New English Translation
Genesis 31:35
35Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord. I cannot stand up in your presence because I am having my period.” So he searched thoroughly, but did not find the idols.
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 entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 34(Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle and sat on them.) Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord. I cannot stand up in your presence because I am having my period.” So he searched thoroughly, but did not find the idols. 36Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 37When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? Set it here before my relatives and yours, and let them settle the dispute between the two of us!
Read all of Genesis 31Genesis 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, thinking, “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?”
- Exodus 20:12“Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you.
- Leviticus 19:3Each of you must respect his mother and his father, and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
- Ephesians 6:1Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.
- 1 Peter 2:18Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.
- 1 Peter 3:6like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.
- Leviticus 19:32You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord.
- 1 Kings 2:19So Bathsheba visited King Solomon to speak to him on Adonijah’s behalf. The king got up to greet her, bowed to her, and then sat on his throne. He ordered a throne to be brought for the king’s mother, and she sat at his right hand.
- Genesis 18:11Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; Sarah had long since passed menopause.)
- Leviticus 15:19“‘When a woman has a discharge and her discharge is blood from her body, she is to be in her menstruation seven days, and anyone who touches her will be 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
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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