Laban Confronts Jacob – Genesis 31:22-55

I recently heard of a family who, upon departing each other’s company, would repeat the words of Jacob and Laban in their covenant with each other: “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight.”  It is a beautiful and godly sentiment.  But it is not exactly true to the intent of those words originally.  Walton notes: “Here in Genesis they express suspicion. Laban does not trust Jacob, and Jacob does not trust Laban. They both regret that they will have no means to keep an eye on one another and prevent mischief-making, so they commend one another to the watchful eye of deity. A paraphrase is, ‘I don’t trust you out of my sight, but since I can no longer personally hold you accountable, may God do so.'”  Jacob and Laban are not on friendly terms with each other.

[22] When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, [23] he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. [24] But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

[25] And Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead. [26] And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? [27] Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? [28] And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. [29] It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ [30] And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?” [31] Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. [32] Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

[33] So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. [34] Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. [35] And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.

[36] Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? [37] For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. [38] These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. [39] What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. [40] There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. [41] These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. [42] If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

[43] Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? [44] Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” [45] So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. [46] And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. [47] Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. [48] Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he named it Galeed, [49] and Mizpah, for he said, “The LORD watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight. [50] If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”

[51] Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. [52] This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. [53] The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac, [54] and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.

[55] Early in the morning Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned home. (Genesis 31:22–55, ESV)

Laban is not happy that Jacob has left him to return to his own country, Canaan.  Laban sees Jacob as his servant and as his good luck charm (through divination he learned that Yahweh was blessing Laban through Jacob).  So he goes to retrieve him and his daughters and the flocks.  Questions have been raised about the time it took to catch up to Jacob:

The site of Mizpah (where Laban catches up to Jacob) is not known, but from Haran to the northern end of the hill country of Gilead is approximately 350 miles. To reach there in ten days (Jacob’s three-day head start plus seven days for Laban’s travel, 31:22 – 23), Jacob must travel thirty-five miles a day, an incredible rate; caravans usually managed twenty-three at most. Sheep and goats could neither achieve nor maintain that pace (see 33:13), and women and children would likewise slow down the speed of travel. Given the circumstances, Jacob could not expect to cover more than ten miles per day…if Jacob travels at a rate of only ten miles per day, one would expect Laban to catch him long before he arrives at the hill country of Gilead. Laban can perhaps travel twenty miles per day, in which case he could have caught Jacob after only three days, about sixty-five miles from Haran, soon after he crossed the Euphrates at Til-Barsib…If Jacob is traveling twelve or thirteen miles per day, and Laban is traveling seventeen, Laban would catch Jacob after about seven days (as the text seems to suggest), but they would only be about 110 miles from Haran. That would put them somewhere near Ebla, still only one third of the way to the hill country of Gilead. The only conceivable solution at the moment that explains Laban’s not catching up to Jacob before the hill country of Gilead is to assume that it takes Laban a week or ten days to prepare for the trip before he can set out and that he cannot travel very fast (after all, he is over 150 years old at this point). [Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary]

Laban intends to take Jacob by force, but he is warned by Yahweh not to harm Jacob.  So instead he accuses Jacob of tricking him and stealing away his daughters, as well as stealing his household terephim, or images of his ancestors.  Jacob then rehearses his complaints against Laban, that Laban has cheated him of his wages over and over, despite the fact that he has only honestly cared for Laban’s flocks and even suffered hardship in doing so, and that it is only due to Yahweh’s protection that he has come away with anything.  He bristles at the accusation that he has stolen the terephim, not knowing that Rachel has indeed done so.  He permits Laban to search his camp, and because of Rachel’s lie about being on her period, Laban finds nothing.

Because Laban dares not defy Yahweh and force Jacob, he makes a treaty or covenant that neither will cross this boundary to attack the other.  They set up a pillar and a heap of stones and have a covenant meal to seal this deal.  And Laban makes this statement: “Yahweh watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight.  If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”  As Walton has said, tongue in cheek, “A paraphrase is, ‘I don’t trust you out of my sight, but since I can no longer personally hold you accountable, may God do so.’ It is hardly the sentiment that one would want on a wedding ring, and although a minister may feel that way about a congregation, it is not in good taste to express it so unequivocally.”

Yahweh has indeed protected Jacob as He promised all those years ago at Bethel and so Jacob is free to return home to the land God has promised Abraham and Isaac and him.