Contracts

How Nave’s arranged it

• Between Abraham and Abimelech, concerning wells of waterGenesis 21:25–32
• ViolatedGenesis 26:15
• First contract between Laban and Jacob for Laban's daughterGenesis 29:15–20Genesis 29:27–30
• ViolatedGenesis 29:23–27
• Second contractGenesis 30:28–34
• ViolatedGenesis 30:37–43Genesis 31:7
• For cattleGenesis 30:27–29Genesis 30:31–34
• See Fraud
• Between Solomon and Hiram1 Kings 5:9–111 Kings 9:11
• Dissolved
• By mutual consentExodus 4:18
• By blotting outColossians 2:14

The passages, in Bible order (43)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 21:25–32

   But when Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized,

   ›Commentary on Genesis 21:25–322 voices

   “And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well--Wells were of great importance to a pastoral chief and on the successful operation of sinking a new one, the owner was solemnly informed in person.

   “Note, If our brother trespass against us, we must, with the meekness of wisdom, tell him his fault, that the matter may be fairly accommodated and an end made of it, Matt. xviii.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 21:25–32→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Genesis 23:18

   to Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city.

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Genesis 26:3

   Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 26:31 voice

   “Sojourn in this land - In Gerar, whither he had gone, Gen 26:1, and where we find he settled, Gen 26:6, though the land of Canaan in general might be here intended. That there were serious and important reasons why Isaac should not go to Egypt, we may be fully assured, though they be not assigned here; it is probable that even Isaac himself was not informed why he should not go down to Egypt. I have already supposed that God saw trials in his way which he might not have been able to bear.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 26:3→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Genesis 26:15

   So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 26:152 voices

   “This Isaac, therefore, our Savior, when he has come into that valley of Gerar, first of all wishes to dig those wells that the servants of his father had dug; he wishes to renew the wells of the law, of course, and the prophets, which Philistines had filled with earth.Who are those who fill the wells with earth? Those, doubtless, who put an earthly and fleshly interpretation on the law and close up the spiritual and mystical interpretation so that neither do they themselves drink nor do they permit others to drink.

   “For all the wells - the Philistines had stopped them - In such countries a good well was a great acquisition; and hence in predatory wars it was usual for either party to fill the wells with earth or sand, in order to distress the enemy. The filling up the wells in this case was a most unprincipled transaction, as they had pledged themselves to Abraham, by a solemn oath, not to injure each other in this or any other respect. See Gen 21:25-31.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 26:15→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. Genesis 26:31

   And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 26:311 voice

   “Then Abimelech went to him--As there was a lapse of ninety years between the visit of Abraham and of Isaac, the Abimelech and Phichol spoken of must have been different persons' official titles. Here is another proof of the promise (Ge 12:2) being fulfilled, in an overture of peace being made to him by the king of Gerar.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 26:31→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. Genesis 29:15–20

   Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Genesis 29:23–27

   But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 29:23–271 voice

   “In the evening - he took Leah his daughter - As the bride was always veiled, and the bride chamber generally dark, or nearly so, and as Leah was brought to Jacob in the evening, the imposition here practiced might easily pass undetected by Jacob, till the ensuing day discovered the fraud.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 29:23–27→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Genesis 29:27–30

   Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 29:27–302 voices

   “(Chapter 29, Verse 27) Complete therefore this week, and I will give you this also. After Jacob was deceived by Laban and took Rachel as his wife instead of Leah, it is said that Laban told him to fulfill seven days after the wedding of the first sister, and then he could have Rachel, for whom he would serve another seven years. Therefore, contrary to what some think, Rachel did not become Jacob's wife after another seven years, but after seven days from the wedding of the first wife.

   “Fulfill her week - The marriage feast, it appears, lasted seven days; it would not therefore have been proper to break off the solemnities to which all the men of the place had been invited, Gen 29:22, and probably Laban wished to keep his fraud from the public eye; therefore he informs Jacob that if he will fulfill the marriage week for Leah, he will give him Rachel at the end of it, on condition of his serving seven other years.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 29:27–30→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Genesis 30:27–29

   But Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 30:27–292 voices

   “This was a remarkable testimony that good men are blessings to the places where they reside. Men of the world are often blessed with temporal benefits on account of their pious relatives, though they have not always, like Laban, the wisdom to discern, or the grace to acknowledge it.

   “I have learned by experience - נחשתי nichashti, from נחש nachash, to view attentively, to observe, to pry into. I have diligently considered the whole of thy conduct, and marked the increase of my property, and find that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. For the meaning of the word נחש nachash, See note on Gen 3:1, etc.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 30:27–29→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Genesis 30:28–34

    And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

    Verse page →Original language →

11. Genesis 30:31–34

    “What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Genesis 30:37–43

    Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

    ›Commentary on Genesis 30:37–432 voices

    “Here is Jacob's policy to make his bargain more advantageous to himself than it was likely to be: and if he had not taken some course to help himself, it would have been an ill bargain indeed; which he knew Laban would never have considered, who did not consult any one's interest but his own.

    “The just man Jacob comes in like a hired hand and yet is the master who, in his ministry of preaching the gospel, gathered together a flock that is resplendent in the brilliance of its many signal virtues. Thus, when the flock came to drink, he would set before them in the troughs the bough of storax and walnut and that from the plane tree; those who felt desire for the mysteries of the most blessed Trinity that were prefigured there could engender offspring that were not at all discolored, by conceiving them in a devout mind.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 30:37–43→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Genesis 31:7

    And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.

    ›Commentary on Genesis 31:72 voices

    “(Chapter XXXI, verses 7 and 8) And your father deceived me and changed my wages ten times, and God did not allow him to harm me. If he said, 'Your wages will be the spotted flock,' then every flock was born spotted. And if he said, 'Your wages will be the solid-colored flock,' then every flock was born solid-colored. Because of this, he changed my wages ten times. The Seventy Interpreters have stated, driven by some unknown opinion, that 'moni' in the Hebrew language means 'number' rather than 'lambs.'

    “Changed my wages ten times - There is a strange diversity among the ancient versions, and ancient and modern interpreters, on the meaning of these words. The Hebrew is עשרת מנים asereth monim, which Aquila translates δεκα αριθμους ten numbers; Symmachus, δεκακις αριτμῳ, ten times in number; the Septuagint δεκα αμνων, ten lambs, with which Origen appears to agree.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 31:7→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Genesis 31:44–54

    Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”

    ›Commentary on Genesis 31:44–541 voice

    “Come thou, let us make a covenant--The way in which this covenant was ratified was by a heap of stones being laid in a circular pile, to serve as seats, and in the center of this circle a large one was set up perpendicularly for an altar.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 31:44–54→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Exodus 4:18

    Then Moses went back to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Please let me return to my brothers in Egypt to see if they are still alive.” “Go in peace,” Jethro replied.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 4:181 voice

    “Moses . . . returned to Jethro--Being in his service, it was right to obtain his consent, but Moses evinced piety, humility, and prudence, in not divulging the special object of his journey.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 4:18→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Exodus 21:2–6

    If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 21:2–62 voices

    “If thou buy an Hebrew servant--Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release.

    “We read that every Hebrew keeps the same Passover, and that in the seventh year every prisoner is set free, and that at Jubilee, that is, the fiftieth year, every possession returns to its owner. All this refers not to the present but to the future. For being in bondage during the six days of this world, on the seventh day, the true and eternal sabbath, we shall be free. If we wish to be free, we will be free even while still in bondage in the world.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 21:2–6→

    Verse page →Original language →