Genesis 31:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was

NIV: So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were.

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

CSB: Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field where his flocks were.

NLT: So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock.

KJV: And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,

NKJV: So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock,

Jacob is aware that Laban's sons are grumbling against him and that he has lost Laban's favor. In addition, the Lord has just told Jacob to leave and return to the Promised Land of Canaan. It's finally time for Jacob to go back home (Genesis 28:1–5).

Jacob does not return home to begin making arrangements to pack up his enormous family and possessions and move out. Instead, he calls his wives to come to him in the field, away from home. Perhaps he wants to assure that their conversation will be private. He will definitely seek their support in leaving their own father and brothers and homeland very quickly and with little warning.

In the following verses, Jacob will make his case for why they must go now.

Genesis 31:1–21 describes the events that propel Jacob to sneak away from Laban and head toward his homeland of Canaan. First, he learns that Laban and his sons are dangerously unhappy with him for taking so many of Laban's profits. Then God commands Jacob to go, promising to be with him. After securing the support of his wives, Jacob packs up his large family and property and sneaks away toward Gilead and then home.

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.

Accessed 5/7/2024 6:43:12 AM