Genesis 31:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

NIV: So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me.

NASB: So God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

CSB: God has taken away your father's herds and given them to me.

NLT: In this way, God has taken your father’s animals and given them to me.

KJV: Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

NKJV: So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

Laban and his sons are resentful of Jacob for growing wealthy at their expense. Of course, the only reason their family had prospered in the first place was through Jacob's successful efforts (Genesis 30:27). What has actually happened is that God has intervened (Genesis 31:10–12) to turn Laban's continued attempts to cheat Jacob into great gain, instead (Genesis 30:37–43). Jacob is making the case to his wives that it was the Lord who caused this to happen, not him. The previous verse revealed that Laban changed the arrangement he had with Jacob several times in hopes of limiting how many of the flock Jacob could claim as his own.

However, when Laban would say "the spotted goats will be your wages," the Lord would cause all the new goats to be born spotted. When Laban changed it to striped goats, the Lord would supernaturally cause all the new goats to be striped. However Laban attempted to cheat Jacob, the Lord would cause Jacob to prosper, instead.

Now Jacob makes his point bluntly: God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me. Jacob's implication to his wives is twofold: One, your father should be mad at God, not me. Two, if you stick with me, you will have God on your side.

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.