Genesis 31:35

Genesis 31:35 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.
• New International Version (NIV)Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence; I’m having my period.” So he searched but could not find the household gods.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And she said to her father, "Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me." So he searched but did not find the household gods.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

Context of Genesis 31:35

33So Laban went into Jacob's tent. Then he went into Leah's tent. He also went into the female servants' tent. But he did not find the idols. When he left Leah's tent, he went into Rachel's tent. 34Rachel had taken the idols and she had put them inside her camel's seat. Now she was sitting on them. Laban looked everywhere in Rachel's tent but he did not find the idols. Rachel said to him, ‘Do not be angry with me, sir. I cannot stand up in front of you. It is the time of my monthly blood loss.’ So Laban looked everywhere for the idols, but he did not find them. 36Then Jacob became angry and he quarrelled with Laban. He asked Laban, ‘What have I done wrong? What sin have I done against you so that you had to catch me? 37Now you have looked through everything that I have. Did you find anything that belongs to you? If you have found anything, put it here. Then your relatives and my relatives can see it. Our relatives can decide which of us is right, you or me!’

Genesis 31:35 word by word

וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אֶל־אָבִ֗יהָ אַל־יִ֙חַר֙ בְּעֵינֵ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י כִּ֣י ל֤וֹא אוּכַל֙ לָק֣וּם מִפָּנֶ֔יךָ כִּי־דֶ֥רֶךְ נָשִׁ֖ים לִ֑י וַיְחַפֵּ֕שׂ וְלֹ֥א מָצָ֖א אֶת־הַתְּרָפִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And she saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to her fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• Let it not displeaseעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• Let it not displeaseחָרָהchârâh · to be incensedH2734
• my lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• that I cannotיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• rise upקוּםqûm · to arise: riseH6965
• before theeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• for the customדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• of womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• upon me. And he searchedחָפַשׂchâphaώ · to searchH2664
• but foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• not the imagesתְּרָפִיםterâphîym · teraphimH8655

Cross-references for Genesis 31:35

• Genesis 18:12So Sarah laughed to herself. She thought, ‘I have become old and weak. My husband is also old. I will never have a baby and be happy like that.’
• Exodus 20:12Always respect your father and your mother. Then you will live for many years in the land that the Lord your God will give to you.
• Leviticus 19:3Each person must respect his mother and his father. All the people must keep the Sabbath as a day of rest. I am the Lord your God.
• Ephesians 6:1You who are children, obey your parents. Because you belong to the Lord, that is the right thing to do.
• 1 Peter 2:18You who are slaves must obey your masters. Always respect them. Do that to every kind of master. Obey those who are good and kind. But also obey masters who are not fair to you.
• 1 Peter 3:6Sarah was a woman like that. She obeyed her husband, Abraham. She called him, ‘My master’. So you wives also should do what is right. Do not let anything make you afraid. Then you will be like true daughters of Sarah.
• Leviticus 19:32The people must stand up when they are with old people. They must respect the old people. They must give honour to their God. I am the Lord your God.
• 1 Kings 2:19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak on behalf of Adonijah. The king stood up to meet her. He bent his head down to respect her. Then he sat on his throne. He commanded his servants to bring another throne for his mother. So she sat down at his right side.
• Genesis 18:11Abraham and Sarah were now very old. Sarah was past the age when she could give birth to a child.
• Leviticus 15:19A woman will bleed every month. She is unclean for seven days. A person might touch the woman when she is bleeding. That person will remain unclean until evening.

Commentaries on Genesis 31:35

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 35The custom of women is upon me - This she knew must be a satisfactory reason to her father; for if the teraphim were used to any religious purpose, and they seem to have been used in this way, as Laban calls them his gods, he therefore could not suspect that a woman in such a situation, whose touch was considered as defiling, would have sat upon articles that were either the objects of his adoration, or used for any sacred purpose. The stratagem succeeded…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. 33-35Laban searched for the idols but did not find them. He did not think that a woman in her monthly bleeding would make the idols ceremonially unclean by sitting on them (see Leviticus 15:19–24).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 31:35

• Chiding
• Laban
• Manners
• Menstruation
• Rachel
• Teraphim
• Theft and Thieves

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