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 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!’ Jacob continued to say to Laban, ‘I have worked for you for 20 years. Your female sheep and goats have all safely given birth to young ones. I have not taken any of your male animals as food for myself. 39If wild animals attacked your sheep or goats, I did not show them to you. I myself paid you for them. If any animal was lost, in the day or at night, you said that I must pay you for it. 40This is what it was like to work for you: I worked in the strong heat of the sun in the day. I had pain from the cold at night. I could not always sleep.

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 31:41It was like this for 20 years as I worked like a slave for you. I worked for 14 years to pay you for your two daughters. Then I worked for six years for your sheep and goats. You changed what you paid me at least ten times!
• Genesis 30:27Laban said to Jacob, ‘If you are happy with me then please stay here. I know that the Lord has blessed me because you are here with me. I have used magic to know that.’
• Exodus 23:26Your women will safely give birth to babies. They will all be able to have children. Everyone will live a long life.
• Deuteronomy 28:4God will bless your children and the crops that you grow. Your cows and your sheep will have many babies.
• Ezekiel 34:2‘Son of man, you must speak my message to the shepherds of Israel to warn them. Tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Terrible trouble will come to you shepherds of Israel who only think about yourselves. Shepherds should take care of the sheep and feed them.

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