New Living Translation
Genesis 31:35
35she said to her father, “Please, sir, forgive me if I don’t get up for you. I’m having my monthly period.” So Laban continued his search, but he could not find the household 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
33Laban went first into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then the tents of the two servant wives—but he found nothing. Finally, he went into Rachel’s tent. 34But Rachel had taken the household idols and hidden them in her camel saddle, and now she was sitting on them. When Laban had thoroughly searched her tent without finding them, she said to her father, “Please, sir, forgive me if I don’t get up for you. I’m having my monthly period.” So Laban continued his search, but he could not find the household idols. 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? 37You have rummaged through everything I own. Now show me what you found that belongs to you! Set it out here in front of us, before our relatives, for all to see. Let them judge between 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 she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”
- Exodus 20:12“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
- Leviticus 19:3“Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God.
- Ephesians 6:1Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.
- 1 Peter 2:18You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.
- 1 Peter 3:6For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.
- Leviticus 19:32“Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord.
- 1 Kings 2:19So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak on Adonijah’s behalf. The king rose from his throne to meet her, and he bowed down before her. When he sat down on his throne again, the king ordered that a throne be brought for his mother, and she sat at his right hand.
- Genesis 18:11Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children.
- Leviticus 15:19“Whenever a woman has her menstrual period, she will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. Anyone who touches her during that time 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries