Time To Leave—Jacob Runs Away

31 One day, Jacob heard Laban’s sons talking. They said, “Jacob has taken everything that our father owned. Jacob has become rich—and he has taken all this wealth from our father.” ²Then Jacob noticed that Laban was not as friendly as he had been in the past. ³The Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to your own land where your ancestors* lived. I will be with you.” ⁴So Jacob told Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where he kept his flocks of sheep and goats. ⁵Jacob said to Rachel and Leah, “I have seen that your father is angry with me. He was always friendly with me in the past, but now he is not. ⁶You both know that I have worked as hard as I can for your father. ⁷But your father cheated me. Your father has changed my pay ten times. But during all this time, God protected me from all of Laban’s tricks. ⁸“At one time Laban said, ‘You can keep all the goats with spots. This will be your pay.’ After he said this, all the animals gave birth to spotted babies. So they were all mine. But then Laban said, ‘I will keep the spotted goats. You can have all the striped goats. That will be your pay.’ After he said this, then all the animals gave birth to striped babies. ⁹So God has taken the animals away from your father and has given them to me. ¹⁰“I had a dream during the time when the animals were mating. I saw that the only male goats who were mating were the ones with stripes and spots. ¹¹The angel of God spoke to me in that dream. The angel said, ‘Jacob!’ “I answered, ‘Yes!’ ¹²“The angel said, ‘Look, only the striped and spotted goats are mating. I am causing this to happen. I have seen all the wrong things Laban is doing to you. I am doing this so that you can have all the new baby goats. ¹³I am the God who came to you at Bethel. At that place, you made an altar. You poured olive oil on the altar. And you made a promise to me. Now I want you to be ready to go back to the country where you were born.’” ^14–15Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, “Our father has nothing to give us when he dies. He treated us like strangers. {He sold us to you, and then he spent all the money that should have been ours!} ¹⁶God took all this wealth from our father, and now it belongs to us and our children. So you should do whatever God told you to do!” ¹⁷So Jacob prepared for his trip. He put his sons and his wives on camels. ¹⁸Then they began traveling back to the land of Canaan where his father lived. All the flocks of animals that Jacob owned walked ahead of them. He carried everything that he had gotten while he lived in Paddan Aram. ¹⁹At this time, Laban was gone to cut the wool from his sheep. While he was gone, Rachel went into his house and stole the false gods that belonged to her father. ²⁰Jacob tricked Laban the Aramean. He did not tell Laban he was leaving. ²¹Jacob took his family and everything he owned and left quickly. They crossed the Euphrates River and traveled toward the hill country of Gilead. ²²Three days later, Laban learned that Jacob had run away. ²³So Laban gathered his men together and began to chase Jacob. After seven days, Laban found Jacob near the hill country in Gilead. ²⁴That night God went to Laban in a dream. God said, “Be careful! Be careful of every word you say to Jacob.”

The Search for the Stolen Gods

²⁵The next morning Laban caught Jacob. Jacob had set his camp on the mountain. So Laban and all his men set their camp in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶Laban said to Jacob, “Why did you trick me? Why did you take my daughters like they were women you captured during war? ²⁷Why did you run away without telling me? If you had told me, I would have given you a party. There would have been singing and dancing with music. ²⁸You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. You were very foolish to do this! ²⁹I have the power to really hurt you. But last night your father’s God came to me in a dream. He warned me not to hurt you in any way. ³⁰I know that you want to go back to your home. That is why you left. But why did you steal the gods from my house?” ³¹Jacob answered, “I left without telling you, because I was afraid! I thought you would take your daughters away from me. ³²But I did not steal your gods. If you find any one here with me that has taken your gods, then that person will be killed. Your men will be my witnesses. You can look for anything that belongs to you. Take anything that is yours.” (Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban’s gods.) ³³So Laban went and looked through Jacob’s camp. He looked in Jacob’s tent and then in Leah’s tent. Then he looked in the tent where the two slave women stayed. But he did not find the gods from his house. Then Laban went into Rachel’s tent. ³⁴Rachel had hidden the gods inside her camel’s saddle, and she was sitting on them. Laban looked through the whole tent, but he did not find the gods. ³⁵And Rachel said to her father, “Father, don’t be angry with me. I am not able to stand up before you. I am having my monthly time of bleeding.” So Laban looked through the camp, but he did not find the gods from his house. ³⁶Then Jacob became very angry. Jacob said, “What wrong have I done? What law have I broken? Why do you have the right to chase me and stop me? ³⁷You have looked through everything I own. You have found nothing that belongs to you. If you have found anything, then show it to me. Put it here where our men can see it. Let our men decide which one of us is right. ³⁸I have worked 20 years for you. During all that time, none of the baby sheep and goats died during birth. And I have not eaten any of the rams from your flocks. ³⁹Any time a sheep was killed by wild animals, I always paid for that myself. I did not take the dead animal to you and say that it was not my fault. But I was robbed day and night. ⁴⁰In the daytime, the sun took away my strength, and at night sleep was taken from my eyes by the cold. ⁴¹I worked 20 years like a slave for you. For the first 14 years I worked to win your two daughters. The last six years I worked to earn your animals. And during that time you changed my pay ten times. ⁴²But the God of my ancestors,* the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac,* was with me. If God had not been with me, then you would have sent me away with nothing. But God saw the trouble that I had. God saw the work that I did. And last night God proved that I am right.”

Jacob and Laban’s Treaty

⁴³Laban said to Jacob, “These women are my daughters. And these children belong to me. And these animals are mine. Everything you see here belongs to me. But I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children. ⁴⁴So I am ready to make an agreement with you. We will set up a pile of stones to show that we have an agreement.” ⁴⁵So Jacob found a large rock and put it there to show that he had made an agreement. ⁴⁶He told his men to find some more rocks and make a pile of rocks. Then they ate beside the pile of rocks. ⁴⁷Laban named that place Yegar Sahadutha.* But Jacob named that place Galeed.* ⁴⁸Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will help us both remember our agreement.” That is why Jacob called the place Galeed. ⁴⁹Then Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other.” So that place was also named Mizpah.* ⁵⁰Then Laban said, “If you hurt my daughters, remember that God will punish you. If you marry other women, remember that God is watching. ⁵¹Here are the rocks that I have put between us. And here is the special rock to show that we made an agreement. ⁵²This pile of rocks and this one special rock both help us remember our agreement. I will never go past these rocks to fight against you. And you must never go on my side of these rocks to fight against me. ⁵³May the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their ancestors* judge us guilty if we break this agreement.” Jacob’s father, Isaac, called God “Fear.” So Jacob used that name to make the promise. ⁵⁴Then Jacob killed an animal and offered it as a sacrifice* on the mountain. And he invited his men to come and share a meal. After they finished eating, they spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵Early the next morning, Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters goodbye. He blessed them and went back home.

ancestors Literally, “fathers.” This means a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. ancestors Literally, “fathers.” This means a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. Fear of Isaac A name for God. Yegar Sahadutha Aramaic words meaning “rock pile of the agreement.” Galeed Another name for Gilead. This Hebrew name means “rock pile of the agreement.” Mizpah This means “a place to watch from.” sacrifice A gift to God. Usually it was a special animal that was killed and burned on an altar.

Reunion With Esau

32 Jacob also left that place. While he was traveling, he saw God’s angels. ²When Jacob saw them he said, “This is God’s camp!” So Jacob named that place Mahanaim.* ³Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir. This area was the hill country of Edom.* Jacob sent messengers to Esau. ⁴Jacob told the messengers, “Tell these things to my master Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have lived with Laban all these years. ⁵I have many cows, donkeys, flocks, and men and women servants. Sir, I am sending you this message to ask you to accept us.’” ⁶The messengers came back to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you. He has 400 men with him.” ⁷That message scared Jacob. He divided the people who were with him into two groups. He divided all the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups. ⁸Jacob thought, “If Esau comes and destroys one group, then the other group can run away and be saved.” ⁹Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to come back to my country and to my family. You said that you would do good to me. ¹⁰You have been very kind to me. You did many good things for me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I owned nothing—only my walking stick. But now I own enough things to have two full groups. ¹¹I ask you to please save me from my brother. Save me from Esau. I am afraid of him. I am afraid that he will come and kill all of us, even the mothers with the children. ¹²Lord, you said to me, ‘I will be good to you. I will increase your family and make your children as many as the sands of the sea. There will be too many to count.’” ¹³Jacob stayed in that place for the night. Jacob prepared some things to give to Esau as a gift. ¹⁴Jacob took 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep. ¹⁵Jacob took 30 camels and their colts, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. ¹⁶Jacob gave each flock of animals to his servants. Then Jacob said to the servants, “Separate each group of animals. Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” ¹⁷Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals Jacob said, “When Esau my brother comes to you and asks you, ‘Whose animals are these? Where are you going? Whose servant are you?’ ¹⁸Then you should answer, ‘These animals belong to your servant Jacob. Jacob sent them as a gift to you my master, Esau. And Jacob is also coming behind us.’” ¹⁹Jacob also ordered the second servant, the third servant, and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “You will do the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰You will say, ‘This is a gift to you, and your servant Jacob is behind us.’” Jacob thought, “If I send these men ahead with gifts, then maybe Esau will forgive me and accept me.” ²¹So Jacob sent the gifts to Esau. But Jacob stayed that night in the camp. ²²Later that night, Jacob got up and left that place. Jacob took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven sons with him. Jacob crossed the Jabbok River at the crossing. ²³Jacob sent his family across the river. Then Jacob sent everything he had across the river.

The Fight With God

²⁴Jacob was the last person to cross the river. But before he could cross, while he was still alone, a man came and wrestled with him. The man fought with him until the sun came up. ²⁵The man saw that he could not defeat Jacob. So he touched Jacob’s leg. At that time, Jacob’s leg was put out of joint. ²⁶Then the man said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go. You must bless me.” ²⁷And the man said to him, “What is your name?” And Jacob said, “My name is Jacob.” ²⁸Then the man said, “Your name will not be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel.* I give you this name because you have fought with God and with men, and you have not been defeated.” ²⁹Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But the man said, “Why must you ask my name?” At that time, the man blessed Jacob. ³⁰So Jacob named that place Peniel.* Jacob said, “At this place, I saw God face to face, but my life was spared.” ³¹Then the sun came up as he passed Penuel.* Jacob was walking crippled because of his leg. ³²So even today, the people of Israel don’t eat the muscle that is on the hip joint, because this is the muscle where Jacob was hurt.

Mahanaim This name means “two camps.” Edom A country east of Judah. Israel This name might mean “he fights for God,” “he fights with God,” or “God fights.” Peniel, Penuel Two forms of the same name which mean “the face of God.”