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Genesis 31
The substance of the thirty-first chapter of Genesis, is composed of a statement of—
Jacob’s reasons for departing,
His wives’ reasons for concurring with him,
And Laban’s reasons for opposing.
Jacob’s reasons are imparted to his wives, whom, for greater privacy, he summons to the fields for the purpose of conferring with them together, as they lived separately. Here, it is worthy of remark, that the two secondary wives are not consulted in the matter. This is a mark of their inferior condition. There is no distinction made in any way between the sons of these women, and those of Rachel and Leah—though the mothers are thus unfavorably distinguished. The reason is, that the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the handmaidens, have been adopted by Leah and Rachel as their own, and have been recognized by Jacob as his sons. This removes all distinction between them, but does not render their mothers equal to Jacob’s free wives.
Jacob’s reasons were, that God had commanded him to return; that he had been very badly treated by Laban, whom, to the best of his power, he had faithfully served; and that now, the increase of wealth which God had given to him, was viewed with jealous eyes by Laban and his family.
The wives’ reasons lay, first, in their assent to Jacob’s own reasons. But, beside this, they had special reasons of their own. They had clearly, they said, nothing to expect from their father, who treated them as strangers, belonging to Jacob rather than to himself. And, furthermore, by selling them for Jacob’s services, he had appropriated all the advantages to himself; for if he had been paid for them in goods or money, custom would have required him to have employed some part of it in gifts to them; which, in the way he had proceeded, was avoided, whereby they were left without the separate means to which they were, by their rank in life, entitled.
Having obtained the concurrence of his wives, Jacob delayed not his departure. He had reason to fear that Laban would attempt to detain him or his property by force; and he, therefore, stole away secretly, while Laban was engaged, three days’ journey off, in shearing his sheep. The women and children were mounted on camels, and soon the whole of the flocks, and herds, and people, were on the march for the land of Canaan. Jacob might have hoped that the conviction, that he had six days’ start, would discourage Laban from attempting a pursuit. But if so, he was mistaken. Laban, travelling without encumbrance, might yet hope to overtake, before reaching the Jordan, a large and impeded caravan, going slowly, and making short stages, on account of the young cattle, the women and the children. And, in fact, Laban did overtake them on the wrong side of the Jordan, among the mountains of Gilead. It might have gone ill with Jacob, for Laban had his kinsmen with him; but God had not forsaken him, and Laban was warned in a dream to do him no harm. Still, however, he did not avoid the interview with Jacob. That interview is exceedingly characteristic. When Laban came up, Jacob had encamped in Gilead; and Laban having encamped in sight, went over to the camp of Jacob. It is remarkable that Laban, in his complaint, says not a word about the property; but having been prevented from the proceedings he contemplated, he makes the offence rest upon the unfriendly distrust evinced by this secret departure. He complains that his daughters had been carried away like captives taken with the sword. And again, he had not been suffered to kiss his daughters, before what was meant to be a final separation. The poor man is full of his daughters; for whom, according to their own account, he has no real regard at all. Let him, however, have, the credit of the feelings he claims. It is a hard thing for a man to part with his children forever, even though he may have slighted them while they were near. The slow depths of even the worldly heart, are stirred by such an occurrence; old paternal memories revive, and the fatherly sympathies awaken in their force. We shall, on these grounds, always be most safe in according to every one that degree of paternal affection, which he exhibits or claims under such circumstances.
Once more—“Wherefore didst thou abscond secretly, and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?” This is interesting. The harp or lyre has before been mentioned as among the instruments invented by Jubal; but this is the first mention of the “tabret.” The original word is toph, meaning a kind of hand-drum or tambourine. The same instrument is, at this day, known by the corresponding name doff in Syria, Egypt, and Arabia. This, with other instruments of music, together with songs and cries, are still used when a person of any note sets forth upon a long journey in the East. The “songs,” were probably such vocal sounds as are still used in the East on the like occasions by the women, to express joy, exultation, or any not decidedly mournful emotion. This is the Ziraleet, which consists of the words lillé, lillé, lillé, repeated as often as the person can utter them in one breath; and being uttered very rapidly in a shrill tone, the sound is heard to a great distance. It is preceded, on such occasions as this, and on some other occasions, by a stanza of four lines, recited by a single voice, expressive of thanks to God for benefits received, or of supplications, or good wishes. These are usually extempore, and, therefore, the more precisely appropriate to the occasion and the circumstances.
Furthermore, and to clench all the rest, Laban makes the astounding charge, that Jacob had stolen—his gods! It is clear that Laban knew and acknowledged the Lord, but with the worship of Him, he had mixed certain strange gods, or, at least, certain superstitious images, such as elsewhere occur in Scripture under the name of teraphim; and which appear to have borne the human figure, and to have been used chiefly for purposes of divination. Josephus says, with probability, but with reference to a different matter, that it was the custom of the Mesopotamians to have all the idols they worshipped in their own houses, and to take them with them on their journeys. Aware of the possibility that these images may have been taken, Jacob, although shocked at the charge, does not venture to assert positively that they may not be in the camp, but he gives Laban leave to seek for them, and declares, that he may put to death any one in whose possession they may be found. Alas! he little thinks that it is his beloved Rachel who has them. She had stolen them before her departure. For what purpose is not clear; but it is to be feared, for superstitious uses. Had Jacob known where they were, he would have trembled when he saw Laban, in his search, enter Rachel’s tent. But he need not have feared. Laban’s daughter was a match for her father, even in his own line, and fairly outwitted him. She had these images under “the camels’ furniture,” upon which she sat in the tent; and professing to be too ill to rise to pay her proper respect to him, by standing in his presence, he hurriedly and considerately abstained from insisting upon her rising, that he might examine her seat. What “this camel furniture” was, has been questioned. Some think it was the small tent or cradle which is thus termed; but these are only used on the camel’s back, and never for seats. We see no reason to alter the opinion we have had other occasions of expressing: that it was the camel’s pack-saddle, which is peculiarly appropriate to the purpose of a seat, or rather of a cushion, against which a person seated on the floor may lean; these saddles, commonly made of wood, are high; and the concavity, usually filled by the convex back of the camel, would have formed a good hiding-place for the images. If any object to this, that the saddles are not usually removed from the camels’ backs at the end of merely a day’s journey, it may still be suggested, that the teraphim may have been concealed by Rachel under the hesar, which consists of carpets, cloaks, cloths, and the like, heaped upon the saddle to form a comfortable seat for such women as do not ride in the cradle. These things are always taken off at the end of the day’s journey, and form a kind of mattress in the tent upon which a person may sit or lie down. Between these parts of the camel’s furniture the alternative seems to lie.
When Laban returned from the last tent unsuccessful—Jacob at length spoke out. He spoke like a man of sense and spirit, and his words were words of weight. He demanded with warmth why he had been so hotly pursued. He set forth his services and sufferings; and he declared his conviction that, “Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Revered One of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst now sent me away empty. God hath seen my affliction, and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yester night.”
Laban did not, could not, directly reply. He said, vaguely, that all Jacob had, all the substance spread upon the hills before him, was virtually his; but insinuated that he waived his claim to it in consideration of his daughters and grandchildren. He proposed that there should be a covenant of peace between them, and that a monument should be set up in testimony of the transaction. Jacob, as he had done at Bethel, set up a large stone as his memorial—while Laban and his friends piled up a large heap of stones. The covenant proposed by Laban, and consented to by Jacob, was, that seeing (as he alleged) the property was his, it should not be allowed to be shared by others, by Jacob’s taking any other wives besides his daughters; and that they were neither of them to pass the boundaries defined by these memorials for harm to the other. In this point of view, these became boundary monuments, analogous to others of the like kind found in various countries. Witness that mentioned in the treaty of peace between England and Scotland, as recited by Holinshed: “That Malcolm shall enjoy that part of Northumberland that lieth betwixt Tweed, Cumberland, and Stainmore, and do homage to the king of England for the same. In the midst of Stainmore there shall be a crosse set up, with the king of England’s image on the one side, and the king of Scotland’s on the other, to signify that one is on his march to England, and the other to Scotland. The crosse was called the Roi-crosse, that is, the cross of the kings.” The intention of the cross, and the pains taken to defend it, seem, as Sir Walter Scott remarks, Note: In Rokeby. to indicate that it was intended as a landmark of importance. In this case, the two images represented the two contracting parties, shown by different kinds of memorials in the transaction between Jacob and Laban.