Genesis 31:38

Genesis 31:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
• New International Version (NIV)“I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.
• English Standard Version (ESV)These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.
• New King James Version (NKJV)These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock.

Context of Genesis 31:38

36Then Jacob became incensed and brought charges against Laban. “What is my crime?” he said to Laban. “What is my sin, that you have pursued me? 37You’ve searched all my possessions! Have you found anything of yours? Put it here before my relatives and yours, and let them decide between the two of us. I’ve been with you these twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams from your flock. 39I did not bring you any of the flock torn by wild beasts; I myself bore the loss. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night. 40There I was — the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.

Genesis 31:38 word by word

זֶה֩ עֶשְׂרִ֨ים שָׁנָ֤ה אָנֹכִי֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ רְחֵלֶ֥יךָ וְעִזֶּ֖יךָ לֹ֣א שִׁכֵּ֑לוּ וְאֵילֵ֥י צֹאנְךָ֖ לֹ֥א אָכָֽלְתִּי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• This twentyעֶשְׂרִים‛eώrîym · twentyH6242
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• with thee; thy ewesרָחֵלrâchêl · eweH7353
• and thy she goatsעֵז‛êz · goatH5795
• have not cast their youngשָׁכֹלshâkôl · be bereavedH7921
• and the ramsאַ֫יִל'ayil · ramH352
• of thy flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• have I not eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398

Cross-references for Genesis 31:38

• Genesis 31:41For twenty years in your household I served you — fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks — and you have changed my wages ten times!
• Genesis 30:27But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”
• Exodus 23:26No woman will miscarry or be childless in your land. I will give you the full number of your days.
• Deuteronomy 28:4Your offspring will be blessed, and your land’s produce, and the offspring of your livestock, including the young of your herds and the newborn of your flocks.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock?

Commentaries on Genesis 31:38

• 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. 36-42Verses 36-42 If Jacob were willingly consumed with heat in the day, and frost by night, to become the son-in-law of Laban, what should we refuse to endure, to become the sons of God? Jacob speaks of God as the God of his father; he thought himself unworthy to be regarded, but was beloved for his father's sake. He calls him the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac; for Abraham was dead, and gone to that world where perfect love casts out fear; but Isaac…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 36-42Jacob answered by accusing Laban of making false charges and humiliating him. Now Laban was the one who had to answer, because his charges were insulting and seemed to have no basis.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3838. The rams of thy flock have I not eaten--Eastern people seldom kill the females for food except they are barren.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 31:38

• Chiding
• Dishonesty
• Laban
• Shepherd
• Teraphim

In the dictionaries

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

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