21
He fled,וַיִּבְרַחheהוּאand allוְכָלthatאֲשֶׁרhe had;לוֹhe rose,וַיָּקָםcrossedוַיַּעֲבֹרthe River,אֶת הַנָּהָרand setוַיָּשֶׂםhis faceאֶת פָּנָיוtoward the hill countryהַרof Gilead.הַגִּלְעָד
Genesis 31:21
Study it in the app“He fled, he and all that he had; he rose, crossed the River, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 31:21, word by word
- He fledיִּבְרַחyivrach
flee
To run away to save oneself from a danger or from someone.
Where else “yivrach” appears- he roseיָּקָםyakam
rise
To go from sitting or lying to standing, or to set out.
Where else “yakam” appears- crossedיַּעֲבֹרyaavor
pass
To get over a river, or go through a land.
Where else “yaavor” appears- the Riverנָּהָרnahar
river
River, stream; above all the Euphrates ("the River") or the Nile.
Where else “nahar” appears- and setיָּשֶׂםyasem
take to heart
"Set the face": decide; "set in the heart": pay attention.
Where else “yasem” appears- his faceפָּנָיpanay
face
The front of the head, of someone or of God.
Where else “panay” appears- toward the hill countryהַרhar
hill country
A whole region of high ground, like that of Ephraim or Judah.
Where else “har” appears- of Gileadגִּלְעָדgilad
Gilead
See it on the mapWhere else “gilad” appears
Places in this verse
Gilead
Today: northern Jordan, east of the Jordan River
A hill region east of the Jordan River, in present-day Jordan.
Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh settled there (Num 32:1, 33). Jephthah was from Gilead (Judg 11:1). Jeremiah spoke of its balm (Jer 8:22).
The context
20And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.
21 · This verse (above)
22It was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.
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?