Genesis 31:7
in Genesis 31And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
KJV
And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Chapter XXXI, verses 7 and 8) And your father deceived me and changed my wages ten times, and God did not allow him to harm me. If he said, 'Your wages will be the spotted flock,' then every flock was born spotted. And if he said, 'Your wages will be the solid-colored flock,' then every flock was born solid-colored. Because of this, he changed my wages ten times. The Seventy Interpreters have stated, driven by some unknown opinion, that 'moni' in the Hebrew language means 'number' rather than 'lambs.'
This site's exposition
he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times
on Genesis 31:7-9
Jacob says his wages were changed ten times, and he says it again at verse 41. Jerome reads the switching as a bet against the flock, the terms moving each time to whatever the ewes were not bearing. Each time the flock bore what Jacob was promised. He credits the outcome to God, who took the livestock and gave it to him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity · Written before 523.
proposed
And let us consider also how many times his wages were changed while he lived with Laban, even as at the end his words rebuked that crafty man: "Thou hast changed my hire ten times, but the Lord hath not suffered thee to harm me."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And your father hath deceived me,.... In the bargain he had made with him about his wages for keeping his cattle the six years past, after the fourteen years' servitude were ended: and changed my wages ten times; that is, either very often, many times, as the number ten is sometimes.
Note, Those that deal honestly are not always honestly dealt with. (3.) How God had owned him notwithstanding. He had protected him from Laban's ill-will: God suffered him not to hurt me.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Changed my wages ten times - There is a strange diversity among the ancient versions, and ancient and modern interpreters, on the meaning of these words. The Hebrew is עשרת מנים asereth monim, which Aquila translates δεκα αριθμους ten numbers; Symmachus, δεκακις αριτμῳ, ten times in number; the Septuagint δεκα αμνων, ten lambs, with which Origen appears to agree.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲבִיכֶן֙ | vaavikhen | and father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הֵ֣תֶל | hetel | he has deceived | H2048 → | |
| בִּ֔י | bi | <in> <the> me | ||
| וְהֶחֱלִ֥ף | vehechelif | and he has changed | H2498 → | 28 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַשְׂכֻּרְתִּ֖י | maskurti | wage[s] my | H4909 → | 4 times |
| עֲשֶׂ֣רֶת | ʾaseret | ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| מֹנִ֑ים | monim | times | H4489 → | |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נְתָנ֣וֹ | netano | he has permitted him | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֔ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְהָרַ֖ע | lehara' | to do harm | H7489 → | 107 times |
| עִמָּדִֽי׃ | ʾimadi | with me | H5978 → | 42 times |
וַאֲבִיכֶן֙and father your
vaavikhenH1 →1212 times
הֵ֣תֶלhe has deceived
hetelH2048 →
בִּ֔י<in> <the> me
bi
וְהֶחֱלִ֥ףand he has changed
vehechelifH2498 →28 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַשְׂכֻּרְתִּ֖יwage[s] my
maskurtiH4909 →4 times
עֲשֶׂ֣רֶתten
ʾaseretH6235 →176 times
מֹנִ֑יםtimes
monimH4489 →
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נְתָנ֣וֹhe has permitted him
netanoH5414 →2011 times
אֱלֹהִ֔יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
לְהָרַ֖עto do harm
lehara'H7489 →107 times
עִמָּדִֽי׃with me
ʾimadiH5978 →42 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
Zechariah 8:23This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for…
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:5
Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory…
- Isaiah 45:14
This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge…
- 1 Corinthians 14:25
and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!”
- Isaiah 60:3
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
- Acts 13:47–48
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
- Isaiah 55:5
Through
Psalms 37:28For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:22
but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be uprooted.
- Psalms 11:7
For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.
- Psalms 21:10
You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.
- Proverbs 2:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity.