Genesis 31:27
in Genesis 31Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp;
KJV
Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseI might have sent thee away with mirth - בשמחה, besimchah, with rejoicing, making a feast or entertainment on the occasion; and with songs, בשרים beshirim, odes either in the praise of God, or to commemorate the splendid acts of their ancestors; with tabret, בתף bethoph, the tympanum used in the east to the present day, and there called diff, a thin broad wooden hoop, with parchment extended over one end of it, to which are attached small pieces of brass, tin, etc., which make a jingling noise; it is held in the air with one hand, and beat on with the fingers of the other.
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
with tambourines and harps
The last feast Laban gave for Jacob, at Genesis 29:22, was the wedding night he used to switch Leah for Rachel. The harp is the kinnor, the instrument first named with Jubal at 4:21. The tambourine is the one Miriam plays at Exodus 15:20.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
60 ), but with sport and merriment, which was a sign that religion had very much decayed in the family, and that they had lost their seriousness. However, he pretends they would have been treated with respect at parting. Note, It is common for bad men, when they are disappointed in their malicious projects, to pretend that they designed nothing but what was kind and fair.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָ֤מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| נַחְבֵּ֙אתָ֙ | nachbeta | did you hide yourself | H2244 → | 33 times |
| לִבְרֹ֔חַ | livroach | to flee | H1272 → | 63 times |
| וַתִּגְנֹ֖ב | vatigno | and did you steal? | H1589 → | 40 times |
| אֹתִ֑י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִגַּ֣דְתָּ | higadta | did you tell? | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לִּ֔י | li | to <the> me | ||
| וָֽאֲשַׁלֵּחֲךָ֛ | vaashalechakha | and I sent away you | H7971 → | 845 times |
| בְּשִׂמְחָ֥ה | besimchah | with gladness | H8057 → | |
| וּבְשִׁרִ֖ים | uveshirim | and with songs | H7892 → | |
| בְּתֹ֥ף | betof | with tambourine | H8596 → | |
| וּבְכִנּֽוֹר׃ | uvekhinor | and with harp | H3658 → |
לָ֤מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
נַחְבֵּ֙אתָ֙did you hide yourself
nachbetaH2244 →33 times
לִבְרֹ֔חַto flee
livroachH1272 →63 times
וַתִּגְנֹ֖בand did you steal?
vatignoH1589 →40 times
אֹתִ֑י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הִגַּ֣דְתָּdid you tell?
higadtaH5046 →370 times
לִּ֔יto <the> me
li
וָֽאֲשַׁלֵּחֲךָ֛and I sent away you
vaashalechakhaH7971 →845 times
בְּשִׂמְחָ֥הwith gladness
besimchahH8057 →
וּבְשִׁרִ֖יםand with songs
uveshirimH7892 →
בְּתֹ֥ףwith tambourine
betofH8596 →
וּבְכִנּֽוֹר׃and with harp
uvekhinorH3658 →
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
Exodus 15:20Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
it leads to
- Psalms 150:4
Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.
- 1 Samuel 18:6
As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and…
- Psalms 68:25
The singers lead the way, the musicians follow after, among the maidens playing tambourines.
- Psalms 149:3
Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.
- Judges 11:34
And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.
- Psalms 150:4
Through
Judges 6:27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it…
it leads to
- John 2:5
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
- 1 Thessalonians 2:4
Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.
- Deuteronomy 4:1
Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of…
- John 2:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.