This chapter relates how that Jacob observing that Laban and his sons envied his prosperity, and having a call from God to return to his own country, acquaints his wives with it; and reports to them Laban’s ill usage of him, and the wonderful appearance of God to him, and for him, and his orders to…

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…

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,…

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 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.

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…

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…

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.

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…

Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father Not all of them, see ; 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…

And it came to pass, at the time that the cattle conceived, &c.] 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…

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.

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…

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…

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.

Are we not accounted of him strangers? &c.] He had not treated them as children, nor even as freeborn persons; but as if they were foreigners that he had taken in war, or bought of others; or at least, that they were born bondmaids in his house, and so had a right to sell them as he had: for he…

For all the riches which God hath taken from our father And given to Jacob for his labour: that is ours, and our children’s; it belonged to us by the law of nature, before it came into thine hands; and our right unto it is still more manifest, and is confirmed by the service thou hast done for it,…

Then Jacob rose up And went with them to Laban’s house, where his children were, as is plain from Rachel’s theft, : and set his sons and his wives upon camels; which were his own, see ; creatures fit for travelling; on these he set his wives, Rachel and Leah, and his concubine wives, Bilhah and…

And he carried away all his cattle His sheep, camels, and asses: the Jews say [[23]] he had 5,500 head of cattle: and all the goods which he had gotten: all the rest besides his cattle; his menservants, and maidservants, and all his gold and his silver, and whatsoever else he had: the cattle of his…

And Laban went to shear his sheep Which were under the care of his sons, and were three days’ distance from Jacob’s flocks; this gave Jacob a fair opportunity to depart with his family and substance, since Laban and his sons were at such a distance, and their servants with them also: and Rachel had…

And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian Went away without his knowledge, or giving him any notice of it; he was too cunning for Laban the Syrian; notwithstanding his astrology and superstitious arts, which the Syrians are addicted to, he had no foresight of this matter: or he “stole away…

So he fled with all that he had His wives, his children, cattle and substance; and he rose up, and passed over the river; the river Euphrates, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it, which lay between Mesopotamia and Canaan; and set his face toward the mount Gilead: he travelled and bent his course…

And it was told Laban on the third day, that Jacob was fled. ] Three days after Jacob was gone he had the report of it, by some means or another; by some of his neighbours, or servants left at home, and sooner he could not well have it, since the flock he went to shear was three days’ distance from…

And he took his brethren with him Some of his relations, the descendants of his father’s brethren, the sons of Nahor, of whom there were seven, besides Bethuel; and who all perhaps lived in Haran the city of Nahor, see ; or some of his neighbours and acquaintance whom he might call to: and pursued…

And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night It is probable that Laban came to Mount Gilead late in the evening, and so had no sight of, or conversation with Jacob until the morning; and that night God came to him, and in a dream advised him as follows: or it may be rendered, “and God had…

Then Laban overtook Jacob He was come to the mount the overnight, but now in the morning he came nearer to him, so as to hold a conversation with him: now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead; both on the same mount; one perhaps at the…

And Laban said unto Jacob Upon their meeting together; perhaps in some middle place between their two tents: what hast thou done? what evil hast thou committed? what folly art thou guilty of? and what could induce thee to take such a step as this? suggesting that he could see no necessity for it;…

Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me? &c.] Intimating as if he should not have been against his departure, if he had but acquainted him with it, and the reasons of it; so that he had no need to have used such privacy, and go away like a thief by stealth, as if he had done…

And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? &c.] Did not give him an opportunity of taking his farewell, which used to be done with a kiss, as it is with us at this day: by his sons he means his grandsons, and so the Targum of Jonathan, my daughters’ sons; and by his daughters Rachel…

It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt Jacob and his family, wives, children, and servants, who were not able to stand against Laban and the men he brought with him; and so the Jerusalem Targum paraphrases it, “I have an army and a multitude;” a large force, which Jacob could not withstand:…

And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone Or, “in going wouldest go” [[8]], was determined upon it, and in haste to do it: because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, or “desiring didst desire it” [[9]]; had a vehement desire for it, which Laban signifies he should not have opposed, if…

And Jacob answered and said to Laban, because I was afraid, &c.] That he would have done all he could to have hindered him from going away himself; and not only so, but would have prevented his taking his daughters with him; and especially would have detained his cattle; but of this last Jacob…

With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live This is the answer to his last question, as what goes before is to his first: Jacob knew nothing of their being taken away by any, and thought himself safe in saying what he did, being confident that no one with him could ever take them; but…

And Laban went into Jacob’s tent Into that first where he most suspected they were, being taken not out of value for them, but contempt of them; and into Leah’s tent; and not Leah’s tent next, whom next to Jacob he might suspect of taking them, out of veneration to them, because her tent lay next:…

Now Rachel had taken the images Hearing her father inquire about them, and her husband having given leave to search for them, and to put to death whoever should be found to have them, took them from the place where she had before laid them: and put them into the camel’s furniture; perhaps the…

And she said to her father As he approached nearer to her, having searched her tent all over: let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee: she addresses him with great honour and respect; calling him her lord, being her father, though an unkind one, and entreats him not to be…

And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban Having answered Laban’s questions to the silencing of him, and nothing of his upon search, being found with him, Jacob took heart, and was of good courage and in high spirits, and in his turn was heated also; and perhaps might carry his passion a little too…

Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff Or all my vessels [[12]], or utensils; whether household goods, or such as were used with regard to the cattle, or armour for defence: what hast thou found of all thy household stuff? is there any vessel or utensil, or anything whatever thou canst claim as…

This twenty years have I been with thee So that he now must have been ninety seven years of age: thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young: or very few of them: it was a rare case for any to be abortive, if ever: this, though owing to the blessing of God, was for Jacob’s sake, and, under…

That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee To show what had befallen it; that so it might appear he had one the less to account for to him: I bore the loss of it; took it upon himself, as if it had been somewhat blameworthy in him, as the word used signifies; and so made satisfaction for…

Thus I was In such a situation, as well as in the following uncomfortable plight and condition: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night: the violent heat in the daytime scorched him, and the severe frosts in the night pinched him: that is, in the different seasons of the year,…

Thus have I been twenty years in thy house Attended with these difficulties, inconveniencies, and hardships; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters; Rachel and Leah; first seven years for Rachel; and having Leah imposed upon him instead of her, was obliged to serve seven years more,…

Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me One and the same God is meant, who was the God of his father Isaac, and before him the God of Abraham, and now the fear of Isaac, whom he feared and served with reverence and godly fear, being at this present…

And Laban answered and said unto Jacob Not denying the truth of what he had said, nor acknowledging any fault he had been guilty of, or asking forgiveness for it, though he seemed to be convicted in his own conscience of it: these daughters are my daughters: though thy wives, they are my own flesh…

Now therefore, come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou Let us be good friends, and enter into an alliance for mutual safety, and make an agreement for each other’s good.

And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. ] To show his readiness to agree to the motion, he immediately took a large stone that lay upon the mount, and set it up on one end, to be a standing monument or memorial of the agreement now about to be made between them.

And Jacob said unto his brethren, gather stones Not to his sons, as the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi; these would not be called brethren, and were not fit, being too young to be employed in gathering large stones, as these must be, to erect a monument with; rather his servants, whom he employed in…

And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha Which in the Syriac and Chaldee languages signifies “an heap of witness”; it being, as after observed, a witness of the covenant between Laban and Jacob: but Jacob called it Galeed; which in the Hebrew tongue signifies the same, “an heap of witness”; or “an heap,…

And Laban said, this heap is a witness between me and thee this day. ] A witness of the covenant now about to be made between them that day, and a witness against them should they break it: therefore was the name of it called Galeed; by Jacob, as before observed; (See Gill on Gen. 31:47).

And Mizpah Which being an Hebrew word, it looks as if the heap had also this name given it by Jacob, which signifies a “watch” or “watchtower”; though, by what follows, it seems to be given by Laban, who could speak Hebrew as well, as Syriac, or Chaldee: for he said, the Lord watch between me and…

If thou shall afflict my daughters In body or mind, by giving them hard blows, or ill words, and by withholding from them the necessaries of life, food and raiment, and the like: or if thou shall take other wives besides my daughters; which also would be an affliction and vexation to them, see .

And Laban said to Jacob Continued speaking to him, as follows: behold this heap, and behold this pillar which I have cast betwixt me and thee; the heap of stones seems to be gathered and laid together by the brethren, and the pillar to be erected by Jacob; and yet Laban says of them both, that he…

This heap be witness Agreeably to its name, which both he and Jacob gave unto it: and this pillar be witness: which was set up for the same purpose: that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm; not that these were to be…

The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us And the father of these was Terah, so that the god of them was not the true God, and is not meant, at least not as truly worshipped; but the god or gods of Terah, Nahor and Abraham worshipped while idolaters, and…

Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount On Mount Gilead, not in a religious way, in which he could not join with Laban, or admit him to it; but in a civil way he “slew a slaughter” [[17]], or rather made one; that is, as Jarchi explains it, he slew cattle for a feast, as it was usual to make…

And early in the morning Laban rose up In order to prepare for, and set forward on his journey home: and kissed his sons and his daughters; Jacob and his sons, who were his grandsons, and his daughters Rachel and Leah, with Dinah his granddaughter, as was the custom of relations and friends in…