Genesis 31:40

40 "Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

Genesis 31:40 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 31:40

[Thus] I was
In such a situation, as well as in the following uncomfortable plight and condition: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night:
the violent heat in the daytime scorched him, and the severe frosts in the night pinched him: that is, in the different seasons of the year, the heat of the day in the summertime, and the cold of the night in the wintertime; for it cannot well be thought that there should be excessive heat in the day and sharp frosts in the night, in the same season of the year: it looks as if Laban did not allow Jacob the proper conveniencies of clothes, and of tents to secure him from the inclemency of the weather, which other shepherds usually had: and my sleep departed from mine eyes;
through diligent care and watchfulness of the flocks in the night season, which on some occasions were necessary; see ( Luke 2:8 ) .

Genesis 31:40 In-Context

38 "These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks.

39 "That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

40 "Thus I was: by day the heat consumed me and the frost 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 changed my wages ten times.

42 "If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night."

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "drought"