Study Desk

But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”

So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

But Isaac answered Esau, “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”

He looked and saw a well in a field. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it because the sheep were watered from this well. But a large stone covered the opening of the well.

But they replied, “We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

Leah had tender eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive.

But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”

For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”

He said to them, “I can see from your father’s face that his attitude toward me is not the same as before, but the God of my father has been with me.

and that he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not let him harm me.

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly.

I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me: ‘Watch yourself! Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s family—but why have you stolen my gods?”

So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and the tents of the two concubines, but he found nothing. When he left Leah’s tent, he went into Rachel’s tent.

Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of the camel, and sat on them. Laban searched the whole tent but found nothing.