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Genesis 31

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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^{Genesis 31:2 [1]} Lit face.

^{Genesis 31:11 [2]} See note 16:7. Note especially GEN 31:13, where the Angel says, "I am the God of Bethel."

^{Genesis 31:19 [3]} Possession of these pagan figurines implied or conferred a right of inheritance.

^{Genesis 31:20 [4]} Lit stole the heart of.

^{Genesis 31:28 [5]} Lit sons.

^{Genesis 31:30 [6]} Lit longed greatly.

^{Genesis 31:30 [7]} Laban was upset because possession of the father's household gods played an important role in inheritance. In the region where Laban lived, a son-in-law who possessed the family gods could appear before a judge and make a claim to the estate of his father-in-law. Since Jacob's possession of the household gods implied the right to inherit Laban's wealth, one can understand why he followed Jacob to recover the idols.

^{Genesis 31:40 [8]} Lit sleep fled from my eyes.

^{Genesis 31:41 [9]} I.e. cheated me as often as possible.

^{Genesis 31:43 [10]} Lit daughters.

^{Genesis 31:43 [11]} Lit children.

^{Genesis 31:47 [12]} The language of Laban, who was an Aramean (v 20). The two names chosen by Laban and Jacob were equivalent.

^{Genesis 31:47 [13]} Heb heap of witness.

^{Genesis 31:49 [14]} The stone mound evidently was tall enough to be considered a place from which one could see at a distance. The thought behind it was that the Lord would watch them when they could not watch each other, and He would see and deal with any mistreatment committed by either of them (see v 50).

^{Genesis 31:53 [15]} Here "god" is put in lowercase because Joshua later declared that Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, was an idolater, serving "other gods" (JOS 24:2). The wording of the Hebrew here indicates that Laban equated the God of Abraham and Nahor with the god of Terah. Whether Laban actually made no distinction in his mind between the true God and false gods, or simply committed an oversight, is not clear. Jacob evidently recognized the ambiguity in Laban's statement as well, so to avoid any possibility of swearing allegiance to a false god, he swore his own oath by the God of Isaac.

^{Genesis 31:55 [16]} Lit sons.

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