Genesis 31:26
in Genesis 31Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword?
KJV
And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Considering the past conduct of Laban, his complaint on this ground was hypocritical cant. But his second charge was a grave one--the carrying off his gods--Hebrew, "teraphim," small images of human figures, used not as idols or objects of worship, but as talismans, for superstitious purposes.
This site's exposition
when Laban overtook him
on Genesis 31:25-28
Laban opens with the words Jacob used to him at 29:25, What have you done. He says he would have sent them off with joy and singing, tambourines and harps. He calls his daughters captives of war. His last charge is the kiss he wanted for his grandchildren and daughters.
This site's exposition
like captives of war
The Hebrew has captives of the sword, women taken in battle. The daughters had given their own account in verses 14 to 16, that their father sold them and spent the price. They left by choice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
See how the command from God repressed [Laban's] great rage and restrained his anger. Hence Laban directs his words to [Jacob] with extreme mildness, almost apologetically, and shows signs of fatherly affection for him. In fact, whenever we enjoy providence from on high, we not only succeed in avoiding the schemes of wicked people, but should we even encounter untamed beasts, we would suffer no harm. You see, the Lord of all gives evidence of the abundance of his characteristic power by transforming the nature of the beasts and turning it into the gentleness of sheep, not by removing their animal characteristics but, while leaving these in their nature, causing the beasts to appear as sheep. You could observe this not only in wild beasts but also in the elements themselves; at his will the very elements forget their power, and not even fire shows the characteristics of fire.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), that he took his wives away as captives. Note, Those that mean ill themselves are most apt to put the worst construction upon what others do innocently. The insinuating and the aggravating of faults are the artifices of a designing malice, and those must be represented (though never so unjustly) as intending ill against whom ill is intended.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Laban said unto Jacob,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָבָן֙ | lavan | Laban | H3837 → | 55 times |
| לְיַעֲקֹ֔ב | leyaako | to Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| מֶ֣ה | meh | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עָשִׂ֔יתָ | ʾasita | have you done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וַתִּגְנֹ֖ב | vatigno | and you have stolen | H1589 → | 40 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לְבָבִ֑י | levavi | heart my | H3824 → | 252 times |
| וַתְּנַהֵג֙ | vatenaheg | and you have led away | H5090 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֹתַ֔י | benotai | daughters my | H1323 → | 588 times |
| כִּשְׁבֻי֖וֹת | kishvuyot | like captives of | H7617 → | 47 times |
| חָֽרֶב׃ | charev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָבָן֙Laban
lavanH3837 →55 times
לְיַעֲקֹ֔בto Jacob
leyaakoH3290 →350 times
מֶ֣הwhat?
mehH4100 →752 times
עָשִׂ֔יתָhave you done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
וַתִּגְנֹ֖בand you have stolen
vatignoH1589 →40 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
לְבָבִ֑יheart my
levaviH3824 →252 times
וַתְּנַהֵג֙and you have led away
vatenahegH5090 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֹתַ֔יdaughters my
benotaiH1323 →588 times
כִּשְׁבֻי֖וֹתlike captives of
kishvuyotH7617 →47 times
חָֽרֶב׃[the] sword
charevH2719 →413 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 12:18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
it leads to
- Genesis 20:9–10
Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things…
- Genesis 26:9–11
Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”
- Genesis 20:9–10
Through
1 Samuel 14:43“Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must…
it leads to
- Joshua 7:19
So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not…
- 1 Samuel 14:27
Jonathan, however, had not heard that his father had charged the people with the oath. So he reached out the end of the staff in his hand, dipped it into the honeycomb, and put…
- Joshua 7:19
Through
Genesis 31:36Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:26
“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,
- Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Ephesians 4:26
Through
1 Samuel 30:2They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 27:11
David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the…
- 1 Samuel 27:11
Through
Genesis 31:16Surely all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 31:9
Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
- Genesis 31:9
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 57.21; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.