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Genesis 31:42

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 31:42 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
Genesis 31:42 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 31

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
39That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
40Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes.
41These twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
42Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.
43And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children whom they have borne?
44And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
45And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.
← Genesis 31:41Genesis 31:43 →
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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
“Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, etc.] One and the same God is meant, who was the God of his father Isaac, and before him the God of Abraham, and now the fear of Isaac, whom he feared and served with reverence and godly fear, being at this present time a worshipper of him: now Jacob suggests, that unless his father’s God had been on his side, and had protected and preserved him, as well as before blessed and prospered him, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty: coming with such force upon him, he would have stripped him of all he had, of his wives and children, and servants and cattle: God hath seen my affliction, and the labour of…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“31:42 The God that Isaac feared (see textual note) was with Jacob (31:3), had seen his hard work and faithfulness despite Laban’s abuse, and had rewarded Jacob. Laban’s dream only proved to Jacob that he was in the right.”
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Related study paths

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

Sources and verification