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Genesis 31:29

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 31:29 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Genesis 31:29 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 31

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
26And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword?
27Wherefore didst thou flee 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;
28and didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast thou done foolishly.
29It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
30And now, [though] thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father`s house, [yet] wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
31And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from me by force.
32With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt, etc.] 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” f1518 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…”
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Related study paths

Read Genesis 31 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification