Genesis 31:19-32
Summary for Gen 31:19-20: 31:19-20 a Rachel stole her father’s household idols: Rachel probably wanted to regain some of the assets Laban had squandered; possibly she also worshiped idols (cp. 35:2-4 b). To have the idols may have signified claiming the family inheritance, as customs in subsequent periods indicate. Laban apparently felt vulnerable without them. Whatever her reasons, Rachel’s theft almost brought disaster on the fleeing family when Laban caught up with them.• A wordplay shows that Rachel and Jacob were very much alike—Rachel stole (Hebrew wattignob) Laban’s household gods, and Jacob outwitted (Hebrew wayyignob, “stole the heart of, deceived”) Laban.
31:21 c The journey took the family from Haran southwest to the land of Gilead, just east of the Jordan River in the north of today’s kingdom of Jordan.
Summary for Gen 31:22-23: 31:22-23 d The theft of the idols (31:19 e) was probably the main reason that Laban and his men chased Jacob. It was one thing for Jacob to take his family and flocks—Laban probably still believed they were all his—but another matter entirely to take his household gods. Laban may have feared that Jacob would return someday to claim all of Laban’s estate. When he failed to find the gods, he asked for a treaty to keep Jacob away (31:43-53 f).
• It took Laban seven days to catch up with Jacob.
31:24 g leave Jacob alone! (literally Do not speak to Jacob either good or evil): God commanded Laban not to take justice into his own hands. When we try to enact our own sense of good and evil apart from God’s command, we always do evil (see study note on 2:9).
Summary for Gen 31:25-30: 31:25-30 h The dispute between the two men used the language of legal controversies and lawsuits (see also 31:36 i). In his first argument, Laban presented himself as a wounded party that Jacob had robbed.
31:32 j Jacob, so convinced that he didn’t have the gods, used an oath that unwittingly put Rachel under a death sentence.
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