Genesis 31:23
in Genesis 31So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and he overtook him in the mountain of Gilead.
KJV
And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
On the third day Laban was informed
on Genesis 31:22-24
On the third day word reaches Laban, the distance he had set between the flocks at 30:36. He pursues seven days and overtakes Jacob in Gilead. God comes to him that night and warns him to say nothing to Jacob, good or bad. Abimelech was warned in a dream the same way at 20:3.
This site's exposition
So he took his relatives with him
Relatives is the Hebrew his brothers, the kinsmen Laban raises to recover his property. The same kinsmen are called in verse 37 to judge between the two men. They end by eating together at the mound.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he took his brethren with him,....
He would not have taken half the pains to have visited his best friends. But the truth is bad men will do more to serve their sinful passions than good men will to serve their just affections, and are more vehement in their anger than in their love.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
How striking and sudden a change! For several days he had been full of rage, and was now in eager anticipation that his vengeance would be fully wreaked, when lo! his hands are tied by invisible power (Ps 76:10). He did not dare to touch Jacob, but there was a war of words.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֤ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶחָיו֙ | ʾechav | relatives his | H251 → | 630 times |
| עִמּ֔וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וַיִּרְדֹּ֣ף | vaiyirdof | and he pursued | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אַחֲרָ֔יו | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
| דֶּ֖רֶךְ | derekh | a journey of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| שִׁבְעַ֣ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| יָמִ֑ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיַּדְבֵּ֥ק | vaiyadbek | and he overtook | H1692 → | 54 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּהַ֥ר | behar | in [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַגִּלְעָֽד׃ | hagilad | <the> Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
וַיִּקַּ֤חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶחָיו֙relatives his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
עִמּ֔וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
וַיִּרְדֹּ֣ףand he pursued
vaiyirdofH7291 →143 times
אַחֲרָ֔יוafter him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
דֶּ֖רֶךְa journey of
derekhH1870 →707 times
שִׁבְעַ֣תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
יָמִ֑יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
וַיַּדְבֵּ֥קand he overtook
vaiyadbekH1692 →54 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
בְּהַ֥רin [the] hill country of
beharH2022 →546 times
הַגִּלְעָֽד׃<the> Gilead
hagiladH1568 →134 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 24:27saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to…
it leads to
- Genesis 24:48
Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother…
- Genesis 32:10
I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.
- Ruth 4:14
Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a kinsman-redeemer. May his name become famous in Israel.
- Genesis 24:48
Through
Exodus 2:11One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:24–26
By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
- Acts 7:22–24
So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
- Exodus 1:11
So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
- Hebrews 11:24–26
Through
Genesis 13:8So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are brothers.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 6:6–7
Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!
- Acts 7:26
The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
- 1 Corinthians 6:6–7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.