Jacob leaves Laban (draft)

The Jacob Cycle - Part 10

The deceptions and manipulations between Jacob and Laban have reached a breaking point. Perceiving danger from Laban, Jacob convinces Leah and Rachel to leave their father’s house and return to Canaan with him. Deception and theft is unsurprisingly involved in his escape1, but, surprisingly, the episode ends with peace between Jacob and Laban.

Structure

The episode is divided into seven scenes.2

  1. Jacob sees a change in Laban’s “face” - Genesis 31:2
  2. Yahweh instructs Jacob to return to Canaan - Genesis 31:3
  3. Jacob convinces Leah and Rachel to leave - Genesis 31:4-16
  4. Departure - Genesis 31:17-21
  5. Laban’s pursuit - Genesis 31:25-44
  6. Confrontation and oath - Genesis 31:25-44
  7. Laban returns home - Genesis 31:55

This section is parallel to Jacob’s arrival to Haran in Genesis 29, serving as a reversal of it. Jacob is returning from exile. Also, as with previous episodes, it has several references to Jacob’s encounter with God at Bethel in Genesis 28:10-22.

There are also parallels to Hagar and Ishmael’s expulsion from Abraham’s family in Genesis 21:8-21 and Abraham’s treaty with Abimelek in Genesis 21:22-34, which will be noted later. In general, comparing those scenes with the ones in this episode highlight God’s saving power and underscore the eschatological vision of all nations coming together in peace through God’s chosen.

Jacob sees a change in Laban’s “face”

2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before.

–Genesis 31:2 (ESV)

Jacob perceives that he’s in danger, the perception being that he has stolen his wealth from Laban (Genesis 31:1.) Literally, “Jacob saw the face of Laban, and behold, it was not toward him as formerly.”3 “Face,” pinney, has become a keyword. Jacob will begin to “face” those he’s dealt with.4 In this episode, it will be Laban, whose flock he exploited to attain wealth. Later, he’ll contend with the faces of Esau and Yahweh, himself.

A potential parallel is Sarah’s attitude towards Hagar and Ishmael in (Genesis 22:8-10.) In both stories, the chosen line experienced fruitfulness that inspires jealousy and leads to a separation of “brothers.”

Parallel Abraham Cycle Jacob Cycle
Object of jealousy Inheritance/Hagar’s son Flocks, servants, camels, and donkeys
The one who “sees” Sarah Jacob
The jealous Sarah Laban’s sons
The brothers Hagar’s son and Isaac Laban’s sons and Jacob

As with the quarrelling between Abram and Lot’s herdsmen (Genesis 13:7) and Isaac’s herdsmen and those of Gerar (Genesis 26:19-21,) possessions cause conflict. Sarah is concerned about who will be “heir” to Abraham, and Laban’s sons are concerned about the wealth Jacob had acquired at the expense of their father. Abraham’s wealth, including Hagar, had been gained in Egypt as a result of masquerading Sarah as only his sister, leading to the conflict with Lot’s herdsmen and enabling Sarah’s plan to give Hagar to Abraham as a wife in an attempt to resolve her barrenness. Jacob’s trickery in his breeding program led to wealth that sparked the ire of Laban’s sons. Given all that has come before in Genesis, there could be an implicit negative judgment on how Jacob has attained his wealth.

Yahweh instructs Jacob to return to Canaan

3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

–Genesis 31:3 (ESV)

Perhaps in response to the potential danger from Laban’s house, Yahweh speaks to Jacob, instructing him to return to the land of Canaan.5 When Abram himself was in Haran, Yahweh called him to Canaan similarly, referencing “father,” “kindred,” “land,” and giving a promise.6

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

–Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)

The elements of the promise to Abram are perhaps implied along with the promise to be with Jacob, especially given how Jacob has been both a blessing and a curse to Laban so far in the story. The covenant between Jacob and Laban (Genesis 31:44) could be foreshadowed through “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

While this calling fits well into the overall biblical narrative, it’s in contrast to Rebekah’s instructions to Jacob in Genesis 27:43-35, where she said she would “send and bring you from there” after Esau’s anger subsided. Her other assumptions and expectations about his exile were subverted, as well. Jacob’s exile wasn’t only for protection from Esau and marriage, it was also the way he would inherit the blessing of God’s chosen and experience God’s discipline. It was also much longer, at least twenty years, not the “few days” she supposed. This illustrates that it’s God, the true protagonist of the Jacob story, who is directing events, either in line with human plans or against them as he wills to accomplish his rescue plan. Furthermore, Rachel never sees Jacob again. Except for a note about where she’s buried, she isn’t mentioned at all. This could suggest she indeed bore the “curse” for Jacob as a consequence for the masquerade used to steal Esau’s blessing (Genesis 27:12-13.)7

Jacob convinces Leah and Rachel to leave

Secret meeting

4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not permit him to harm me. 8 If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped. 9 Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

–Genesis 31:4-9 (ESV)

Jacob meets with his wives to lay out his initial argument for fleeing Laban. Rachel is listed first, underscoring the fact that Jacob still favors her above Leah.8 This favoritism persists for the rest of the Jacob and Joseph cycles and won’t cease to cause problems. Jacob meeting with them in the field, a location that both won’t be suspicious and be away from those he doesn’t want overhearing.9 “The field” links this episode with its counterpart: Jacob arriving at Laban’s house. He first encountered Rachel in the field (Genesis 29:2.) He now plans to leave with Rachel and Leah in the field. While Rachel told Laban about Jacob’s arrival (Genesis 29:12,) Laban is kept “in the dark” about Jacob’s plan to leave.

Jacob frames his success in Haran as a battle between “the god of my father” - Yahweh still isn’t his god - and Laban, arguing that God has overcome all of Laban’s strikes against him.10

  1. Laban changed his attitude towards Jacob, but God was with Jacob.
  2. Laban cheated Jacob and changed Jacob’s wages “10 times,” meaning repeatedly, but God didn’t allow Laban to harm Jacob.
  3. Laban tried to give Jacob little, but God took much from Laban and gave it to Jacob.

In his third point, “taken away” is literally “rescued” (yatsel, root ntsl). He’ll use that same word later in Genesis 32:11 when he prays for God to rescue him from Esau when he fears he’ll be attacked by him. The word is also repeatedly used in Exodus to describe God rescuing Israel from Egypt. However, a form of the word is also used by God when he describes how the Israelites will leave Egypt.

21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder [nitsaltem, root ntsl] the Egyptians.”

–Exodus 3:21–22 (ESV)

This parallel is strong as both passages relate to God’s chosen ones leaving bondage with their captor’s wealth. While Jacob credits God as the one who caused the transfer of wealth to himself and frames it as a rescue, it’s notable that in Exodus, the Egyptians willingly give to the Israelites after they ask (Exodus 12:35-36.) God foretold this would happen as wages for their unpaid labor. Though Laban has done his best to pay Jacob as little as possible, Jacob hasn’t worked for free and used trickery to “increase greatly.” These contrasts, if intended, cast doubt on Jacob’s upcoming interpretation of his breeding program in Genesis 30.

Jacob’s dream

10 “In the breeding season of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’ 12 And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’”

–Genesis 31:10-13 (ESV)

Jacob describes a dream to his wives where he attributes the success of his breeding program to God and shares God’s instruction to return to Canaan. The details of Jacob’s dream differ from the account the narrator supplied in Genesis 30, however. Most notably, Jacob omits any reference to his strategy using sticks, instead emphasizing God’s role, and says that God called himself “the god of Bethel,” the only time that title has been used, whereas so far in the Jacob story Yahweh has announced himself as the god of Abraham and Isaac. Commentators are divided on whether Jacob faithfully recounts a dream he had, twists it to add weight to his argument to leave, or if it’s a fabrication.11 The author has certainly left a puzzle; perhaps it’s intentional that there’s no clear solution. Yahweh is still not yet Jacob’s god. For several more scenes, Jacob will act in a way that demonstrates his primary motivation is his own safety. Whatever faith he has that Yahweh will be with him and obedience to the command to return home is secondary. Jacob perceives danger, so it suits him to leave. Nevertheless, a fledgling hope for God’s protection perhaps exists. He might be trying to persuade himself along with his wives.

Parallel words and phrases appear between this scene and God’s protection of Hagar in the Abraham Cycle (Genesis 20:14-21.)

Abraham Cycle Jacob Cycle
“She lifted up her voice and wept” “I lifted up my eyes and saw”
“The angel of God called to Hagar” “The angel of God said to me”
“God has heard the voice of the boy” “I have seen all that Laban is doing to you”
“Up! Lift up the boy and see” “Lift up your eyes and see…Now arise [up]”

If the link is intentional, the narrator describing the interaction between an angel and Hagar in contrast to Jacob himself narrating his interaction with an angel is conspicuous.

More certain is the connection between Jacob’s dream here and at Bethel (Genesis 28:12-15).12

Dream at Bethel Dream in the breeding season
“And he dreamed, and behold (hinneh)” “Said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob’…‘Here I am (hineni!)’”
Angels ascending (olim) Goats mating (literally “ascending”, olim)
“I am Yahweh, the god of Abraham…and…Isaac” “I am the god of Bethel”
“I will bring you back to this land” “Go out from this land and return”

If this connection is read positively, the rescue of Jacob is augmented with the rescue of Laban’s animals, providing a grand picture of the chosen seed of the woman bringing others with him from exile into Yahweh’s land. Negatively, it shows Jacob attempting to fit his scheming into the framework of his dream at Bethel to justify it. Both readings could be valid. While Jacob’s wealth gain at the expense of Laban might not have been necessary or God-approved, God used it to move his plans forward.

Rachel and Leah agree to leave

14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has indeed devoured our money. 16 All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”

–Genesis 31:14-16 (ESV)

Rachel and Leah express that they feel like outcasts and are eager to leave with Jacob. They say, literally, that Laban has “eaten up” their money. This idiom is connected with pocketing a bride-price outside the Bible. Jacob worked for 14 years instead of paying a bride-price, so Rachel and Leah should have been entitled to 14 years’ wages. Laban’s selfishness has left them with no hope of receiving it.13 They’re convinced that Jacob’s wealth is from God and commit to following his command.

The comment about being regarded as foreigners could be parallel to Hagar being noted as “the Egyptian” (Genesis 21:9) before she was cast out of Abraham’s family.

TODO: fill out the following
Genesis 31:17-21 - Jacob’s escape is connected to Abraham’s move from Harran to Canaan, Jacob’s later move to Egypt, and the exodus. He left during sheep-shearing season because Laban was away. We receive a note about Rachel stealing household gods or idols. Later in the Bible they’re connected with divination, linking back to Genesis 30:27. It also recall’s Jacob’s theft of Isaac’s blessing before he left home.

“Deceived” is literally “stole the heart of.” “Heart” is lev which is a play on “Laban,” and “Aramean” is very close to the work “cheat” in Hebrew. The point is that Jacob has out-tricked the trickster (Sarna: 216). The focus on Laban as an Aramean illustrates the divide between him and Jacob. Laban is no longer family, he represents “the nations.” When Rachel commanded Jacob to flee to Haran, she literally said “arise, flee.” Here, Jacob “fled” and “arose.” The word reversal illustrates the change in direction (Sarna: 217.)

TODO: fill out
Genesis 31:22-35 - Laban eventually catches up with Jacob. There is a lot of language used that creates the connotation of a hostile environment, but God speaks to Laban and warns him against harming Jacob.

Laban tries to paint himself as a victim and accuses Jacob of stealing his gods. Jacob defends himself and invites Laban to search for his gods. Laban “feels” all around the tent. This links back to Isaac “feeling” the disguised Jacob in Genesis 27:22 (Wenham: 276). Jacob disguised himself under animal skins. Rachel hides Laban’s gods inside an animal’s saddle. She sits on the saddle, claiming she can’t rise because she’s on her period. If this is true, she is culturally unclean and Laban can’t approach. Furthermore, she would be making the idols unclean. In a sense Laban’s gods have been defeated along with Laban himself. He searched three times but found nothing.

Genesis 31:36-42 - Vindicated, Jacob fully lays out his grievances against Laban. Verse 42 has strong links to the Exodus. “Send away” is often used to describe Pharoah sending Israel out of Egypt, and Moses promised Israel that they wouldn’t leave Israel “empty-handed.” The end of his speech is a decisive confession that it was God who guarded and blessed him (Wenham: 277).

Genesis 31:43-54 - Laban pathetically insists that everything Jacob has is his, but he knows he’s defeated. So, he moves to make a treaty with the more powerful Jacob as protection against revenge. Jacob sets up a stone pillar and asks that both groups build a “heap” (gal,) giving meaning to the name Galeed (“heap of witness”) and adding additional meaning to Gilead (both names have the same consonants.) The reason for two witnesses could be an indication of the mistrust between Jacob and Laban and a link to Deuteronomy 19:15. Stones continue to be witnesses to pivotal moments in Jacob’s life. Laban names the place “heap of witness” in Aramaic (Wenham: 279). Other than accenting the note on Genesis 31:20, it perhaps solidifies the Babylonian background of the story. The other name Jacob gives is “the watch tower.”

Other than being witnesses, the heap and pillar serve as boundary stones. Lines have been drawn between Jacobs god(s) and Laban’s gods.

Later, Jacob will flee Laban and be pursued by him, but the two will ultimately make peace by setting up a pillar with stones that Jacob will call galeed, Gilead (See https://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Jacob-and-Labans-double-talk-Scott-Noegel.pdf)

Bibliography

Bunn Jr, Daniel D. 2015. “‘Return to the Land of Your Fathers’: A Narrative Reading of Genesis 31–33, the Return of Jacob to the Land of Canaan.” PhD diss. Fuller Theological Seminary, Center for Advanced Theological Study.

Mackie, Tim. “Session 18: Jacob Versus the Narrator.” The BibleProject Classroom: Jacob. Published 2021. https://bibleproject.com/classroom/jacob/notebook/teacher-notes.

Mackie, Tim. “Session 21: Jacob Builds and Ark.” The BibleProject Classroom: Jacob. Published 2021. https://bibleproject.com/classroom/jacob/notebook/teacher-notes.

Sarna, Nahum M. Genesis. The JPS Torah Commentary. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989.

Walton, John H. Genesis. The NIV Application Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan, 2014.

Wenham, Gordon John. Genesis 16-50, Volume 2. World Biblical Commentary. E-book ed. Zondervan Academic, 2017.

  1. Walton, Genesis, 589. ↩

  2. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 266-267 and Mackie, “Jacob Builds and Ark,” see “Yaaqov and Esau Unite.” Wenham sees the encounter with angels in 32:1-2 as a conclusion to this episode, but Mackie’s connection between Mahanaim and Jacob dividing his camps is a compelling reason to include the scene in the next episode, not this one. ↩

  3. Mackie, “Jacob Versus the Narrator,” see translation in “Yaaqov Persuades His Wives to Flee.” ↩

  4. Ibid, see “Key Takeaways.” ↩

  5. Bunn, “Return of Jacob,” 56. ↩

  6. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 269. ↩

  7. Bunn, “Return of Jacob,” 58. ↩

  8. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 270. ↩

  9. Sarna, Genesis, 214. ↩

  10. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 270. ↩

  11. Bunn, “Return of Jacob,” 61, see footnote 171. ↩

  12. Wenham, Genesis 16-50, 272. ↩

  13. Sarna, Genesis, 215. ↩

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