Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran. Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away— until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
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Genesis 27:43-45 sits inside this longer paragraph.
The words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah. She sent and called Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran. Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away— until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
Parallel Translations
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Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran.
Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away—
until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?”
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Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;
Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?
Show all 3 translations
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Now therefore, my son, hearken to my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;
until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him; then I will send, and fetch thee from thence; why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?'
Cross-references (20)
- Genesis 11:31 (v43) Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of…
- Genesis 27:8 (v43) Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you.
- Genesis 27:13 (v43) His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son. Only obey my voice, and go get them for me.”
- Genesis 31:38 (v44) “These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not cast their young, and I haven’t eaten the rams of your…
- Genesis 4:8-16 (v45) Cain said to Abel, his brother, “Let’s go into the field.” While they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed…
Show all 20 cross-references
- Genesis 9:5-6 (v45) I will surely require accounting for your life’s blood. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand…
- Genesis 12:4-5 (v43) So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai…
- Genesis 24:29 (v43) Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring.
- Genesis 27:35 (v45) He said, “Your brother came with deceit, and has taken away your blessing.”
- Genesis 28:7 (v43) and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.
- Genesis 31:41 (v44) These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you…
- 2 Samuel 14:6-7 (v45) Your servant had two sons, and they both fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other, and…
- Proverbs 19:21 (v45) There are many plans in a man’s heart, but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.
- Proverbs 30:17 (v43) “The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother: the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall…
- Jeremiah 35:14 (v43) “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for…
- Lamentations 3:37 (v45) Who is he who says, and it comes to pass, when the Lord doesn’t command it?
- Acts 5:29 (v43) But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Acts 28:4 (v45) When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has…
- James 4:13-15 (v45) Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” Whereas you don’t…
- Genesis 28:10 (v43) Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv44–45 44. And tarry with him a few days. This…
44. And tarry with him a few days. This circumstance mitigates the severity of banishment. For the shortness of the time of suffering avails not a little to support us in adversity. And it was probable that the enmity of Esau would not prove so obstinate as to be unassuaged by his brother’s absence. In the Hebrew expression which is translated “a few days,” the word few is literally “one” put in the plural number. Rebekah means, that as soon as Jacob should have gone away of his own accord, the memory of the offense would be obliterated from the mind of Esau; as if she had said, Only depart hence for a little while, and we shall soon assuage his anger.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v45 For the wicked son will kill the godly: and…
For the wicked son will kill the godly: and the plague of God will afterward light on the wicked son.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv43–45 Gen 27:43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice;…
Gen 27:43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
Ver. 43. Flee thou to Laban.] Flee then we may, when in danger of life; so it be with the wings of a dove, not with the pinions of a dragon. God must be trusted, not tempted. Means must be neither trusted nor neglected.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv44–45 A few days; so she expected and intended, but…
A few days; so she expected and intended, but was greatly disappointed, for he tarried there twenty years.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv43–45 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice,.... Hearken to…
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice,.... Hearken to what I say, and do according to it, as he had already in many instances, and particularly in a late one, in which he succeeded, and therefore had good reason to attend to her advice and direction, see Gen 27:13,
and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother, to Haran; where Laban her brother, dwelt.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v45 Why should I be deprived of you both? -…
Why should I be deprived of you both? - Not only of the murdered, but of the murderer, who either by the magistrate, or by the immediate hand of God would be sacrificed to justice.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv44–45 Verse 44. Tarry with him a few days] It…
Verse 44. Tarry with him a few days] It was probably forty years before he returned, and it is likely Rebekah saw him no more; for it is the general opinion of the Jewish rabbins that she died before Jacob's return from Padan-aram, whether the period of his stay be considered twenty or forty years. See Clarke on Ge 31:55, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v44 Gen 27:44-45. Tarry with him a few days —…
Gen 27:44-45. Tarry with him a few days — Which proved to be above twenty years. Why should I be deprived of you both in one day? — Of one by murder, and the other by the hand of justice, (Gen 9:6,) or by some remarkable stroke of divine vengeance, Act 28:4.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v45 Both my sons. Esau would have forfeited his life…
Both my sons. Esau would have forfeited his life for murder, chap. ix. 6. (Haydock) --- Perhaps she might also fear that Jacob, in his own defence, should in the very agony of death, give the aggressor a mortal wound; or that Esau, at least, would be forced to flee his country. Indeed, she considered him already as a lost man, on account of his marriage with the two women of Chanaan, and his savage manners. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v45 Why should I be deprived of you both?--This refers…
Why should I be deprived of you both?--This refers to the law of Goelism, by which the nearest of kin would be obliged to avenge the death of Jacob upon his brother.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv43–45 43. Obey my voice — This is Rebekah’s standing…
43. Obey my voice — This is Rebekah’s standing formula with Jacob. Comp. Gen_27:8; Gen_27:13. Her commands and action in respect to her favourite son, she believes to be according to the divine oracle to her. Gen_25:23.
Laban — See Gen_24:29; Gen_24:50.
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Haran — See on Gen_11:31.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv43–45 43. obey my voice] Rebekah takes full responsibility upon…
43. obey my voice] Rebekah takes full responsibility upon herself, in fulfilment of her promise in Gen_27:13, “upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v44 (44) A few days.—Like Esau (Gen_27:41), Rebekah expected that…
(44) A few days.—Like Esau (Gen_27:41), Rebekah expected that Isaac’s end was near. Really Jacob was absent for forty years, and while Isaac lived to see him return, Rebekah saw him again no more. Yet this was better than for Esau to slay him, and then, like another Cain, to be banished far away.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v43 Vers. 43-45. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice;…
Vers. 43-45. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; i.e. be guided by my counsel; a request Rebekah might perhaps feel herself justified in making, not only by her maternal solicitude for Jacob"s welfare, but also from the successful issue of Her previous stratagem (vide on ver. 8)and arise, flee thou literally, flee for thyself. (of Gen_12:1; Num_14:11; Amo_7:12) to Laban my brother to Haran; (Gen_11:31 Gen_14:2-9) and tarry with him a few days, literally, days some. The few days eventually proved to be at least twenty years. (vide Gen_31:38) It is not probable that Rebekah ever again beheld her favorite son, which was a signal chastisement for her sinful ambition for, and partiality towards, Jacobuntil thy brother"s fury turn away; until thy brother"s anger turn away from thee, the rage of Esau is here described by two different words, the first of which, hmje from a root signifying to be warm, suggests the heated and inflamed condition of Esau"s soul, while the second, pa from pna to breathe through the nostrils, depicts the visible manifestations of that internal fire in hard and quick breathingand he forget that which thou hast done to him, Rebekah apparently had conveniently become oblivious of her own share in the transaction by which Esau had been wronged. Then will I send, and fetch thee from thence which she never did. Man proposes, but God disposes. Why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? Ie. of Jacob by the hand of Esau, and of Esau by the hand of the avenger of blood (Gen_9:6; cf., 2Sa_14:6, 2Sa_14:7; Calvin, Keil, Rosenm Kalisch) rather than by his own fratricidal act, which would forever part him from Rebekah (Lange).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v43 This does not mean "at this moment," but is…
Now
This does not mean "at this moment," but is used to draw attention to the important point that follows.
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flee to Laban
"leave here quickly and go to Laban"
for a while
"for a period of time"
until your brother's fury subsides
"until you brother calms down"
until your brother's anger turns away from you
No longer being angry is spoken of as if the anger turns to a different direction away from the person. AT: "until he is no longer angry with you" (See: Metaphor)
Why should I lose you both in one day?
Rebekah uses a question to emphasize her concern. AT: "I do not want to lose both of you in one day!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
I lose you both in one day
It is implied that if Esau kills Jacob, then they will execute Esau as a murderer. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
I lose
This is a polite way of referring to her sons dying. (See: Euphemism)
translationWords
obey
Laban
Haran
day
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.