf.
Ges. §110, 2b; Ewald, §290.
PULPIT, "Thus—literally, and (as the result of this)—God hath taken away the cattle of
your father, and given them to me. In ascribing to God what he had himself effected by
(so-called) fraud, this language of Jacob appears to some inexcusable (Kalisch); in
passing over his own stratagem in silence Jacob has been charged with not telling the
whole truth to his wives (Keil). A more charitable consideration of Jacob's statement,
however, discerns-in it an evidence of his piety, which recognized and gratefully
acknowledged that not his own "consummate cunning, 'but Jehovah's watchful care had
enabled him to outwit the dishonest craft of Laban (Rosenmüller, Ainsworth, Bush,
Candlish, Murphy).

10 “In breeding season I once had a dream in
which I looked up and saw that the male goats
mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or
spotted.
GILL, "And it came to pass, at the time that the cattle conceived,.... Whether
in spring or in autumn cannot be said, for it seems this was twice a year; this probably
was at the beginning of the six years' servitude, or just before the agreement was made
between Laban and Jacob, and was an instruction to the latter how to make his bargain
with the former:
that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream; in a vision of the night, so things
were represented to his fancy and imagination:
and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked,
speckled, and grisled; from whence he might conclude, that the cattle they leaped
upon would bring forth the like, and so be a direction to him to make his agreement with
Laban to have such for his hire; not that the rams in the flock were really of those
colours, for they were all white, but so they were represented to Jacob in the vision, to
suggest to him, that such would be produced by them; and it is not improbable by the
artifice Jacob was directed to, and took, that the ewes, when they came to the watering
troughs to drink, upon seeing the party coloured rods in the water, these made such an
impression upon their imaginations, that they fancied the rams that leaped upon them
were of those colours, and so conceived and brought forth the like. Here is another
colour mentioned, not taken notice of before, at least by this name, "grisled"; it stands in
the place of "spotted", and seems to be the same with that, and signified such as had
spots on them like hailstones, and distinguishes them from the speckled: the speckled
were such as were white with black spots, these such as were black, and had white spots
like hail.
PULPIT, "And it came to pus at the time that the cattle conceived (this obviously goes
back to the commencement of the six years' service), that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw
in a dream, and, behold, the rams— ‫דים‬ ֻ ַ‫,ע‬ he-goats, from an unused root, to be ready,
perhaps because ready and prompt for fighting (Gesenius, sub voce)—which leaped (literally,
going up) upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. The grisled (beruddim, from
barad, to scatter hail) were spotted animals, as if they had been sprinkled with hail, not a fifth
sort in addition to the four already mentioned (Rosenmüller), but the same as the teluim of

Genesis 30:35 (Kalisch). Wordsworth observes that the English term grisled, from the French
word grele, hail, is a literal translation of the Hebrew. Gesenius connects with the Hebrew root
the words πάρδος, pardus, leopard (so called from its spots), and the French broder, to
embroider. The LXX. understand the ‫דים‬ ֻ ַ‫ע‬ to include both sheep and goats, and translate οᅷ
τράγοι καᆳ οᅷ κριοᆳ ᅊναβαίντες ᅚπᆳ τᆭ πρόβατα καᆳ τᆭς αᅶγας.
11 The angel of God said to me in the dream,
‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’
CLARKE, "The angel of God spake unto me in a dream - It is strange that we
had not heard of this dream before; and yet it seems to have taken place before the cattle
brought forth, immediately after the bargain between him and Laban. If we follow the
Samaritan the difficulty is at once removed, for it gives us the whole of this dream after
Gen_30:36 of the preceding chapter,
GILL, "And the Angel of God spake unto me in a dream,.... In the same dream
before related, and to direct him to observe what was presented to him, and to confirm
what he saw, and lead him to the design and use of it. This was not a created angel, but
the eternal one, the Son of God, and who is afterwards called God, and to whom Jacob
had made a vow, which he would never have done to an angel; but to God only, as Ben
Melech observes:
saying, Jacob; and I said, here am I; the Angel called him by his name, to which he
answered, and signified that he was ready to attend to whatsoever he should say to him.
BENSON, "Genesis 31:11-13. The angel of the Lord spake, I am the God of Beth-el —
This, no doubt, was the Word, or Son of God, who now condescended to be the angel or
messenger of the Father to Jacob, and yet styles himself the God of Beth-el. Thus was
Jacob reminded of Beth-el, and of the promises made to him there, by the same divine
person, who now again appeared to him in a dream, to his great comfort.
PULPIT, "And the angel of God—literally, the angel (or Maleach) of Elohim, i.e. of the

God who was with me and protecting me, though himself continuing unseen—spake
unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I (vide Genesis 20:1, Genesis
20:11).
12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male
goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled
or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been
doing to you.
CLARKE, "Grisled - ‫ברדים‬ beruddim; ‫ברד‬ barad signifies hail, and the meaning must
be, they had white spots on them similar to hail. Our word grisled comes from the old
French, gresl, hail, now written gràle; hence greslé, grisled, spotted with white upon a
dark ground.
GILL, "And he said, lift up now thine eyes, and see,.... This was all visionary,
Jacob was still in a dream; but it was so impressed upon his mind, that he was spoke to,
and bid to observe, and take notice, as follows: that
all the rams that leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled,
and grisled; thereby assuring him, that such would be those the ewes would bring
forth, which would be right in him to agree with Laban for as his hire; and it is probable
that there was some distance of time, at least a night, between the first motion of Laban's
to Jacob to settle his wages, Gen_30:28; and his repeating that, and being urgent to
have it done, Gen_31:31; and in this interval of time might be the night Jacob had this
dream and vision in, for his direction; or if it was after the bargain made, since it is said
to be at the time the cattle conceived, he had it to assure him of God's approbation of it,
and of his success in it:
for I have seen all that Laban doeth to thee; had took notice how he had made
him serve fourteen years for his wives, and had given him nothing for his service; and
how he now was taking advantage of Jacob's modesty to get him to fix his own wages,
which he supposed would be lower than he could have the face to, offer him.

BENSON, "Genesis 31:12. I have seen all that Laban doeth to thee — If we attend to this
vision we cannot but see reason to conclude that it was really communicated to Jacob at
this time to make use of the speckled rods; for here is a plain declaration that God would
effect the thing, and the reason why; because he had seen Laban’s ungenerous and unfair
dealing toward Jacob, and therefore was resolved to punish him for it, and at the same
time reward Jacob for his fidelity and contentedness under these injuries.
PULPIT, "And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the
cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. Since all the parti-colored animals had
already been removed (Genesis 30:35), this vision must have been intended to assure
him that the flocks would produce speckled and spotted progeny all the same as if the
ringstraked and grisled rams and he-goats had not been removed from their midst (cf.
Kurtz, § 78). To insist upon a contradiction between this account of the increase of
Jacob's flocks and that mentioned in Genesis 30:37 is to forget that both may be true.
Equally arbitrary does it seem to be to accuse Jacob of fraud in adopting the artifice of
the pilled rods (Kalisch). Without resorting to the supposition that he acted under God's
guidance (Wordsworth), we may believe that the dream suggested the expedient referred
to, in which some see Jacob's unbelief and impatience (Kurtz, Gosman in Lange), and
others a praiseworthy instance of self-help (Keil). For I have seen all that Laban doeth
unto thee. If the preceding clause appears to imply that the vision was sent to Jacob at
the beginning of the six years' service, the present clause scents to point to the end of
that period as the date of its occurrence; in which case it would require to be understood
as a Divine intimation to Jacob that his immense wealth was not to be ascribed to the
success of his own stratagem, but to the blessing of God (Delitzsch). The difficulty of
harmonizing the two views has led to the suggestion that Jacob here mixes the accounts
of two different visions accorded to him, at the commencement and at the close of the
period of servitude (Nachmanides, Rosenmüller, Kurtz, ('Speaker's Commentary,'
Murphy, Candlish).
13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a
pillar and where you made a vow to me. ow
leave this land at once and go back to your native
land.’”
GILL, "I am the God of Bethel,.... The same Angel that appeared to Jacob in a
dream, at the beginning of his six years' servitude, now appeared to him at the close of it,

declaring himself to be the God of Bethel; or that God that manifested himself to him at
Bethel, as Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase the words; for this is a distinct vision from
that in the preceding verses, concerning the rams of different colours, and are both put
together for the sake of brevity, and because they belong to the same affair:
where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me:
See Gill on Gen_28:19, Gen_28:20; hereby signifying the divine approbation of the
name Jacob gave to that place, and of what he did in it, and to put him in mind of his
promise there made:
now arise, get thee out from this land: of Mesopotamia, or Syria, and out of Haran,
a city there, where Jacob now was, and Laban lived:
and return unto the land of thy kindred: to the land of Canaan, the place of his
nativity, and where his relations dwelt: this shows, that this appearance of God to him,
as the God of Bethel, was at the close of his six years' service.
CALVI ,"13.I am the God of Beth-el. It is not wonderful that the angel should
assume the person of God: either because God the Father appeared to the holy
patriarchs in his own Word, as in a lively mirror, and that under the form of an
angel; or because angels, speaking by the command of God, rightly utter their
words, as from his mouth. For the prophets are accustomed to this form of
speaking; not that they may exalt themselves into the place of God; but only that the
majesty of God, whose ministers they are, may shine forth in his message. ow, it is
proper that we should more carefully consider the force of this form of expression.
He does not call himself the God of Bethel, because he is confined within the limits
of a given place, but for the purpose of renewing to his servant the remembrance of
his own promise; for holy Jacob had not yet attained to that degree of perfection
which rendered the more simple rudiments unnecessary for him. But little light of
true doctrine at that time prevailed; and even that was wrapped in many shadows.
early the whole world had apostatized to false gods; and that region, nay, even the
house of his father-in-law, was filled with unholy superstitions. Therefore, amid so
many hindrances, nothing was more difficult for him than to hold his faith in the
one true God firm and invincible. Wherefore, in the first place, pure religion is
commended to him, in order that, among the various errors of the world, he may
adhere to the obedience and worship of that God whom he had once known.
Secondly; the promise which he had before received is anew confirmed to him, in
order that he may always keep his mind fixed on the special covenant which God
had made with Abraham and his posterity. Thus he is directed to the land of
Canaan, which was his own inheritance; lest the temporal blessing of God, which he
was soon to enjoy, should detain his heart in Mesopotamia. For since this oracle was
only an appendix of the previous one, whatever benefits God afterwards bestowed
ought to be referred to that first design. We may also conjecture from this passage,
that Jacob had before preached to his household concerning the true God and the
true religion, as became a pious father of his family. For he would have acted
absurdly in uttering this discourse, unless his wives had been previously instructed
respecting that wonderful vision. To the same point belongs what he had said
before, that the God of his father had brought him assistance. For it is just as if he

would openly distinguish the God whom he worshipped from the god of Laban. And
now, because he holds familiar discourse with his wives, as on subjects which they
know, the conjecture is probable, that it was not Jacob’s fault if they were not
imbued with the knowledge of the one God, and with sincere piety. Further, by this
oracle the Lord declared that he is always mindful of the godly, even when they
seem to be cast down and deserted. For who would not have said that the outcast
Jacob was now deprived of all celestial help? And truly the Lord appears to him
late; but beyond all expectation shows, that he had never been forgetful of him. Let
the faithful, also, at this day, feel that he is the same towards them; and if, in any
way, the wicked tyrannically oppress them by unjust violence, let them bear it
patiently, until at length, in due time, he shall avenge them.
BI, "I am the God of Bethel
The God of Bethel
I. THE GOD OF BETHED IS A GOD OF PROVIDENCE, of a special gracious Providence
towards His people; and of this as exercised through a Mediator, by the ministry of
angels.
1. He is the God of Providence, extending to all the creatures He has made. God did
not make the world, and then leave it, confining Himself to heaven, as some would
have Him. Though His throne be above, His kingdom ruleth over all. He is no
unconcerned spectator of what is done; but like a skilful pilot sits at the helm, and
steers the world to what course it shall move. His providence is often mysterious, but
nevertheless real and universal.
2. God exercises a special gracious providence about His servants. God has a regard
to all the works of His hands; but it is spoken with an emphasis, “Behold the eye of
the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy.” Upon
every one of this number His eye is fixed with satisfaction and delight.
3. God employs His angels as the ministers of His providence in the world,
particularly as to His people. Not that God needs the agency of any of His creatures,
but for the honour of His majesty He is pleased to use them.
II. THE GOD OF BETHEL IS THE GOD OF PROMISE. And as it is here declared by
Himself, I am the God of Bethel, it plainly denotes—
1. That He takes delight in the promises He hath made to His people, and the
covenant engagements in which He stands to them.
2. These words, “I am the God of Bethel,” being spoken twenty years after the
promises and appearances there, were first made, God intimated by them, that He
was the same now as heretofore; as able to guide and guard, as formerly.
3. God proclaims this to tell His servant that all the mercies he enjoyed came from
His hand and love, as his God in covenant; and that under this notion, he was still to
look to Him for all he should further need.
III. At Bethel Jacob vowed a vow, which was in confirmation of his covenant with God:
and so God’s styling Himself the God of Bethel denotes in general that HE TAKES
SPECIAL NOTICE OF THE SOLEMN TRANSACTIONS OF HIS SERVANTS, what
promises and vows they make to Him and where. Particularly He is the God of Bethel,

i.e., of His house, of every place appointed for His worship, as observing who there vow
and dedicate themselves to Him, and who do not; in what manner any vow unto Him,
whether in truth and with the heart, or deceitfully and with guile. God cannot be
ignorant of what is done, and where; but He would be considered as particularly
observing what passes at Bethel, i.e., in His hoarse, and at His table there, now under
these New Testament ages.
1. God takes notice who tarries away from His house that ought to be there; and He
takes notice too, in what dress every individual comes thither.
2. God is the God of Bethel, as approving His people’s dedicating themselves by vow,
in confirmation of their covenant to Him. This is their reasonable service, and what
His promises and grace should readily lead them to.
3. God is the God of Bethel, as He is ready to reward His servants who make
conscience of keeping their engagements, and walk in a sense of the vows of God
upon their souls.
IV. And now as THE USE of all.
1. How desirable is a special relation to the God of Bethel, as the God of Providence,
and of this as in a peculiar manner exercised about His people.
2. As the God of Bethel is ever mindful of His promises, His people can never want
encouragement to come to His throne of grace.
3. Does God style Himself the God of Bethel, as denoting His strict observance of
what passes in His house? What seriousness becomes us in all religious duties and
services, or when, in a way of worship, we have to do with God?
4. Is the God of Bethel to be conceived of, as a witness to all our solemn transactions
and engagements? how great must be the sin and folly of being formal and insincere
in vowing to the Lord, or in pretending, either to enter into or confirm our covenant
with Him, when leaving our hearts behind?
5. Does God as the God of Bethel remember the vows there made, with what
confusion will they appear before Him who have omitted to perform their promises?
(D. Wilson.)
The God of Bethel
I am the God of Bethel! When at Bethel, the Lord said, “I am Jehovah, God of Abraham
thy father, and the God of Isaac.” He might have said the same now; but it was His
pleasure to direct the attention of His servant to the last, and to Him the most
interesting of His manifestations. By giving him hold of the last link in the chain, he
would be in possession of the whole. The God of Bethel was the God of his fathers,
Abraham and Isaac; the God who had entered into covenant with the former, had
renewed it with the latter, and again renewed it with him. What satisfaction must it
afford, to be directed by such a God! (A. Fuller.)
God’s reminders
“I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and vowedst a vow unto Me.”
It is not only necessary that we be reminded of God’s promises for our support in

troubles, but of our own solemn engagements, that the same affections which
distinguished the best seasons of our life may be renewed, and that in all our movements
we may keep in view the end for which we live. The object of the vow was, that Jehovah
should be his God: and whenever he should return, that that stone should be God’s
house. And now that the Lord commands him to return, He reminds him of his vow. He
must not go to Canaan with a view to promote his own temporal interest, but to
introduce the knowledge and worship of the true God. This was the great end which
Jehovah had in view in all that He did for Abraham’s posterity, and they must never lose
sight of it. (A. Fuller.)
Lessons
1. God sets Himself out to His saints distinctly and eminently from the misconceits
of Him by nations.
2. God is the God of Bethel to His Jacobs, of sweet providences and precious
promises to His saints.
3. God’s providence and promise may justly cause souls to dedicate and vow
themselves to Him.
4. Souls devoting of themselves to God, engageth them to follow Him at this call.
5. God is forced to put His saints in mind of their engagement sometimes before they
think of 2:6. God’s call alone is the just ground of the egress and regress of His
servants, for blessing, and with 2:7. God will surely call in His set time to His saints
for their returning to the place of rest.
8. Preparation and execution to go where God calleth, is due from saints to the call
of God (Gen_2:13). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The God of Bethel
I. Does not that mean, first, that our God is the God of our early mercies 2 Bethel was to
Jacob the place of early mercy. Let us look back upon our early mercies. Did they not
come to us, as they did to him, unsought and unexpected, and when, perhaps, we were
unprepared for them?
II. Does it not mean, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ? What is “Beth-el” but “the house
of God.” And the house of God, the true Bethel, is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ,
for “In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
III. Still further let us remember that this God of Bethel is the God of angels. We do not
often say much about those mysterious beings, for it is but little that we know of them.
This, however, we know—that angels are set by God to be the watchers over His people.
We shall not come to harm if we put our trust in God. “I will lay me down to sleep, for
Thou makest me to dwell in safety.” These angels were also messengers. “Are they not all
ministering spirits? “ and are they not sent with messages from God? Moreover, they are
our protectors. God employs them to bear us up in their hands, lest at any time we dash
our foot against a stone. We do not see them, but unseen agencies are probably the
strongest agencies in the world.
IV. Notice, once more, that the God of Bethel is the God of our vows. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

PULPIT, "I am the God of Bethel,—the angel here identifies himself with Jehovah (vide
Genesis 28:13). Contrary to usual custom, ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫,ה‬ though in the construct, state, has the art.—
where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out
from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred —i.e. to the land of Canaan, which was
Jacob's true inheritance.
14 Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still
have any share in the inheritance of our father’s
estate?
BAR ES, "Gen_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.
GILL, "And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him,.... One after
another, and their answers agreeing, are put together; it may be Rachel answered in the
name of Leah, and for herself, since she is mentioned first, and the verb is singular. The
Targum of Jonathan is, Rachel answered with the consent of Leah:
is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? it was
what might have been justly expected, as they were his children, that they should have
been used as such, and have had children's portions given them; but by the whole of
Laban's attitude towards them, both at their marriage, and ever since, it was plain he
never intended to give them anything; but kept all he had to himself, or designed it for
his sons, and therefore it was in vain for them to hope for anything; signifying to Jacob

hereby, that they were willing to leave their father's house, and go with him when he
pleased, since they could expect nothing by their stay here.
HE RY 14-16. "2. His wives cheerfully consented to his resolution. They also
brought forward their grievances, complaining that their father had been not only
unkind, but unjust, to them (Gen_31:14-16), that he looked upon them as strangers, and
was without natural affection towards them; and, whereas Jacob had looked upon the
wealth which God had transferred from Laban to him as his wages, they looked upon it
as their portions; so that, both ways, God forced Laban to pay his debts, both to his
servant and to his daughters. So then it seemed, (1.) They were weary of their own
people and their father's house, and could easily forget them. Note, This good use we
should make of the unkind usage we meet with from the world, we should sit the more
loose to it, and be willing to leave it and desirous to be at home. (2.) They were willing to
go along with their husband, and put themselves with him under the divine direction:
Whatsoever God hath said unto thee do. Note, Those wives that ar their husband's meet
helps will never be their hindrances in doing that to which God calls them.
JAMISO , "Rachel and Leah answered — Having heard his views, they
expressed their entire approval; and from grievances of their own, they were fully as
desirous of a separation as himself. They display not only conjugal affection, but piety in
following the course described - “whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do” [Gen_31:16].
“Those that are really their husbands’ helpmeets will never be their hindrances in doing
that to which God calls them” [Henry].
K&D 14-16, "The two wives naturally agreed with their husband, and declared that
they had no longer any part or inheritance in their father's house. For he had not treated
them as daughters, but sold them like strangers, i.e., servants. “And he has even
constantly eaten our money,” i.e., consumed the property brought to him by our service.
The inf. abs. ‫ּול‬‫כ‬ፎ after the finite verb expresses the continuation of the act, and is
intensified by ‫גם‬ “yes, even.” ‫י‬ ִⅴ in Gen_31:16 signifies “so that,” as in Deu_14:24; Job_
10:6.
CALVI ,"14.And Rachel and Leah answered. Here we perceive that to be fulfilled
which Paul teaches, that all things work together for good to the children of God.
(Romans 8:28.) For since the wives of Jacob had been unjustly treated by their
father, they so far act in opposition to the natural tenderness of their sex, that at the
desire of their husband, they become willing to follow him into a distant and
unknown region. Therefore, if Jacob is compelled to take many and very bitter
draughts of grief, he is now cheered by the most satisfying compensation, that his
wives are not separated from him by their attachment to their father’s house: but
rather, being overcome by the irksome nature of their sufferings, they earnestly
undertake to join him in his flight. “There is nothing,” they say, “which should
cause us to remain with our father; for daughters adhere to their fathers, because
they are esteemed members of his family; but what a cruel rejection is this, not only
that he has passed us off without dowry, (92) but that he has set us to sale, and has

Genesis 31 commentary

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Genesis 31 commentary