Genesis 31:40
in Genesis 31As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes.
KJV
Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis 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, and Jacob bore it himself for twenty years. Heat by day and frost by night took his sleep.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thus I was,....
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.
He stuck to his business, all weathers; and bore both heat and cold with invincible patience. Note, Men of business, that intend to make something of it, must resolve to endure hardness. Jacob is here an example to ministers; they also are shepherds, of whom it is required that they be true to their trust and willing to take pains.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Much allowance must be made for Jacob. Great and long-continued provocations ruffle the mildest and most disciplined tempers. It is difficult to "be angry and sin not" [Eph 4:26].
In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night - The being exposed to the heat by day, and frost by night, is made part of the heaviest punishment of Promethus by Aeschylus. Σταθευτος δ’ ἡλιου φοιβῃ φλογι, Χροιας αμευψεις· ασμενῳ δε σοι Ἡ ποικιλεμων νυξ αποκρυψει φαος· Παχνην θ’ ἑῳαν ἡλιος σκεδᾳ παλιν. Aeschyl. Prom. Vinc., v.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הָיִ֧יתִי | hayiti | I was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַיּ֛וֹם | vaiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֲכָלַ֥נִי | ʾakhalani | it consumed me | H398 → | 810 times |
| חֹ֖רֶב | chorev | heat | H2721 → | |
| וְקֶ֣רַח | vekerach | and frost | H7140 → | |
| בַּלָּ֑יְלָה | balayelah | in the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וַתִּדַּ֥ד | vatidad | and it fled | H5074 → | |
| שְׁנָתִ֖י | shenati | sleep my | H8142 → | |
| מֵֽעֵינָֽי׃ | meeinai | from eyes my | H5869 → | 887 times |
הָיִ֧יתִיI was
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
בַיּ֛וֹםin the day
vaiyomH3117 →2304 times
אֲכָלַ֥נִיit consumed me
ʾakhalaniH398 →810 times
חֹ֖רֶבheat
chorevH2721 →
וְקֶ֣רַחand frost
vekerachH7140 →
בַּלָּ֑יְלָהin the night
balayelahH3915 →233 times
וַתִּדַּ֥דand it fled
vatidadH5074 →
שְׁנָתִ֖יsleep my
shenatiH8142 →
מֵֽעֵינָֽי׃from eyes my
meeinaiH5869 →887 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 3:1Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:8
So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- Psalms 78:70–72
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- Numbers 10:29
Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us,…
- Malachi 4:4
“Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb.
- 1 Kings 19:8
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
Through
Hosea 12:12Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.
it leads to
- Genesis 29:18–28
Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
- Genesis 29:18–28
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.