The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV, page 28
30:21 Dinah. Although not the only daughter to be born to Jacob (cf. 37:35; 46:7), her name is mentioned in anticipation of the tragedy at Shechem (chap. 34).
30:22 Then God remembered Rachel. All the desperate waiting (see 30:1) and pleading climaxed at the end of 7 years with God’s response. Then Rachel properly ascribed her delivery from barrenness to the Lord, whom she also trusted for another son (vv. 23, 24).
30:24 Joseph. Ca. 1914 B.C. His name means “he will add” or “may he add,” indicating both her thanks and her faith that God would give her another son.
30:25 Send me away…to my country. Fourteen years of absence had not dulled Jacob’s acute awareness of belonging to the land God had given to him. Since Mesopotamia was not his home and his contract with Laban was up, he desired to return to “my own place” and “my country.” Jacob’s wish to return to Canaan was not hidden from Laban (v. 30).
30:27 by experience. Lit. “by divination.” See note on Deut. 18:9–12.
30:28 Name me your wages. On the two occasions that Laban asked this of Jacob it was to urge him to stay. The first time (29:15) Laban had sought to reward a relative, but this time it was because he had been rewarded since “the LORD has blessed me for your sake” (v. 27). Jacob readily confirmed Laban’s evaluation in that “little” had indeed become “a great amount” (v. 30) since he had come on the scene. Laban’s superficial generosity should not be mistaken for genuine goodness (see 31:7). He was attempting to deceive Jacob into staying because it was potentially profitable for him.
30:31–36 What shall I give you? Laban wanted Jacob to stay and asked what it would take for him to do so. Jacob wanted nothing except to be in a position for God to bless him. He was willing to stay, but not be further indebted to the scheming and selfish Laban. He offered Laban a plan that could bless him while costing Laban nothing. He would continue to care for Laban’s animals, as he had been doing. His pay would consist of animals not yet born, animals which would seem the less desirable to Laban because of their markings and color. None of the solid color animals would be taken by Jacob, and if any were born into Jacob’s flocks, Laban could take them (they were considered as stolen). Only those animals born speckled, spotted, striped, or abnormally colored would belong to Jacob. Evidently, most of the animals were white (sheep), black (goats), and brown (cattle). Few were in the category of Jacob’s request. Further, Jacob would not even use the living speckled or abnormally colored animals to breed more like them. He would separate them into a flock of their own kind, apart from the normally colored animals. Only the spotted and abnormally colored offspring born in the future to the normally colored would be his. Since it seemed to Laban that the birth of such abnormally marked animals was unlikely to occur in any significant volume from the normally colored, he agreed. He believed this a small and favorable concession on his part to maintain the skills of Jacob to further enlarge his herds and flocks. Jacob, by this, put himself entirely in God’s hands. Only the Lord could determine what animals would be Jacob’s. To make sure Jacob didn’t cheat on his good deal, Laban separated the abnormally marked from the normal animals in Jacob’s care (v. 34–36).
30:37–42 rods. Jacob was knowledgeable about sheep, goats, and cattle, having kept his father’s animals for most of his 90 years, and Laban’s for the last 14 years. He knew that when one uncommonly marked animal was born (with a recessive gene), he could then begin to breed that gene selectively to produce flocks and herds of abnormally marked animals, which were in no way inferior physically to the normally marked. Once he began this breeding process, he sought to stimulate it by some methods that may appear superstitious and foolish to us (as the mandrakes in v. 14). But it is most likely that he had learned that, when the bark was peeled, there was some stimulant released into the water that stimulated the animals to sexual activity. In v. 38, the word “conceive” is literally, in Heb., “to be hot,” or as is said of animals “to be in heat.” His plan was successful (v. 39) and kept his own flock separate from the abnormally colored ones of Laban. His system worked to his own advantage, not that of Laban (v. 42) who had for years taken advantage of him. Jacob gave God the credit for the success of his efforts (31:7, 9).
Genesis 31
31:1, 2 Of materialistic bent and envious at Jacob’s success, Laban’s sons grumbled at what they saw as the depleting of their father’s assets, thus hurting their own inheritance. If Jacob heard of this, so did Laban, and that knowledge rankled him to the point of surliness toward his son-in-law (cf. 31:20). Profiting from God’s blessings through Jacob (30:27, 30) was one thing, but seeing only Jacob blessed was quite another matter and elicited no praise or gratitude to God from Laban.
31:3 Return to the land. When Jacob sought to leave at the end of his contract (30:25), God’s timing was not right. Now it was, so God directed Jacob’s departure, and in confirmation assured him of His presence. So, after another 6 years, it was time to go (vv. 38–41).
31:4 called…to the field. In the privacy of the open field, Jacob’s plans could be confidentially shared with his wives.
31:5 your father’s…my father. A contrast, perhaps not intentional, but nevertheless noticeable since their father signaled rejection toward him, whereas the God of his father had accepted him.
31:6–9 As Jacob explained it, his unstinting service to their father had been met by Laban with wage changes intended to cripple his son-in-law’s enterprise, but God had intervened by blocking the intended hurt (v. 7) and overriding the wage changes with great prosperity (v. 9).
31:10–12 See notes on 30:37–42.
31:11 the Angel of God. Cf. 21:17. The same as the Angel of the Lord (16:11; 22:11, 15). See note on Ex. 3:2.
31:13 I am the God of Bethel. The Angel of God (v. 11) clearly identified Himself as the Lord, pointing back as He did so to the earlier critical encounter with God in Jacob’s life (28:10–22).
31:14–16 The two wives concurred that, in the context of severely strained family relationships, their inheritance might be in question since the ties that bind no longer held them there. They also agreed that God’s intervention had, in effect, refunded what their father had wrongfully withheld and spent.
31:19 household idols. Lit., teraphim (cf. 2 Kin. 23:24; Ezek. 21:21). These images or figurines of varying sizes, usually of nude goddesses with accentuated sexual features, either signaled special protection for, inheritance rights for, or guaranteed fertility for the bearer. Or, perhaps possession by Rachel would call for Jacob to be recognized as head of the household at Laban’s death. See notes on vv. 30, 44.
31:20 stole away. Because of fear at what Laban might do (v. 31), Jacob dispensed with the expected courtesy he had not forgotten before (30:25) and clandestinely slipped away at an appropriate time (v. 19). With all his entourage, this was not a simple exit. Laban’s gruffness (vv. 1, 2) exuded enough hostility for Jacob to suspect forceful retaliation and to react by escaping what danger he could not know for sure.
31:21 the river…mountains of Gilead. The Euphrates River and the area S of Galilee to the E of the Jordan River respectively.
31:23 seven days’ journey. That it took so long for Laban’s band to catch up with a much larger group burdened with possessions and animals indicates a forced march was undertaken by Jacob’s people, probably motivated by Jacob’s fear.
31:24 Be careful…neither good nor bad. God again sovereignly protected, as He had done for Abraham and Isaac (12:17–20; 20:3–7; 26:8–11), to prevent harm coming to His man. In a proverbial expression (cf. Gen. 24:50; 2 Sam. 13:22) Laban is cautioned not to use anything in the full range of options open to him, “from the good to the bad,” to alter the existing situation and bring Jacob back.
31:26 my daughters like captives. Laban evidently did not believe that his daughters could have possibly agreed with the departure and must have left under duress.
31:27–29 Laban’s questions protested his right to have arranged a proper send-off for his family and functioned as a rebuke of Jacob’s thoughtlessness toward him.
31:30 why…steal my gods? Longing to return to Canaan (cf. 30:25) might excuse his leaving without notice, but it could not excuse the theft of his teraphim (31:19). Laban’s thorough search for these idols (vv. 33–35) also marked how important they were to him as a pagan worshiper. See notes on vv. 19, 44.
31:31 afraid. A reasonable fear is experienced by Jacob, who had come to find a wife and stayed for at least 20 years (v. 38) under the selfish compulsions of Laban.
31:34, 35 One dishonest deed needed further dishonesty and trickery to cover it up.
31:35 the manner of women. Rachel claimed she was having her menstrual period.
Gen. 31:35
False Gods in the Old Testament
1. Rachel’s household gods (Gen. 31:19)
2. The golden calf at Sinai (Ex. 32)
3. Nanna, the moon god of Ur, worshiped by Abraham before his salvation (Josh. 24:2)
4. Asherah, or Ashtaroth, the chief goddess of Tyre, referred to as the lady of the sea (Judg. 6:24–32)
5. Dagon, the chief Philistine agriculture and sea god and father of Baal (Judg. 16:23–30; 1 Sam. 5:1–7)
6. Ashtoreth, a Canaanite goddess, another consort of Baal (1 Sam. 7:3, 4)
7. Molech, the god of the Ammonites and the most horrible idol in the Scriptures (1 Kin. 11:7; 2 Chr. 28:14; 33:6)
8. The two golden images made by King Jeroboam, set up at the shrines of Dan and Bethel (1 Kin. 12:28–31)
9. Baal, the chief deity of Canaan (1 Kin. 18:17–40; 2 Kin. 10:28; 11:18)
10. Rimmon, the Syrian god of Naaman the leper (2 Kin. 5:15–19)
11. Nishroch, the Assyrian god of Sennacherib (2 Kin. 19:37)
12. Nebo, the Babylonian god of wisdom and literature (Is. 46:1)
13. Merodach, also called Marduk, the chief god of the Babylonian pantheon (Jer. 50:2)
14. Tammuz, the husband and brother of Ishtar (Asherah), goddess of fertility (Ezek. 8:14)
15. The golden image in the plain of Dura (Dan. 2)
31:37 judge between us both. Rachel’s theft and dishonest cover-up had precipitated a major conflict between her father and her husband which could only be resolved by judicial inquiry before witnesses.
31:38–42 Jacob registered his complaint that he had unfairly borne the losses normally carried by the owner and had endured much discomfort in fulfilling his responsibility. Jacob also delivered his conclusion that except for the oversight of God, Laban may very well have fleeced him totally.
31:42 Fear of Isaac. Also see “the Fear of his father Isaac” (v. 53). This was another divine name, signifying Jacob’s identification of the God who caused Isaac to reverence Him.
31:43 Laban pled his case, amounting to nothing more than the manifestation of his grasping character, by claiming everything was his.
31:44 let us make a covenant. Although Laban did regard all in Jacob’s hands as his—after all Jacob had arrived 20 years before with nothing—nevertheless, the matter was clearly ruled in Jacob’s favor, since Laban left with nothing. A treaty was struck in the customary fashion (vv. 45–51) in which they covenanted not to harm one another again (v. 52). With heaps of stones as testaments to the treaty named and in place (vv. 47–49), with the consecration meals having been eaten (vv. 46, 54), and with the appropriate oaths and statements made in the name of their God (vv. 50, 53), the agreement was properly sanctioned and concluded and thus they parted company. All contact between Abraham’s kin in Canaan and Mesopotamia appears to have ended at this point.
31:47–49 Jegar Sahadutha…Galeed…Mizpah. The first two words mean in Aramaic and also Hebrew, “heap of witnesses.” The third word means “watchtower.”
31:53 God of Nahor. Laban’s probable syncretistic paralleling of the God of Abraham with that of Nahor and Terah, his brother and father respectively, elicited Jacob again using “the Fear of Isaac,” a reference to the true God (v. 42), for he certainly could not give credence to any of Laban’s syncretistic allusions.
Genesis 32
32:1 The angels of God. With one crisis behind him and before him the suspense of having to face Esau, Jacob was first met by an angelic host, who must have reminded him of Bethel, which served also as a timely reminder and encouragement of God’s will being done on earth (28:11–15).
32:2 God’s camp…Mahanaim. Meaning “double camp,” i.e., one being God’s and one being his own. It was located E of the Jordan River in Gilead near the River Jabbok.
32:3 Seir…Edom. The territory of Esau S of the Dead Sea.
32:7 greatly afraid and distressed. He had sought reconciliation with Esau (vv. 4, 5), but the report of the returning envoys (v. 6) only confirmed his deepest suspicions that Esau’s old threat against him (27:41, 42) had not abated over the years, and his coming with force betokened only disaster (vv. 8, 11). He prepared for the attack by dividing his company of people and animals.
32:9–12 Commendably, notwithstanding the plans to appease his brother (vv. 13–21), Jacob prayed for deliverance, rehearsing God’s own commands and covenant promise (v. 12; see 28:13–15), acknowledging his own anxiety, and confessing his own unworthiness before the Lord. This was Jacob’s first recorded prayer since his encounter with God at Bethel en route to Laban (28:20–22).
32:13–21 The logistics of Jacob’s careful appeasement strategy (550 animals Esau would prize) may highlight his ability to plan but it highlights even more, given the goal statement at the end (v. 20), his failure to pray and believe that God would change Esau’s heart.
Gen. 32:13
Jacob Returns to Canaan
32:22–32 This unique, nightlong wrestling match at Peniel ends with the 97 year old Jacob having a change of name (v. 28) and the place having a new name assigned to it (v. 30) in order to memorialize it for Jacob and later generations. The limp with which he emerged from the match (vv. 25, 31) also served to memorialize this event.
32:22 Jabbok. A stream, 60–65 mi. long, E of the Jordan which flows into that river midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea (ca. 45 mi. S of the Sea of Galilee).
32:24 a Man wrestled. The site name, Peniel, or “face of God,” given by Jacob (v. 30) and the commentary given by Hosea (Hos. 12:4) identifies this Man with whom Jacob wrestled as the Angel of the Lord who is also identified as God, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. See note on Ex. 3:2.
32:28 no longer…Jacob, but Israel. Jacob’s personal name changed from one meaning “heel-catcher” or “deceiver” to one meaning “God’s fighter” or “he struggles with God” (cf. 35:10). The marginal reading “Prince with God” is not preferred. with God and with men. An amazing evaluation of what Jacob had accomplished, i.e., emerging victorious from the struggle. In the record of his life, “struggle” did indeed dominate: 1) with his brother Esau (chaps. 25–27); 2) with his father (chap. 27); 3) with his father-in-law (chaps. 29–31); 4) with his wives (chap. 30); and 5) with God at Peniel (v. 28).
32:30 Peniel. See note on v. 24.
32:32 not eat the muscle that shrank. This might refer to the sciatic muscle/tendon. The observation that up to Moses’ time (“to this day”) the nation of Israel did not eat this part of a hindquarter intrigues because it bears no mention elsewhere in the OT, nor is it enshrined in the Mosaic law. It does find mention in the Jewish Talmud as a sacred law.
Genesis 33
33:1, 2 Esau was coming. Jacob hastily divided his family into 3 groups (cf. 31:7) and went ahead of them to meet his brother. The division and relative location of his family in relationship to the perceived danger gives tremendous insight into whom Jacob favored.
33:3, 4 Fearfully and deferentially, Jacob approached his brother as an inferior would a highly honored patron, while gladly and eagerly, Esau ran to greet his brother without restraint of emotion. “They wept” because, after 21 years of troubling separation, old memories were wiped away and murderous threats belonged to the distant past; hearts had been changed, brothers reconciled! See v. 10.
33:5–11 Family introductions (vv. 5–7) and an explanation of the 550 animals gift (vv. 8–10; cf. 32:13–21) properly acknowledged the gracious provision of the Lord upon his life (vv. 5, 11). The battle for generosity was won by Jacob when Esau, who initially refused to take anything from his brother, finally agreed to do so (v. 11).
33:10 your face…the face of God. Jacob acknowledged how God had so obviously changed Esau, as indicated by his facial expression which was not one of sullen hate but of brotherly love divinely wrought and restored.
33:15 Let me find favor. Jacob did not want to have Esau’s people loaned to him for fear something might happen to again fracture their relationship.
33:16, 17 to Seir…to Succoth. With Esau’s planned escort courteously dismissed, they parted company. Jacob’s expressed intention to meet again in Seir (see note on 32:3), for whatever reason, did not materialize. Instead, Jacob halted his journey first at Succoth, then at Shechem (v. 18). Succoth is E of the Jordan River, 20 mi. E of Shechem, which is 65 mi. N of Jerusalem, located between Mts. Ebal and Gerizim.
33:18 came safely. Ca. 1908 B.C. A reference to the fulfillment of Jacob’s vow made at Bethel when, upon departure from Canaan, he looked to God for a safe return. Upon arrival in Canaan, he would tithe of his possessions (28:20–22). Presumably Jacob fulfilled his pledge at Shechem or later at Bethel (35:1).
33:19 bought the parcel of land. This purchase became only the second piece of real estate legally belonging to Abraham’s line in the Promised Land (cf. 23:17, 18; 25:9, 10). However, the land was not Abraham’s and his descendants simply because they bought it, but rather because God owned it all (Lev. 25:23) and gave it to them for their exclusive domain (see notes on 12:1–3).
