That which was torn of animals, I didn’t bring to you. I bore its loss. Of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
Parallel Translations
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That which was torn of animals, I didn’t bring to you. I bore its loss. Of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
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That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
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That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bore the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Genesis 31:39 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 22:10-13 “If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it; the oath of Yahweh shall be between them both, he has not put his hand on his neighbor’s goods; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution. But if it is stolen from him, the one who stole shall make restitution to its owner. If it is torn in pieces, let him bring it for evidence. He shall not make good that which was torn.
- Exodus 22:31 “You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.
- Leviticus 22:8 He shall not eat that which dies of itself or is torn by animals, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
- Luke 2:8 There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.
- 1 Samuel 17:34-35 David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him.
- John 10:12-13 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them. The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn’t care for the sheep.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, the torn, or taken by prey.
Hebrew, the torn, or taken by prey.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 31:39 That which was torn [of beasts] I…
Gen 31:39 That which was torn [of beasts] I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, [whether] stolen by day, or stolen by night.
Ver. 39. Of my hand didst thou require it.] Which was against all right and reason; {Exo 22:10; Exo 22:13} but that weighed little with this covetous cormorant. God "smites his fists" at such "dishonest gain," as Balak did at Balaam, in token of extreme indignation. {Eze 22:13} And lest Laban, or any like, should object, that these were but great words; - The Lord would not do it; They would deal well enough with the Lord for that matter; - he adds, in the next verse, "Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it". {Gen 31:14}
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 Which was unjust and unreasonable, except where it fell…
Which was unjust and unreasonable, except where it fell out through the shepherd’s default. See Exo 22:13.
Quest. How could Jacob pay these losses, seeing he came empty from his father’s house, and got nothing by his service, for the first fourteen years, but his wives?
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Answ. Either, 1. He had some supplies sent from his father, though it be not mentioned in this history. Or,
2. He might have some inconsiderable allowances or privileges from Laban, out of which he could easily defray these charges, which because of his great care and watchfulness did but seldom happen. Or,
3. These losses were put to his account, to be satisfied by him as soon as he should be able to do it.
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 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house,....…
Thus have I been twenty years in thy house,.... Attended with these difficulties, inconveniencies, and hardships:
I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters; Rachel and Leah; first seven years for Rachel; and having Leah imposed upon him instead of her, was obliged to serve seven years more, which he did for her sake; whereas he ought to have given them, and a dowry with them, to one who was heir to the land of Canaan, and not have exacted servitude of him:
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and six years for thy cattle, to have as many of them for his hire, as were produced from a flock of white sheep, that were speckled, spotted, or ringstraked, or brown:
and thou hast changed my wages ten times; See Gill on Gen 31:7;
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 39. That which was torn - of my…
Verse 39. That which was torn - of my hand didst thou require it] This more particularly marks the covetous and rigorous disposition of Laban; for the law of God required that what had been torn by beasts the shepherd should not be obliged to make good, Ex 22:10; Ex 22:13. And it is very likely that this law was in force from the earliest times.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 31:39-40. That which was torn I brought not…
Gen 31:39-40. That which was torn I brought not unto thee — What Jacob here affirms, and for the truth of which he appeals to Laban, shows him to have been of a very industrious and faithful disposition, and that Laban’s temper was exceedingly selfish and sordid: for though Jacob was his relation, and his substance had increased so greatly under his hand, yet he was very rigid toward him, and required him to make good all the cattle that were lost, by whatever accident it happened. In the day the drought consumed me — “In Europe,” says Sir John Chardin, quoted by Harmer, vol. 1. p. 74, “the days and nights resemble each other, with respect to the qualities of heat and cold; but it is quite otherwise in the East. In the lower Asia, in particular, the day is always hot, and, as soon as the sun is fifteen degrees above the horizon, no cold is felt in the depth of winter itself. On the contrary, in the height of summer, the nights are as cold as at Paris in the month of March. It is for this reason that in Persia and Turkey they always make use of furred habits in the country, such only being sufficient to resist the cold of the nights.”
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 Exact it. Laban acted in opposition both to custom…
Exact it. Laban acted in opposition both to custom and to justice, (Calmet) while Jacob forebore to claim what he might have done, agreeably to both. (Haydock)
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 That which was torn of beasts I brought not…
That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee--The shepherds are strictly responsible for losses in the flock, unless they can prove these were occasioned by wild beasts.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 39. I brought not unto thee] Jacob allowed himself…
39. I brought not unto thee] Jacob allowed himself to be the loser by the animals that were killed by wild beasts. Instead of bringing the mangled remains so that their value might not be deducted, he cheerfully bore the full loss: see Exo_22:12-13; Amo_3:12. Jacob had exceeded the standard of fairness which was required by custom: “I bare the loss of it,” i.e. “I used to make myself responsible for the loss.”
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.