Genesis 31.22-24-God Protects Jacob by Warning Laban in a Dream
Thursday July 20, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 31:22-24-God Protects Jacob by Warning Laban in a Dream
Lesson # 182
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 31:1.
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.
On Tuesday 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.
Last evening we will study Genesis 31:17-21 records Jacob departing from Paddan Aram and heading towards Canaan.
This evening we will study Genesis 31:22-24, where we will see Laban pursuing Jacob and overtaking him and confronting him in the hill country of Gilead.
Genesis 31:1, “Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, ‘Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.’”
Genesis 31:2, “Jacob saw the attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.”
Genesis 31:3, “Then the LORD said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.’”
Genesis 31:4-5, “So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, and said to them, ‘I see your father's attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but the God of my father has been with me.’”
Genesis 31:6, “You know that I have served your father with all my strength.”
Genesis 31:7, “Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me.”
Genesis 31:8, “If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock brought forth striped.’”
Genesis 31:9, “Thus God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.”
Genesis 31:10, “And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled.”
Genesis 31:11, “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’”
Genesis 31:12, “He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.’”
Genesis 31:13, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.”
Genesis 31:14, “Rachel and Leah said to him, ‘Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father's house?’”
Genesis 31:15, “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.”
Genesis 31:16, “Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”
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.”
Genesis 31:19, “When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the household idols that were her father's.”
Genesis 31:20, “And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.”
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.”
Genesis 31:22-23, “When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, then he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days' journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.”
Henry M. Morris, “If the three days journey, which typically separated him from Laban’s flocks was oriented in such a way as to place Jacob’s flocks a three days’ journey southwest of Laban’s home (the sheep-shearing would probably have taken place not too far from there), then Jacob and his flocks would have already been approximately eighty or ninety miles on their way when their flight began in earnest. A day’s journey was usually reckoned at about thirty miles for men traveling unencumbered. However, once they began moving the flocks along, they would be able to make only fifteen or twenty miles a day. Thus, once they started driving the cattle, it would take them probably ten days or so to reach the Mount Gilead region” (The Genesis Record, page 483, Baker Book House).
Catching up with Jacob was no easy matter, for he had gained three days’ lead time.
By the time Laban had rushed home, discovered the loss of his gods, and gathered the relatives who were armed for battle, a fourth day must have been lost.
Remember, Laban and his men were out in the field busy sheep-shearing and were busy with not only the work itself but also the festivities that were connected with this annual event.
Laban didn’t get word of Jacob’s departure until Jacob had been on the trail for three days.
No doubt Laban was furious with Jacob but he and his men could not drop the work of sheep-shearing immediately so by the time they were ready to pursue Jacob, probably another day had gone by.
Once, on the trail, Laban would have driven his men hard to catch up to Jacob and it appears that he and his men covered the entire three hundred miles in only seven days, which is confirmed in that from the Euphrates to Gilead is some three hundred miles.
Jacob was encumbered with his herds and flocks and loses his three days’ advantage by the time seven days of pursuit are ended.
Laban and his sons had no intention of letting Jacob take all his flocks to Canaan and were intending to take them by force if necessary and even do harm to Jacob as indicated by the verb radhaph, “pursued,” which is used of chasing after someone to do them harm.
Further indicating that Laban was intending to harm Jacob is the verb davaq, “overtook,” which denotes military pursuit and is in the hiphil (intensive and reflexive) stem expressing Laban’s hostility towards Jacob indicating that Laban intently caused himself to overtake Jacob.
In Genesis 31:23, the verb davaq, does not mean that Laban “overtook” Jacob in the sense that he made contact with him and met with Jacob face to face but rather it means that he “kept close to” Jacob but did not make contact.
This interpretation is confirmed by the context since Genesis 31:24 indicates that Laban spent the night where Jacob was encamped before making contact with him or meeting him face to face.
Therefore, the verb davaq implies that Laban “kept close to” Jacob so that he could make a reconnaissance and evaluate the situation but did not make contact and did not reveal his position to Jacob.
In Genesis 31:25, the verb nasagh means that Laban “overtook” Jacob in the sense that he made contact with him and identified his position to Jacob and met with Jacob face to face.
The verb davaq in Genesis 31:23 indicates that Laban did not make contact with Jacob whereas nasagh in Genesis 31:25 indicates that he came right up to Jacob so as to confront him face to face.
Genesis 31:24, “God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, ‘Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.’”
A comparison of Genesis 31:23 and 24 indicates that once Laban and his men had Jacob and his people in their sight, they encamped for the night without making contact as indicated in that Laban had a dream the night they overtook Jacob.
A comparison of the verb davaq in Genesis 31:23 indicates that Laban did not make contact with Jacob whereas nasagh in Genesis 31:25 indicates that he came right up to Jacob so as to confront him face to face.
As in Genesis 31:20, Genesis 31:24 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 and 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.
“God” is the noun Elohim, which emphasizes the omnipotence of God indicating that Laban is confronting the omnipotent God in a dream who is protecting Jacob, which will discourage Laban from physically harming Jacob.
The fact that God intervenes on behalf of Jacob by warning Laban not to harm Jacob is a fulfillment of His promises to Jacob to be with him and protect and bring him back to the land of Canaan, and which promises are recorded in Genesis 28:15.
Genesis 28:15, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
“Be careful” is the niphil imperative form of the verb shamar (rm^v*) (shaw-mar), which means, “to pay attention, listen and obey” and the preposition le (l+) (lamed), which functions as an ethical or reflexive dative of advantage meaning, “yourself, for your benefit.”
Therefore, God is saying to Laban in the dream, “Watch yourself,” or in other words, “Pay attention and do what I say for it is your benefit that you do so.”
“That you do not” is the conjunction pen (/P#), which indicates the prevention of a possible or potential event, implying that God is taking measures to prevent Laban from taking military action against Jacob and doing him harm.
“Speak” is the verb davar (rb^D*) (daw-var), which emphasizes the activity of speaking.
“Either good or bad”: (1) Preposition min (/m!), “either” (2) Noun tov (bw)f), “good” (3) Preposition `adh (du^), “or” (4) Noun ra` (ur^), “evil.”
The preposition min is combined with the preposition `adh and together they literally mean, “from…to” expressing an inclusive idea meaning everything or anything.
Therefore, literally speaking this entire expression translated “either good or bad” in the New American Standard literally means, “from good to bad” but idiomatically, it means, “anything positive or negative.”
The noun tov, “good” refers to speaking anything “positive” to Jacob that could influence him to return to Paddan Aram such as sweet talking Jacob and proposing any new deals with him.
Whereas, the noun ra, “evil” refers to Laban speaking anything “negative” to Jacob that would intimidate him and cause him to go against the will of God and return to Paddan Aram.
This exact expression appears in Genesis 24:50 where Laban and Bethuel respond to Abraham’s servant Eliezer’s story of God’s providential activities and proposing that Isaac marry Rebekah by saying “we cannot speak to you bad or good.”
This expression is an example of “merism” which is an expression of totality through the combination of opposites.
Therefore, Laban and Bethuel’s response meant that they couldn’t say anything at all and have no choice in the matter since it is clearly God’s will that Isaac marry Rebekah.
In Genesis 31:24, the expression, “do not speak to Jacob either good or bad” is also an example of “merism.”
Therefore, the expression means that God prohibited Laban from saying anything to influence Jacob to return since that would be against His will or to say anything by way of bitter reproach or intimidation.
This expression does “not” mean he was prohibited from speaking anything at all to Jacob but that he could not say anything to influence Jacob in returning or saying anything by way of bitter reproach.
This expression was a proverbial phrase for opposition or interference.
Therefore, God does not want Laban sweet talking or proposing any new deals that would entice Jacob to return with him to Paddan Aram, nor, does God want Laban speaking harsh and bitter words to Jacob in order to intimidate Jacob and cause him to return to Paddan Aram.
This proverbial expression therefore indicates that God does not want Laban to oppose or interfere with Jacob returning to Canaan, which is His will.
God does not want Laban saying positive or negative to Jacob that would prevent him from returning to Canaan when it is God’s will for him to return.
Therefore, we could translate Genesis 31:24:
Genesis 31:24, “God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, “Watch yourself, pay attention and do what I say, do not say anything positive or negative to Jacob (so as to prevent him from returning to Canaan), for it is for your benefit.”
