Genesis 31:39
in Genesis 31I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
KJV
That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night.
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThat which was torn - of my hand didst thou require it - This more particularly marks the covetous and rigorous disposition of Laban; for the law of God required that what had been torn by beasts the shepherd should not be obliged to make good, Exo 22:10, Exo 22:13. And it is very likely that this law was in force from the earliest times.
This site's exposition
I have been with you for twenty years now
on Genesis 31:38-40
Jacob reads out a shepherd's account: no ewe miscarried, no ram eaten, every loss to wild beasts paid from his own herd. Exodus 22:10 to 13 later releases a shepherd from the loss of a torn animal. He bore it himself for twenty years. Heat by day and frost by night took his sleep.
This site's exposition
I bore the loss myself
Bore the loss is a form of chata, the verb for sin and for missing a mark, used here of making good a shortfall. Amos 3:12 pictures a shepherd pulling two legs from a lion's mouth, a scrap kept as evidence. Jacob paid without presenting the carcass.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee,....
His piety also procured a blessing upon his master's effects that were under his hands. Note, Servants should take no less care of what they are entrusted with for their masters than if they were entitled to it as their own. He was very honest, and took none of that for his own eating which was not allowed him.
Nay, if there has been a neglect, yet it is unjust to punish above the proportion of the fault. That may be an inconsiderable damage to the master which would go near to ruin a poor servant. Those also are bad masters who deny to their servants that which is just and equal.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee--The shepherds are strictly responsible for losses in the flock, unless they can prove these were occasioned by wild beasts.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| טְרֵפָה֙ | terefah | a torn animal | H2966 → | |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֵבֵ֣אתִי | heveti | I brought | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלֶ֔יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אָנֹכִ֣י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֲחַטֶּ֔נָּה | ʾachattenah | I bore [the] loss of it | H2398 → | 238 times |
| מִיָּדִ֖י | miyadi | from hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נָּה | tevakshenah | you sought it | H1245 → | 225 times |
| גְּנֻֽבְתִ֣י | genuvti | [one] stolen of | H1589 → | 40 times |
| י֔וֹם | yom | day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וּגְנֻֽבְתִ֖י | ugenuvti | and [one] stolen of | H1589 → | 40 times |
| לָֽיְלָה׃ | layelah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
טְרֵפָה֙a torn animal
terefahH2966 →
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הֵבֵ֣אתִיI brought
hevetiH935 →2568 times
אֵלֶ֔יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
אָנֹכִ֣יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אֲחַטֶּ֔נָּהI bore [the] loss of it
ʾachattenahH2398 →238 times
מִיָּדִ֖יfrom hand my
miyadiH3027 →1618 times
תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נָּהyou sought it
tevakshenahH1245 →225 times
גְּנֻֽבְתִ֣י[one] stolen of
genuvtiH1589 →40 times
י֔וֹםday
yomH3117 →2304 times
וּגְנֻֽבְתִ֖יand [one] stolen of
ugenuvtiH1589 →40 times
לָֽיְלָה׃night
layelahH3915 →233 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
Exodus 22:31You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 14:21
You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 44:31
The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 4:14
“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my…
- Leviticus 19:2
“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
- Leviticus 22:8
He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 14:21
Through
Leviticus 22:8He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 17:15
And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he…
- Leviticus 17:15
Through
Luke 2:8And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:70–71
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- Genesis 31:39–40
I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
- Psalms 78:70–71
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.