Study Desk

Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the drinking troughs, so that they would mate by the rods;

but when the flock was sickly, he did not put them in; so the sickly were Laban's, and the stronger were Jacob's.

So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,

"So God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.

So he fled with all that he had; and he got up and crossed the Euphrates River, and set out for the hill country of Gilead.

"Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with tambourine and with lyre;

So Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent.

Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddlebag, and she sat on them. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them.

And she said to her father, "May my lord not be angry that I cannot stand in your presence, because the way of women is upon me." So he searched but did not find the household idols.

"Though you have searched through all my property, what have you found of all your household property? Set it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they may decide between the two of us.

"If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night."

"So now come, let's make a covenant, you and I, and it shall be a witness between you and me."

Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather stones." So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

"The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.

And when he saw them, Jacob said, "This is God's camp." So he named that place Mahanaim.

and I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent messengers to tell my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight."'"

So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a gift for his brother Esau:

So the gift passed on ahead of him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.

So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."