Genesis 31:26

Genesis 31:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
• New International Version (NIV)Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me, and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Laban said to Jacob, "What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword?
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?

Context of Genesis 31:26

24But the previous night God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you—leave Jacob alone!” 25Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, and he set up his camp not far from Jacob’s. “What do you mean by deceiving me like this?” Laban demanded. “How dare you drag my daughters away like prisoners of war? 27Why did you slip away secretly? Why did you deceive me? And why didn’t you say you wanted to leave? I would have given you a farewell feast, with singing and music, accompanied by tambourines and harps. 28Why didn’t you let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye? You have acted very foolishly!

Genesis 31:26 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָבָן֙ לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֔יתָ וַתִּגְנֹ֖ב אֶת־לְבָבִ֑י וַתְּנַהֵג֙ אֶת־בְּנֹתַ֔י כִּשְׁבֻי֖וֹת חָֽרֶב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Labanלָבָןlâbân · LabanH3837
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• What hast thou doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• that thou hast stolen awayגָּנַבgânab · to stealH1589
• unawaresלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• to me, and carried awayנָהַגnâhag · to leadH5090
• my daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• as captivesשָׁבָהshâbâh · to take captiveH7617
• with the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719

Cross-references for Genesis 31:26

• Genesis 31:36Then Jacob became very angry, and he challenged Laban. “What’s my crime?” he demanded. “What have I done wrong to make you chase after me as though I were a criminal?
• Genesis 3:13Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
• Genesis 4:10But the Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!
• Genesis 12:18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
• Genesis 20:9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No one should ever do what you have done!
• Genesis 26:10“How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”
• Joshua 7:19Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”
• 1 Samuel 14:43“Tell me what you have done,” Saul demanded of Jonathan. “I tasted a little honey,” Jonathan admitted. “It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?”
• 1 Samuel 17:29“What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”
• John 18:35“Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?”
• Genesis 31:16All the wealth God has given you from our father legally belongs to us and our children. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you.”
• Genesis 2:24This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
• Genesis 34:29They looted all their wealth and plundered their houses. They also took all their little children and wives and led them away as captives.
• 1 Samuel 30:2They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone.

Commentaries on Genesis 31:26

• 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. 25-30The dispute between the two men used the language of legal controversies and lawsuits (see also 31:36). Laban first argued that Jacob had wronged him by stealing from him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 26-3026-30. Laban said ... What hast thou done?--Not a word is said of the charge (Ge 31:1). His reproaches were of a different kind. His first charge was for depriving him of the satisfaction of giving Jacob and his family the usual salutations at parting. In the East it is customary, when any are setting out to a great distance, for their relatives and friends to accompany them a considerable way with music and valedictory songs. Considering the past conduct…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 31:26

• Chiding
• Laban
• Parents

In the dictionaries

• Jacob
• Laban
• Jacob, Israel
• Agate
• Carry
• Discern
• Fear
• Gather
• Inheritance
• Leah

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