Genesis 31:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.

NIV: "I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.

NASB: For these twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks.

CSB: I’ve been with you these twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams from your flock.

NLT: For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I never used a single ram of yours for food.

KJV: This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

NKJV: These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

Jacob is finally expressing all of his frustration to Laban, laying out exactly how his father-in-law has mistreated him for the last twenty years. This mistreatment was so obvious, and so abusive, that even Laban's daughters—locked in a bitter rivalry with each other (Genesis 30:8)—agreed that their father cared nothing for them, in comparison to his greed (Genesis 31:14–16). After mocking Laban for not finding the house idols he claimed Jacob had stolen (Genesis 31:30), Jacob now turns to older complaints from their history together.

First, during Jacob's two decades of faithful and diligent service as a manager of Laban's flocks of sheep and goats, there were no miscarriages as new animals were born. Laban benefitted from Jacob's skill and the Lord's blessing on Jacob, as Laban himself admitted (Genesis 30:27).

In addition, Jacob refused to eat the full-grown rams. In other words, he didn't dip into his father-in-law's profits by skimming animals for food. Jacob had a long track record of honest and exemplary service, which made Laban's seemingly false accusation about the stolen idols even harder to take.

Genesis 31:22–42 recounts Laban's pursuit of Jacob and his large company, after learning his son-in-law has left for Canaan without telling him. It takes a week, but Laban catches up. Warned by God in a dream not to say anything to Jacob ''either good or bad,'' Laban instead expresses his hurt to Jacob and accuses him of stealing Laban's house idols. When a search for the idols—cleverly hidden by Rachel without Jacob's knowledge—turns up nothing, Jacob finally expresses all of his complaints about Laban's unfair treatment of him in spite of twenty years of faithful service.

Genesis 31 describes Jacob's difficult separation from Laban, his father-in-law, as well as his boss for twenty years. During that time, Jacob was routinely mistreated and cheated by his master. Commanded by God to return to the land of Canaan, Jacob packs up his wives, children, and all of his possessions and leaves without telling Laban. Laban soon catches up with the large company. Laban and Jacob confront each other bitterly. Eventually, though, they make a covenant of separation and peace.

Genesis 30 described the dramatic expansion of Jacob's family and property. Now, after twenty years of working for Laban, the time comes for Jacob to return to his own people. He attempts to sneak away without telling Laban, but Laban soon catches up with him. After bitter confrontations, father and son-in-law make a covenant of separation and peace. Jacob is finally free to begin the next chapter of his life in the Promised Land. First, though, he will need to deal with his brother Esau, whose rage was the main reason Jacob fled in the first place. That encounter is described over the following two chapters.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.