Christian Standard Bible
Genesis 31:19
19When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
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
17So Jacob got up and put his children and wives on the camels. 18He took all the livestock and possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, and he drove his herds to go to the land of Canaan, to his father Isaac. When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols. 20And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, not telling him that he was fleeing. 21He fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead.
Read all of Genesis 31Genesis 31:19 word by word
וְלָבָ֣ן הָלַ֔ךְ לִגְזֹ֖ז אֶת־צֹאנ֑וֹ וַתִּגְנֹ֣ב רָחֵ֔ל אֶת־הַתְּרָפִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְאָבִֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 31:19
- Genesis 31:30Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s family — but why have you stolen my gods?”
- Genesis 35:2So Jacob said to his family and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes.
- Joshua 24:2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.
- Judges 17:4So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took five pounds of silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made it into a carved image and a silver idol, and it was in Micah’s house.
- Judges 18:14The five men who had gone to scout out the land of Laish told their brothers, “Did you know that there are an ephod, household gods, and a carved image and a silver idol in these houses? Now think about what you should do.”
- 1 Samuel 19:13Then Michal took the household idol and put it on 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 split in the road, at the fork of the two roads, to practice divination: he shakes the arrows, consults the idols, and observes the liver.
- Hosea 3:4For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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