Genesis 31:30

Genesis 31:30 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
• New International Version (NIV)Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

Context of Genesis 31:30

28But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing. 29I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?” 31“I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. 32If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

Genesis 31:30 word by word

וְעַתָּה֙ הָלֹ֣ךְ הָלַ֔כְתָּ כִּֽי־נִכְסֹ֥ף נִכְסַ֖פְתָּה לְבֵ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ לָ֥מָּה גָנַ֖בְתָּ אֶת־אֱלֹהָֽי׃Read the interlinear

• Nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• you have gone offהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• you longכָּסַףkâsaph · to longH3700
• for your father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• But whyמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• have you stolenגָּנַבgânab · to stealH1589
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• my godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Genesis 31:30

• Genesis 31:19Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
• Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
• Numbers 33:4who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.
• Judges 6:31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar.”
• Judges 18:24He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”
• 1 Samuel 5:2carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue.
• 2 Samuel 5:21There the Philistines abandoned their idols, and David and his men carried them away.
• Isaiah 37:19They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
• Isaiah 46:1Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
• Jeremiah 10:11Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
• Jeremiah 43:12I will kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar will burn those temples and take their gods as captives. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself in his garment, and he will depart from there unscathed.

Commentaries on Genesis 31:30

• 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. 25-30The dispute between the two men used the language of legal controversies and lawsuits (see also 31:36). Laban first argued that Jacob had wronged him by stealing from him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-3026-30. Laban said ... What hast thou done?--Not a word is said of the charge (Ge 31:1). His reproaches were of a different kind. His first charge was for depriving him of the satisfaction of giving Jacob and his family the usual salutations at parting. In the East it is customary, when any are setting out to a great distance, for their relatives and friends to accompany them a considerable way with music and valedictory songs. Considering the past conduct…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 31:30

• Chiding
• Laban
• Teraphim

In the dictionaries

• Agate
• Carry
• Discern
• Fear
• Gather
• Inheritance
• Jacob
• Leah
• Mount
• Pitch

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