Genesis 31:21

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 31:17-24

Here is, I. Jacob's flight from Laban. We may suppose he had been long considering of it, and casting about in his mind respecting it; but when now, at last, God had given him positive orders to go, he made no delay, nor was he disobedient to the heavenly vision. The first opportunity that offered itself he laid hold of, when Laban was shearing his sheep (Gen. 31:19), that part of his flock which was in the hands of his sons three days? journey off. Now, 1. It is certain that it was lawful for... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 31:21

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 that way: this, was a mountain on the border of the land of Canaan, adjoining to Lebanon, near which was a very fruitful country, which had its name from it: it is so called here... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 31:21

Passed over the river - The Euphrates, as the Targum properly notices. But how could he pass such a river with his flocks, etc.? This difficulty does not seem to have struck critics in general. The rabbins felt it, and assert that God wrought a miracle for Jacob on this occasion, and that he passed over dry shod. As we know not in what other way he could pass, it is prudent to refer it to the power of God, which accompanied him through the whole of his journey. There might, however, have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 31:1-21

Jacob's flight from Laban. I. THE HOMEWARD DESIRE . The longing to revisit Canaan, which six years previously Laban's exactions and Joseph's birth ( Genesis 30:25 ) had combined to inspire within the heart of Jacob, returned upon him with an intensity that could no longer be resisted. Accelerated in its vehemence partly by the interposed delay to which it had been subjected, partly by his further acquaintance with the meanness and craft of his uncle, and partly by his own rapidly-... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 31:21

So (literally, and) he fled with (literally, and) all that he had ; and he rose up, and passed over the river ,— i . e . the Euphrates, which was called by preeminence the river (cf. 1 Kings 4:21 ; Ezra 4:10 , Ezra 4:16 )—and set his face toward the mount Gilead. גִּלְעַד , according to Gesenius, "the hard, stony region," from an unused quadrilateral root, signifying to be hard, though, according to the historian (by a slight change in the punctuation), "The hill, or heap... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 31:1-55

- Jacob’s Flight from Haran19. 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... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 31:1-55

Jacob flees from Laban (31:1-55)As Laban and his sons became increasingly hostile to him, Jacob prepared to leave for Canaan without delay (31:1-13). Leah and Rachel agreed, for they too were angry with Laban. He had used them to make himself rich, but apparently had no intention of giving them a share in the inheritance (14-16). Therefore, when they fled, Rachel stole her father’s household idols, for according to Mesopotamian custom possession of these gave her some right to the inheritance... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 31:21

the river = the Euphrates. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Genus). Gilead = perpetual fountain. Compare Numbers 32:1 , Numbers 32:39 . Deuteronomy 3:12-16 ; Deuteronomy 34:1 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 31:17-21

"Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels; and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's. And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 31:1-21

Jacob’s departure for Canaan 31:1-21God had been faithful in blessing Jacob, as He had promised Abraham and Isaac. Moses recorded the testimony to that fact in this section. Jacob acknowledged that God was responsible for his prosperity. God’s goodness and His command to return to the Promised Land (Genesis 31:3), as well as Laban’s growing hostility (Genesis 31:5), motivated Jacob to leave Paddan-aram.It is unclear from what Jacob reported to his wives when the Angel of God appeared to him in... read more

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