Genesis 31.17-21-Jacob Departs for Canaan
Wednesday July 19, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 31:17-21-Jacob Departs for Canaan
Lesson # 181
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 31:17.
On Sunday we noted Genesis 31:1-2 where Jacob hears of Laban’s sons’ antagonism towards him and also sees a change of attitude by Laban towards him.
Also, on Sunday we noted Genesis 31:3 where the Lord commands Jacob to return home and promises him protection.
Last night we studied Genesis 31:4-16 where Jacob informs his wives that the Lord has commanded him to leave Laban and his wives agree to leave with him.
This evening we will study Genesis 31:17-21 records Jacob departing from Paddan Aram and heading towards Canaan.
Genesis 31:17-18, “Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.”
Jacob put his wives and children on camels, which we have noted in our previous studies in the book of Genesis, were a prime measure of wealth back in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob since camels were rare back then.
Genesis 29:17-30:24 records that Jacob had four wives, eleven boys and one girl.
Jacob’s wives included not only Rachel and Leah but also his concubines, Zilpah (Leah’s maid) and Bilhah (Rachel’s maid).
In the days of the patriarchs, a concubine was considered as a “second-class wife,” acquired without payment of bride-money and possessing fewer legal rights.
In the Old Testament period, a concubine was a legal wife but one of secondary rank and she could be sent away with a small gift.
Therefore, the children of a concubine did not have the same legal rights as the wife and so the inheritance would go to the child of the wife rather than the concubine.
The boys that Leah bore Jacob included Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah (See Genesis 29:31-35) as well as Issachar, and Zebulun (See Genesis 30:14-21).
Leah was only one of Jacob’s wives who bore him a girl (See Genesis 30:21).
The boys that Leah’s maid, Zilpah bore to Jacob included Gad and Asher (See Genesis 30:9-13).
The boys that Rachel’s maid, Bilhah bore to Jacob, included Dan and Naphtali (See Genesis 30:1-8).
The only boy that Rachel bore to Jacob at this point in Jacob’s life was Joseph (See Genesis 30:22-24) but later on she gives birth to Benjamin but dies while giving birth (See Genesis 35:16-19).
Jacob would have put all the material goods on donkeys and would have ordered his servants to drive his flocks ahead of him.
“Drove away” is the verb nahagh (gh^n*), which in this context refers to flocks of sheep and herds of cattle being “led” or “driven.”
“Livestock” is the noun miqneh (hn#q+m!), which refers sheep and goats.
A comparison of Genesis 30:25-43 and Genesis 31:10-12 indicates that Jacob’s livestock would have included “striped, speckled, spotted and mottled (blotched)” sheep and goats as well as dark colored sheep.
“Property” is the noun rekhush (vWkr+) (rek-oosh), which refers to “possessions.”
“Gathered” is the verb rakhash (vk^r*) (raw-kash), which means, “to acquire” and in context refers to all the property and livestock that Jacob had “acquired” during his last six years of service to Laban.
“Acquired livestock” is composed of the noun miqneh (hn#q+m!), “livestock” in the form of sheep and goats and the noun qinyan (/n^q*) (kin-yawn), “acquired,” which denotes that which is acquired by purchase.
Therefore, the expression refers to livestock in the form of sheep and goats that Jacob acquired by purchase, which implies that the livestock that he purchased, which he took with him were solid colored or homozygous white sheep and goats since he had only striped, spotted, speckled and mottled sheep and goats and dark colored sheep.
Remember, after fourteen years of service to Laban, Jacob still had no property or livestock of his own (See Genesis 30:30).
Therefore, everything that Jacob is taking with him he acquired during the last six years of his service to Laban in Paddan Aram.
“Paddan Aram” (/D^P^m! sR*a&) is another name for “Aram Naharaim,” which means, “Aram of the Two Rivers.”
Therefore, the word is synonymous with the name “Mesopotamia,” which appears in Genesis 24:10 since the word “Mesopotamia” is composed of the pronoun noun Aram (sra&), “Aram” and the plural form of the noun nahar (rhn*), “two rivers.”
These two rivers were in the western part of Mesopotamia and the two rivers were the Balikh and the Khabur, tributaries of the Euphrates River.
The city of Haran was on the Balikh River about a seven hundred mile journey north-northeast of Beersheba and nearby was the city of Nahor, which was founded by Abraham’s brother, Nahor.
The name “Paddan” means “field, plain” therefore, the expression “Paddan Aram” means, “plain of Aram.”
The name “Aram” (sr*a() (Hebrew: ‘aram pronounced arawm) means, “exalted” and is frequently translated “Syrian” or “Syria” and is used to speak specifically of the Aramean people who were a leading branch of Semitic people living in Mesopotamia and northern Syria (2 Sam. 8:5-6; 1 Kgs. 20:20-21).
Isaac and Jacob both took Aramean wives (Gen. 25:20; 28:5) and in fact, Jacob is called the “wandering Aramean” in Deuteronomy 26:5.
Therefore, “Paddan Aram” refers to the city of Nahor where Abraham’s brother founded a city and named it after himself and was the place in which Laban and his family resided.
So Genesis 31:18 records that Jacob leaves with his family and possessions and livestock and heads home to his father who resides in the land of Canaan.
“Canaan” is the more ancient name of Palestine, apparently derived from Hurrian, meaning, “belonging to the land of red purple,” the dye the early Canaanites or Phoenician traders peddled far and wide.
The natural boundaries of Canaan as expressed in the Bible extend from the Negev in the South to the northern reaches of the Lebanon Range in Syria and the land west of the range and of the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Lord promised Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan as a permanent possession (See Genesis 12:7; 13:14-17; 17:8) as well as Isaac (See Genesis 26:3-5) and Jacob (See Genesis 28:13).
The possession of the land refers to the “Palestinian” Covenant, which was a confirmation and enlargement of the original “Abrahamic” covenant and amplified the land features of the “Abrahamic” covenant (Gen. 13:14-15; 15:18).
The “Palestinian” covenant was reiterated to Moses (Ex. 6:2-8) who described the geographical boundaries of the land in Numbers 34:1-12 and who prophesied the fulfillment of this covenant during the millennium in Deuteronomy 30:1-9.
The “Palestinian” Covenant stipulated that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who exercise faith alone in Christ alone would not only come into permanent possession of the land of Canaan but also most of the land in Turkey, East Africa, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and Red Sea, Syria, Iraq, Jordan.
The boundaries of this land grant are on the Mediterranean, Aegean Sea, Euphrates River and the Nile River (See Genesis 15:18).
The Lord promises that this land would be given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s descendants and this promise was fulfilled to a certain extent by Israel under Joshua (Josh. 21:43-45; cf. 13:1-7) and David and Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:20-25; Neh. 9:8).
The “Palestinian” covenant will have its literal and ultimate fulfillment during the millennial reign of Christ (Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 31-37; Ezek. 34:11-16; Hos. 1:10-11; Joel 3:17-21; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:6-7; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 8:4-8).
Jacob’s departure from Paddan Aram or Mesopotamia is in marked contrast with his arrival at this place.
If you recall, Jacob left his father Isaac and his mother Rebekah empty handed when he departed twenty years prior to go to Paddan Aram and see his uncle Laban.
But now, we see Jacob leaving his uncle Laban and Paddan Aram with quite a caravan and very wealthy according to a comparison with Genesis 30:43.
Henry M. Morris commenting on Genesis 31:17-18, writes, “The momentous nature of this event is indicated by the formal statement of verse 18, Jacob was now leaving Paddan Aram or Mesopotamia, to go back to Canaan and to Isaac his father. The time had come for him to take over the patriarchal responsibility associated with God’s promises. He possessed both the birthright and the blessing; and they entailed great responsibilities, as well as privileges, which it was now time to fulfill” (The Genesis Record, page 482, Baker Book House).
Genesis 31:19, “When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.”
Genesis 31:19 explains to the reader that Jacob was able to escape without Laban knowing about it since Laban was out shearing the sheep, which was a very busy time for sheep farmers such as Laban.
Bruce K. Waltke writes, “Sheep shearing was carried out in the spring. It entailed large numbers of men working at great distances from their homes for an extended period of time. Consequently, Laban and his men are far away and very preoccupied, allowing Rachel to steal the gods and enabling Jacob to be gone for three days (31:22) before Laban becomes aware of it” (Genesis, A Commentary, page 427, Zondervan).
Genesis 31:19 records that Rachel stole Laban’s household idols while Laban was out shearing the sheep, which was a sin according to Exodus 20:15, Leviticus 19:11 and Deuteronomy 5:19.
Exodus 20:15, “You shall not steal.”
“Household idols” is the noun teraphim (<yt!u*r+T!) (ter-aw-feme), which were small idols like figurines and were considered the family gods, which gave the family protection and were kept on a god-shelf and were outlawed in Israel (See 1 Samuel 15:23; 19:13; 2 Kings 23:24; Zechariah 10:2f.).
These gods were usually small figurines (two to three inches long), sometimes carried on the body as charms, many of which archaeologists have discovered.
There are many reasons offered by Bible scholars and commentators as to the reason why Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
The obvious reason is that by taking away her father’s household idols, she was taking away his protection from his perspective, which the idols were thought to give.
Another explanation supported by the text and archaeology relates her theft to a practice during the days of the patriarchs that is mentioned Hurrian texts found in a place called “Nuzi,” which is about 10 miles southwest of modern Kirkuk in northeastern Iraq.
These Hurrian texts included about 5,000 tables from family archives from approximately 1500 B.C. and they give us insight into life in the days of the patriarchs.
According to these documents from Nuzi, possession of the household gods was connected to inheritance and property rights of their owner.
Therefore, Rachel stole the household gods in order to establish a future claim on Laban’s family inheritance.
She thought by possessing them would somehow help validate the legitimacy of her husband’s title to the flocks he had acquired while serving Laban and represent the inheritance she had a right to expect.
The household gods were a token of rightful claim to the possessions and the head¬ship of the family.
Rachel must have felt justified in stealing these gods and in expecting to share in the family inheritance.
After all, this is what she and Leah had just affirmed to Jacob: Genesis 31:14, “Rachel and Leah said to him, ‘Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father's house?’”
From Rachel’s perspective, getting Laban’s wealth was God’s will and if that was the case with the matter of the flocks which Jacob had been tending, why should it not be true of the estate at Laban’s death?
Also, Rachel does not tell Jacob of her theft since he would undoubtedly disapproved of her taking anything with her that was Laban’s property since he already rejected anything that was her father’s.
Genesis 31:20, “And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.”
“Deceived” is the verb ganav (bn^G*) (gaw-nav), “to steal,” which is used with the noun lev (bl@), “heart,” which refers to the mentality of the soul and so these two literally mean that Jacob “stole the heart” of Laban.
The meaning of the expression “stole the heart” of Laban is understood by comparing it with the prepositional phrase “by not telling him (Laban) that he (Jacob) was fleeing.”
Therefore, Jacob stole the heart of Laban in the sense that he left secretly and unobserved by Laban so that Laban had no knowledge of and was totally unaware that Jacob had left.
The fact that Jacob left secretly was “not” a sin since in Scripture we see that David kept his whereabouts secret from Saul in order to protect himself (1 Samuel 19:2).
The Lord Jesus Christ went in secret to the Temple in order to avoid a confrontation with the Pharisees, which could lead to His premature arrest before the time that the Father had ordained for Him (See John 7:1-10).
However, although it was not a sin that Jacob left secretly, it was a sin that he left secretly out of fear of Laban.
In response to Laban’s question as to why Jacob left secretly, Jacob replies in Genesis 31:31, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.”
Therefore, Jacob’s sin in this matter was a lack of faith in the Lord to protect him from Laban.
Jacob should have left openly, trusting that the Lord would protect from Laban as He said He would in Genesis 28:15 in the phrase “I will keep you.”
Jacob’s sin of fear due to a lack of faith repeats the sin of his grandfather Abraham who out of fear of Pharaoh of Egypt and Abimelech said that Sarah was his sister and not his wife (See Genesis 12:9-20; 20:1-18).
Jacob’s sin of fear due to a lack of faith repeats this sin of his father of Isaac who out of fear of the Philistines told them that Rebekah was his sister and not his wife (See Genesis 26:7-11).
Unlike, his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, Jacob’s fear was not for his own life but that his loved ones would be taken away from him by force.
Genesis 31:20 also describes Laban as the “Aramean,” which is an ethnic designation denoting a tribal population, which lived from Mesopotamia to Asia Minor and Syria-Palestine who like the patriarchs were descendants of Shem.
The emphasis upon Laban’s ethnic affiliation alerts the reader that Laban and Jacob are now totally alienated from each other and represent two distinct groups of people.
Genesis 31:21, “So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.”
The “Euphrates” river was located in southern Mesopotamia and rises in the mountains of Armenia Major and flows through Assyria, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the city of Babylon, from 1,700 to 1,800 miles into the Persian Gulf.
“The hill country of Gilead” was a fertile, high plateau in Transjordan, which was located between Yarmuk that runs into the Jordan and south of the Sea of Galilee and the northern shore of the Dead Sea.
Jacob’s caravan forded the Euphrates River, which is sufficiently shallow at certain points near its source for this, and headed for Mount Gilead, which was far to the southwest and is a very mountainous region east of the Jordan River whose northern edges are nearly three hundred miles from Haran.
Therefore, Jacob and his party had a very long journey to undertake.