Genesis 31:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: You know that I have served your father with all my strength,

NIV: You know that I've worked for your father with all my strength,

NASB: You know that I have served your father with all my strength.

CSB: You know that with all my strength I have served your father

NLT: You know how hard I have worked for your father,

KJV: And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

NKJV: And you know that with all my might I have served your father.

Rachel and Leah don't know it yet, but Jacob is making a case for why they need to immediately leave their father, Laban, to go to Jacob's people in Canaan (Genesis 28:1–5; 31:3). Jacob has said that Laban no longer favors him, but that God is with him.

Now he begins to describe why Laban's actions toward him have been unfair. First, Jacob insists on something they both know. He has worked for Laban diligently, with all of his strength. In fact, Jacob has served Laban faithfully for twenty years now. Jacob will go on to reference how Laban has cheated and mistreated him routinely over these years (Genesis 29:20–28; 30:31–43).

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 5/5/2024 3:17:04 AM