Genesis 31:43

Jacob and Laban’s treaty

43 Laban responded and told Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. Everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and about their sons?

Genesis 31:43 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 31:43

And Laban answered and said unto Jacob
Not denying the truth of what he had said, nor acknowledging any fault he had been guilty of, or asking forgiveness for it, though he seemed to be convicted in his own conscience of it: [these] daughters [are] my daughters:
though thy wives, they are my own flesh and blood, and must be dear to me; so pretending strong natural affections for them: and [these] children [are] my children;
his grandchildren, for whom also he professed great love and affection: and [these] cattle [are] my cattle;
or of my cattle, as the Targum of Jonathan, sprung from them, as indeed they did: and all that thou seest [is] mine;
all this he observed in a bragging way, that it might be thought that he was generous in not insisting upon having it, but giving all back to Jacob again: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their
children which they have born?
I cannot find in my heart to do them any hurt, or wrong them of anything, and am therefore willing all should be theirs.

Genesis 31:43 In-Context

41 I've now spent twenty years in your household. I worked for fourteen years for your two daughters and for six years for your flock, and you changed my pay ten times.
42 If the God of my father—the God of Abraham and the awesome one of Isaac—hadn't been with me, you'd have no doubt sent me away without anything. God saw my harsh treatment and my hard work and reprimanded you yesterday."
43 Laban responded and told Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. Everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and about their sons?
44 Come, let's make a treaty, you and me, and let something be our witness."
45 So Jacob took a stone, set it up as a sacred pillar,
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