Genesis 31:19

Genesis 31:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.
• New International Version (NIV)When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s.

Context of Genesis 31:19

17Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels, 18and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land in Canaan. Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols. 20Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away. 21So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

Genesis 31:19 word by word

וְלָבָ֣ן הָלַ֔ךְ לִגְזֹ֖ז אֶת־צֹאנ֑וֹ וַתִּגְנֹ֣ב רָחֵ֔ל אֶת־הַתְּרָפִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְאָבִֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

• Now while Labanלָבָןlâbân · LabanH3837
• was outהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• shearingגָּזַזgâzaz · to shearH1494
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• his sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• Rachelרָחֵלrâchêl · RachelH7354
• stoleגָּנַבgânab · to stealH1589
• her father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
• household idolsתְּרָפִיםterâphîym · teraphimH8655
• ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834

Cross-references for Genesis 31:19

• Genesis 31:30Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”
• Genesis 35:2So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
• Joshua 24:2And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods.
• Judges 17:4So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a graven image and a molten idol. And they were placed in the house of Micah.
• Judges 18:14Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”
• 1 Samuel 19:13Then Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.
• Ezekiel 21:21For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the liver.
• Hosea 3:4For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.

Commentaries on Genesis 31:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Laban went to shear his sheep - Laban had gone; and this was a favorable time not only to take his images, but to return to Canaan without being perceived. Rachel had stolen the images - תרפים teraphim . What the teraphim were is utterly unknown. In Genesis 31:30; they are termed אלהי elohai, gods; and to some it appears very likely that they were a sort of images devoted to superstitious purposes, not considered as gods, but as representatives of certain…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-55Verses 1-55 - Jacob‘s Flight from Haran 19. תרפים terāpı̂ym Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means “to live well,” intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), “to nourish,” transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20Rachel stole her father’s household idols: She might have wanted to recover some of the wealth Laban wasted. She may have also worshiped idols (compare 35:2–4). Having the idols might have meant claiming the family inheritance, as later customs indicate. Laban seemed to feel insecure without them. Whatever her reasons, Rachel's theft nearly caused disaster for the family when Laban overtook them. A wordplay shows that Rachel and Jacob were very…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-211. he heard the words of Laban's sons--It must have been from rumor that Jacob got knowledge of the invidious reflections cast upon him by his cousins; for they were separated at the distance of three days' journey.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 31:19

• Dishonesty
• Haran
• Laban
• Polytheism
• Rachel
• Sheep
• Teraphim
• Theft and Thieves
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Laban
• Rachel
• Agate
• Carry
• Discern
• Fear
• Gather
• Idolatry
• Inheritance
• Jacob

Commentaries on Genesis 31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings