Genesis 31:29

29 And now soothly mine hand may yield evil to thee (And now truly my hand should yield evil to thee), but the God of thy father said to me yesterday, Beware that thou speak not any hard thing with Jacob.

Genesis 31:29 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 31:29

It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt
Jacob and his family, wives, children, and servants, who were not able to stand against Laban and the men he brought with him; and so the Jerusalem Targum paraphrases it,

``I have an army and a multitude;''

a large force, which Jacob could not withstand: or, "my hand could have been for a god" ^F8 to me: you could have no more escaped it, or got out of it, or withstood me, than you could God himself: such an opinion had he of his superior power and strength, and that this would have been the case: but the God of your father spoke unto me yesternight;
the night past, or the other night, some very little time ago, since he came from home at least: by his father he means either his father Isaac, or his grandfather Abraham, whose God the Lord was, and who came to Laban and told him who he was. This serves to strengthen the opinion that Laban was an idolater, and adhered to the gods of his grandfather Terah, from whom Abraham departed, and which Laban may have respect to; intimating that he abode by the religion of his ancestors at a greater remove than Jacob's: however, though he does not call him his God, he had some awe and reverence of him, and was influenced by his speech to him; saying, take heed that thou spake not to Jacob either good or bad:
this, though greatly to Jacob's honour, and against Laban's interest, yet his conscience would not allow him to keep it a secret; though, doubtless, his view was to show his superior power to Jacob, had he not been restrained by Jacob's God.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 (ydy lal vy) "esset mihi pro deo manus mea", Schmidt.

Genesis 31:29 In-Context

27 Why wouldest thou flee the while I knew not, neither wouldest show (it) to me, that I should follow thee with joy, and songs, and tympans, and harps? (Why didest thou flee while I knew not, nor toldest me first, so that I could send thee on thy way with joy, and with songs, and tambourines, and harps?)

28 Thou sufferedest not that I should kiss my sons and daughters; thou hast wrought follily. (Thou hast not allowed me to kiss good-bye my grandsons and my daughters; yea, thou hast done foolishly.)

29 And now soothly mine hand may yield evil to thee (And now truly my hand should yield evil to thee), but the God of thy father said to me yesterday, Beware that thou speak not any hard thing with Jacob.

30 Suppose, if thou covetedest to go to thy kinsmen, and the house of thy father was in desire to thee, why hast thou stolen my gods? (And even if thou covetedest to go to thy kinsmen, and thou desiredest to return to thy father's house, why hast thou stolen my household gods?)

31 Jacob answered, That I went forth while thou knewest not, I dreaded lest thou wouldest take away thy daughters from me violently; (And Jacob answered, I went away while thou knewest not, for I feared that thou wouldest violently take away thy daughters from me;)