Genesis 31:24

Genesis 31:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
• New International Version (NIV)Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."
• New King James Version (NKJV)But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

Context of Genesis 31:24

22On the third day Laban was informed that Jacob had fled. 23So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” 25Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well. 26Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!

Genesis 31:24 word by word

וַיָּבֹ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־לָבָ֥ן הָאֲרַמִּ֖י בַּחֲלֹ֣ם הַלָּ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ הִשָּׁ֧מֶר לְךָ֛ פֶּן־תְּדַבֵּ֥ר עִֽם־יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִטּ֥וֹב עַד־רָֽע׃Read the interlinear

• But that nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Labanלָבָןlâbân · LabanH3837
• the Arameanאֲרַמִּי'ărammîy · ArameanH761
• in a dreamחֲלוֹםchălôm chălôm · dreamH2472
• and warnedאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Be carefulשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: carefulH8104
• notפֶּן־pên · lestH6435
• to sayדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• anything toעִם‛im · withH5973
• Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• either goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• orעַד‛ad · tillH5704
• badרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451

Cross-references for Genesis 31:24

• Genesis 28:5So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
• Deuteronomy 26:5and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous.
• Hosea 12:12Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife— for a wife he tended sheep.
• Genesis 31:10When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
• Genesis 20:3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
• Genesis 40:5both of these men—the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison—had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.
• Genesis 41:1After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
• Numbers 12:6He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
• Numbers 22:20That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”
• 1 Kings 3:5One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”
• Job 33:15In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,
• Matthew 1:20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
• Matthew 2:12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
• Matthew 27:19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
• Genesis 31:42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”
• Genesis 24:50Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.

Commentaries on Genesis 31:24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24And God came to Laban - God's caution to Laban was of high importance to Jacob - Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad; or rather, as is the literal meaning of the Hebrew, רע עד מטוב mittob ad ra, from good to evil; for had he neither spoken good nor evil to Jacob, they could have had no intercourse at all. The original is, therefore, peculiarly appropriate; for when people meet, the language at first is the language of friendship; the…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
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-35Verses 22-35 God can put a bridle in the mouth of wicked men, to restrain their malice, though he do not change their hearts. Though they have no love to God's people, they will pretend to it, and try to make a merit of necessity. Foolish Laban! to call those things his gods which could be stolen! Enemies may steal our goods, but not our God. Here Laban lays to Jacob's charge things that he knew not. Those who commit their cause to God, are not forbidden…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad: God told Laban not to try to bring justice himself. When we try to enact our own sense of good and evil apart from God’s command, we always do evil (see study note on 2:9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-5522-24. it was told Laban on the third day--No sooner did the news reach Laban than he set out in pursuit, and he being not encumbered, advanced rapidly; whereas Jacob, with a young family and numerous flocks, had to march slowly, so that he overtook the fugitives after seven days' journey as they lay encamped on the brow of mount Gilead, an extensive range of hills forming the eastern boundary of Canaan. Being accompanied by a number of his people, he…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 31:24

• Dream
• Gilead
• Laban

In the dictionaries

• God
• Jacob
• Laban
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Agate
• Aram
• Carry
• Discern
• Fear

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