31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 1 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 2 at our father’s expense!” 3
31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers 4 and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 5
1 tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”
2 sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).
3 tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”
4 tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.
5 sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the
6 tn Heb “and he fled.”
7 tn Heb “he arose and crossed.” The first verb emphasizes that he wasted no time in getting across.
8 tn Heb “the river”; the referent (the Euphrates) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “he set his face.”