20
And Jacobוַ יַעֲקֹבdeceivedיִּגְנֹב אֶת לֵבLabanלָבָןthe Arameanהָאֲרַמִּיby notעַל בְּלִיtellingהִגִּידhimלוֹthatכִּיheהוּאwas fleeing.בֹרֵחַ
Genesis 31:20
Study it in the app“And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 31:20, word by word
- And Jacobיַעֲקֹבyaakov
Jacob
Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau and father of the twelve tribes. In Hebrew "Yaakov" sounds like "heel" and "supplant" (Genesis 25:26; 27:36). God later gave him the name Israel; the name also stands for his descendants, the people of Israel.
Where else “yaakov” appears- deceivedיִּגְנֹבyignov
deceive
To trick, or go secretly.
Where else “yignov” appears- deceivedלֵבlev
mind
The mind: "lacking heart" means foolish.
Where else “lev” appears- Labanלָבָןlavan
Laban
Laban, brother of Rebekah and father of Leah and Rachel, Jacob's father-in-law, who lived in Haran. Also a place in the wilderness.
Where else “lavan” appears- the Arameanאֲרַמִּיarami
Aramean
Aramean: from Aram, the region of Syria and northern Mesopotamia.
Where else “arami” appears- by notבְּלִיbeli
without; not
Without; not; nothing.
Where else “beli” appears- tellingהִגִּידhigid
tell
To tell someone something he does not know or has not seen.
Where else “higid” appears- was fleeingבֹרֵחַvoreach
flee
To run away to save oneself from a danger or from someone.
Where else “voreach” appears
Translation note
“Deceived” translates the idiom “stole the heart of”; the Hebrew repeats the verb “steal” in 31:19, 20, 26, 27, 30, 32 and 39.
The context
19Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the teraphim that belonged to her father.
20 · This verse (above)
21He fled, he and all that he had; he rose, crossed the River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
To study Genesis 31 in a group
1. What it says
Why did Jacob leave Laban’s house, and what did Elohim say to Laban in a dream (vv. 3, 24)?
2. What it means
What does the heap of stones mean as a witness between Jacob and Laban (vv. 44-50)?
3. How I live it
How can you close a conflict with someone in a clear and peaceful way?