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The NET Bible®

Genesis 31:36

Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. "What did I do wrong?" he demanded of Laban. "What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Chiding;   Dishonesty;   Laban;   Strife;   Teraphim;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Anger;   Servants;   Strife;  

Dictionaries:

- Holman Bible Dictionary - Mizpah, Mizpeh;   Offense;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ancestor-Worship;   Gilead;   Israel;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Cattle;   Laban ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Laban;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Canaan (2);   Leah;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Esau and Jacob;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Chide;   Jacob (1);   Wrath (Anger);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Yiẓḥaḳ ben Maryon;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Ya`akov was angry, and argued with Lavan. Ya`akov answered Lavan, "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me?
King James Version
And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
Lexham English Bible
Then Jacob became angry and quarreled with Laban. Jacob answered and said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin that you pursued after me?
New Century Version
Then Jacob became very angry and said, "What wrong have I done? What law have I broken to cause you to chase me?
Amplified Bible
Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. And he said to Laban, "What is my fault? What is my sin that you pursued me like this?
New American Standard Bible
Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?
Geneva Bible (1587)
The Iaakob was wroth, and chode with Laban: Iaakob also answered and sayd to Laban, What haue I trespassed? what haue I offended, that thou hast pursued after me?
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, "What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?
Contemporary English Version
Jacob became very angry and said to Laban: What have I done wrong? Have I committed some crime? Is that why you hunted me down?
Complete Jewish Bible
Then Ya‘akov became angry and started arguing with Lavan. "What have I done wrong?" he demanded. "What is my offense, that you have come after me in hot pursuit?
Darby Translation
And Jacob was angry, and he disputed with Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my fault, what my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
Easy-to-Read Version
Then Jacob became very angry and said, "What wrong have I done? What law have I broken? What right do you have to chase me and stop me?
English Standard Version
Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?
George Lamsa Translation
And Jacob was displeased, and argued with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? and what is my fault, that you have hotly pursued after me?
Good News Translation
Then Jacob lost his temper. "What crime have I committed?" he asked angrily. "What law have I broken that gives you the right to hunt me down?
Christian Standard Bible®
Then Jacob became incensed and brought charges against Laban. “What is my crime?” he said to Laban. “What is my sin, that you have pursued me?
Literal Translation
And Jacob was angry, and he argued with Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my transgression; what my sin that you have hotly pursued me?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Iacob was wroth, and chode with Laban, answered & sayde vnto him: What haue I trespased or offended, yt thou art so whote vpon me?
American Standard Version
And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me?
Bible in Basic English
Then Jacob was angry with Laban, and said, What crime or sin have I done that you have come after me with such passion?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iacob was wroth, and chode with Laban. Iacob also aunswered and sayd to him: what haue I trespassed? or what haue I offended thee, that thou doest sore pursue after me?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Jacob was wroth, and strove with Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban: 'What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me?
King James Version (1611)
And Iacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Iacob answered and said to Laban, what is my trespasse? what is my sinne, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Jacob was angry, and strove with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my injustice, and what my sin, that thou hast pursued after me,
English Revised Version
And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast hotly pursued after me?
Berean Standard Bible
Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. "What is my crime?" he said. "For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Jacob bolnyde, and seide with strijf, For what cause of me, and for what synne of me, hast thou come so fersly aftir me,
Young's Literal Translation
And it is displeasing to Jacob, and he striveth with Laban; and Jacob answereth and saith to Laban, `What [is] my transgression? what my sin, that thou hast burned after me?
Update Bible Version
And Jacob was angry, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me?
Webster's Bible Translation
And Jacob was wroth, and chid with Laban: and Jacob answered, and said to Laban, What [is] my trespass? what [is] my sin, that thou hast so eagerly pursued after me?
World English Bible
Jacob was angry, and argued with Laban. Jacob answered Laban, "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me?
New King James Version
Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: "What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me?
New Living Translation
Then Jacob became very angry, and he challenged Laban. "What's my crime?" he demanded. "What have I done wrong to make you chase after me as though I were a criminal?
New Life Bible
Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. Jacob said to Laban, "What have I done wrong? What is my sin that made you run after me?
New Revised Standard
Then Jacob became angry, and upbraided Laban. Jacob said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it was vexing to Jacob and he contended with Laban, - and Jacob responded and said to Laban, What was my trespass, what my sin, that thou shouldst have come burning after me?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jacob being angry, said in a chiding manner: For what fault of mine, and for what offence on my part hast thou so hotly pursued me,
Revised Standard Version
Then Jacob became angry, and upbraided Laban; Jacob said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me?
THE MESSAGE
Now it was Jacob's turn to get angry. He lit into Laban: "So what's my crime, what wrong have I done you that you badger me like this? You've ransacked the place. Have you turned up a single thing that's yours? Let's see it—display the evidence. Our two families can be the jury and decide between us.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, "What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?

Contextual Overview

36 Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. "What did I do wrong?" he demanded of Laban. "What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? Set it here before my relatives and yours, and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! 38 "I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. You always made me pay for every missing animal, whether it was taken by day or at night. 40 I was consumed by scorching heat during the day and by piercing cold at night, and I went without sleep. 41 This was my lot for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave for you—fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 42 If the God of my father—the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears—had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, and he rebuked you last night."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

was wroth: Genesis 30:2, Genesis 34:7, Genesis 49:7, Numbers 16:15, 2 Kings 5:11, 2 Kings 13:19, Proverbs 28:1, Mark 3:5, Ephesians 4:26, James 1:19, James 1:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 31:26 - What Genesis 32:28 - with men Jeremiah 37:18 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 30:2
Jacob became furious with Rachel and exclaimed, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"
Genesis 31:19
While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father.
Genesis 31:20
Jacob also deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving.
Genesis 34:7
Now Jacob's sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. They were offended and very angry because Shechem had disgraced Israel by sexually assaulting Jacob's daughter, a crime that should not be committed.
Genesis 49:7
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel!
Numbers 16:15
Moses was very angry, and he said to the Lord , "Have no respect for their offering! I have not taken so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!"
2 Kings 5:11
Naaman went away angry. He said, "Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease.
2 Kings 13:19
The prophet got angry at him and said, "If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! But now, you will defeat Syria only three times."
Proverbs 28:1
The wicked person flees when there is no one pursuing, but the righteous person is as confident as a lion.
Mark 3:5
After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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 far, and is not to be excused from some degree of sin and weakness; however, his reasoning is strong and nervous, and his expostulations very just and pathetic; whatever may be said for the temper he was in, and the wrath and resentment he showed:

and Jacob answered and said to Laban; that whereas he had suggested that he had done a very bad thing, he asks him,

what [is] my trespass? what [is] my sin? what heinous offence have I committed? what law of God or man have I broke?

that thou hast so hotly pursued after me? with so much haste and swiftness, and with such a number of men, as if he came to take a thief, a robber, or a murderer.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob’s Flight from Haran

19. תרפים terāpı̂ym, Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means “to live well,” intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), “to nourish,” transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls them his gods. They seem to have been busts (προτομαί protomai, Aquila) of the human form, sometimes as large as life 1 Samuel 19:13. Those of full size were probably of wood; the smaller ones may have been of metal. In two passages Judges 17:1-13; Judges 18:0; Hosea 3:4 they are six times associated with the ephod. This intimates either that they were worn on the ephod, like the Urim and Thummim, or more probably that the ephod was worn on them; in accordance with which they were employed for the purposes of divination Genesis 30:27; Zechariah 10:2. The employment of them in the worship of God, which Laban seems to have inherited from his fathers Joshua 24:2, is denounced as idolatry 1 Samuel 15:23; and hence, they are classed with the idols and other abominations put away by Josiah 2 Kings 23:24.

47. שׂהדוּתא יגר yegar-śâhădûtā', Jegar-sahadutha, “cairn of witness” in the Aramaic dialect of the old Hebrew or Shemite speech. גלעד gal‛ēd, Gal‘ed; and גלעד gı̂l‛ād, Gil‘ad, “cairn of witness” in Hebrew especially so called (see Genesis 11:1-9).

49. מצפה mı̂tspâh, Mizpah, “watch-tower.”

Jacob had now been twenty years in Laban’s service, and was therefore, ninety-six years of age. It has now become manifest that he cannot obtain leave of Laban to return home. He must, therefore, either come off by the high hand, or by secret flight. Jacob has many reasons for preferring the latter course.

Genesis 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.

Genesis 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.

Genesis 31:20-24

Laban hears of his flight, pursues, and overtakes him. “Stole the heart,” κλέπτειν νοῦν kleptein noun. The heart is the seat of the understanding in Scripture. To steal the heart of anyone is to act without his knowledge. The river. The Frat, near which, we may conclude, Jacob was tending his flocks. Haran was about seventy miles from the river, and therefore, Laban’s flocks were on the other side of Haran. “Toward mount Gilead;” about three hundred miles from the Frat. “On the third day.” This shows that Laban’s flocks kept by his sons were still three days’ journey apart from Jacob’s. His brethren - his kindred and dependents. “Seven days’ journey.” On the third day after the arrival of the messenger, Laban might return to the spot whence Jacob had taken his flight. In this case, Jacob would have at least five days of a start; which, added to the seven days of pursuit, would give him twelve days to travel three hundred English miles. To those accustomed to the pastoral life this was a possible achievement. God appears to Laban on behalf of Jacob, and warns him not to harm him. “Not to speak from good to bad” is merely to abstain from language expressing and prefacing violence.

Genesis 31:25-32

Laban’s expostulation and Jacob’s reply. What hast thou done? Laban intimates that he would have dismissed him honorably and affectionately, and therefore, that his flight was needless and unkind; and finally charges him with stealing his gods. Jacob gives him to understand that he did not expect fair treatment at his hands, and gives him leave to search for his gods, not knowing that Rachel had taken them.

Genesis 31:33-42

After the search for the teraphim has proved vain, Jacob warmly upbraids Laban. “The camel’s saddle.” This was a pack-saddle, in the recesses of which articles might be deposited, and on which was a seat or couch for the rider. Rachel pleads the custom of women as an excuse for keeping her seat; which is admitted by Laban, not perhaps from the fear of ceremonial defilement Leviticus 15:19-27, as this law was not yet in force, but from respect to his daughter and the conviction that in such circumstances she would not sit upon the teraphim. “My brethren and thy brethren” - their common kindred. Jacob recapitulates his services in feeling terms. “By day the drought;” caused by the heat, which is extreme during the day, while the cold is not less severe in Palestine during the night. “The fear of Isaac” - the God whom Isaac fears. Judged - requited by restraining thee from wrong-doing.

Genesis 31:43-47

Laban, now pacified, if not conscience-stricken, proposes a covenant between them. Jacob erects a memorial pillar, around which the clan gather a cairn of stones, which serves by its name for a witness of their compact. “Jegar-sahadutha.” Here is the first decided specimen of Aramaic, as contradistinguished from Hebrew. Its incidental appearance indicates a fully formed dialect known to Jacob, and distinct from his own. Gilead or Galeed remains to this day in Jebel Jel’ad, though the original spot was further north.

Genesis 31:48-54

The covenant is then completed. And Mizpah. This refers to some prominent cliff from which, as a watch-tower, an extensive view might be obtained. It was in the northern half of Gilead Deuteronomy 3:12-13, and is noticed in Judges 11:29. It is not to be confounded with other places called by the same name. The reference of this name to the present occurrence is explained in these two verses. The names Gilead and Mizpah may have arisen from this transaction, or received a new turn in consequence of its occurrence. The terms of the covenant are now formally stated. I have cast. The erection of the pillar was a joint act of the two parties; in which Laban proposes, Jacob performs, and all take part. “The God of Abraham, Nahor, and Terah.” This is an interesting acknowledgment that their common ancestor Terah and his descendants down to Laban still acknowledged the true God even in their idolatry. Jacob swears by the fear of isaac, perhaps to rid himself of any error that had crept into Laban’s notions of God and his worship. The common sacrifice and the common meal ratify the covenant of reconciliation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 31:36. And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban — The expostulation of Jacob with Laban, and their consequent agreement, are told in this place with great spirit and dignity. Jacob was conscious that though he had made use of cunning to increase his flocks, yet Laban had been on the whole a great gainer by his services. He had served him at least twenty years, fourteen for Rachel and Leah, and six for the cattle; and some suppose he had served him twenty years besides the above, which is not unlikely: see the remarks at the conclusion of this chapter. Genesis 31:36- : Forty or even twenty years of a man's life, devoted to incessant labour and constantly exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather, (see Genesis 31:40,) deserve more than an ordinary reward. Laban's constitutional sin was covetousness, and it was an easily besetting sin; for it appears to have governed all his conduct, and to have rendered him regardless of the interests of his children, so long as he could secure his own. That he had frequently falsified his agreement with Jacob, though the particulars are not specified, we have already had reason to conjecture from Genesis 31:7, and with this Jacob charges his father-in-law, in the most positive manner, Genesis 31:41. Perhaps some previous unfair transactions of this kind were the cause why Jacob was led to adopt the expedient of outwitting Laban in the case of the spotted, spangled, ring-streaked, and grisled cattle. This if it did take place, though it cannot justify the measure, is some palliation of it; and almost the whole of Jacob's conduct, as far as relates to Laban, can be better excused than his injuring Laban's breed, by leaving him none but the weak, unhealthy, and degenerated cattle.


 
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