24 And God came to Laban the Syrian * ina dream . Jet b | by night,and ſaid unto him, Take heedchat thou ſpeak ,;. 'Y not to Jacob Þ either good or bad y. _ _ + Heb. ,
y Neither perſwading him by flattering Promiſes, and cunning: from good » Artifices, nor compelling him by Threatnings to return. 'For ſo #0 bad. | theſe general words muft be 1:mited, as is evident from: God's de- ſign in them,and from the toJlowing Relation. So this is a Synec= dochical Expreſhon. |
25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had Ditchedhis tent in the mount, and Laban with his bre- chren picched in the. mount of Gilead. _ Ae: ' 26 And Laban faid to Jacob, What haſt thou done, that thou haſt ſtoln” away unawares tome, and carricd 1way my daughters, as captives zaken with the ſword 2? : 2 By force and violence, A falſe Accuſation ; for they freely conſented, wer. 14, 15, 16. | : 27 Wherefore didſt thou flee away ſecretly, and F +Heb, £56 ſteal away from me; and didft not tell me, that [ might ſtolten yy {have ſent thee away with mirth, and with fongs; with 'tabret, and withharp? : > |
"EL G 2 33 And
! ' 28 And haſt not ſuffered me to kiſs my ſons and my daughters? thou haſt now done fooliſhly info doing 6. # As was uſual at the parting of Friends. See the Note on Ger. 29. rr. b Butindecd Jacob took the wiſeſt courſe for the ſecurity of his Perſon and Eſtate, eſpecially having the dire&ion-and pro- reCtion of God in it, 4 29 Iris in the power of my hand to do you hurt : but the God of yourfather c ſpake unto me yeſternight, ſaying, Take thou heed, that thou ſpeak not to Jacob either good or bad. ; | , © Iſaac or Abraham,by which he difowns him for his God,and ta- citly reproacheth him with rhe novelty of his Religion which was firlt brought in by his Father} Compare wer. 53. o And now though thou wouldit needs be gone,be-
cauſe thou ſore longedſt after thy father's houſe ; ye:
wherefore haſt thou ſtollen my gods 4?
d Laban could not be ſo ſenſeleſs, as to take thoſe for true gods which could be ſtollen away ; bur he called them gods, becauſe they werethe meansor repreſentations whereby he worſhipped his
ods. : 21 AndJacob anſwered and ſaid to Laban, Becauſe I was afraid: for I ſaid, Peradventure thou wouldft
take by force thy daughters from me:
44. 23 With whomſ6ever thou findeſt thy gods, * let | bim not livee: before our brethren decein thou what is thine with me, -and take it to thee: for Jacob knew
not that Rachel had ſtollen them. | e T give my conſent that he ſhall die by the hands of Juſtice. A raſh and inconſfiderate Sentence. - , : 22 And Laban went inte Jacob's tent, and into Le
ah's tent f, andinto the two maid-ſervants tents ; but he ens them not. Then went heout of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. f The Men and Womens Tents, were difſtin& and ſeparate. See Gen. 18: 2. and 24: 67. | 34 NowRachel had taken the Images, and put them - - In the camel's furniture, and fat upon them : and La- Heb.felr: ban 4 ſearched all the tent, but found them not. , And ſhe ſaid to her faeher, Let it not diſpleaſe my Lord that I cannot riſe up before theeg ; for the cuſtom of women is upon me: andhe ſearched, but
found not the Images. ; £g Nzeſt. How could that occaſion hinder her from riſing up to her Father ? Anſw. 1. It might be attended in her, as it was, and is, in ſome other Women, eſpecially in thoſe hut Countries, with a great flux of Blood, or with more than ordinary infirmity and ſickneſs ; and this Laban might know to be uſual with her by former obſerva- tion or information : 2. She offers this as a reaſon, not why ſhe could nor riſe upto ſhew a civility to him, but why ſhe could not riſe up from his face, or from before him, as the words in the Hebrew . ſound, 4.e. ſo as to give way to him that he might come and ſearch there for the Images: Becauſe menſt:-uous Women were anciently eſteemed polluted,and to pollute the things which they touched,or ſar upon ; as you may ſee by L-vir. 15. 19,20,27, 22. Which Law, though it were not yet given and written, yet that, as well as divers other Ceremonial Rights, might be enjoyned by God, & obſerved by ſober Heathens at that time, eſpecially by ſuch as were a kin to Abraham,as Laban & his Family were, who by that means might ea- fily come to the knowledge of ſuch matrers. Add to this, one of the ſeven Precepts given to the Sons of Noah, was that of uncovering nakedneſs ; which both Jewiſh and ChriſtianWriters take tobe avery comprehenſive Expreſtion, and to include all ſuch things as have a natural turpitude in them,among which this is confeſſed to be one. And the words thus underſtood,contain a ſolid &fatisfaftory reaſon whyLaban thould not now come nearher,nor ſearchthe thingswhich ſhe ſatupon, which had been an uncival and immodeſt thing. 26 And Jacob was very wroth, and chode with La- ban, and Jacob anſwered, and ſaid to Laban, Whart is my treſpaſs ? what is my ſin, that thou haſt ſo hotly
purſued after meh? _
h With ſo much fury and violence.
37 Whereas thou haſt + ſearched all my ſtuff, what haſt thou found of all thy Houſhold-ſtu&? ſet ithere be- fore my brethren, and thy brethren, thatthey may judge betwixt us both, ; :
338 This twenty years heve I been with thee 37 thy ewes, and thy ſhe-goats have not caſt their young ;,and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.
; Which thou oweſt in a great meaſure to my care and diligence in ordering them,and principally to God's bleſſing given to thee for | my ſake, by thy own confeſſion, Ger: 30, 27.
39 That which was torn of beeffs I brought not unto thee ; I bare the loſs of it : of * my handdidſt thou re- quireitk, whether ftollen by day, or ſtollen by night, k Which was unjuſt and unreaſonable, except where it fell out through the Shepherds defaulr,Sec Exod: 22.13. Queft. How could 7acob pay theſe loſſes, ſeing he came empty from his Father's Houſe, & got nothing by his ſervice for the firſt 14 years,but his Wives? 41ſ. Either 1: he had ſome ſupplies ſent from his Father, though ir be not mentioned in this-hiſtory : Or 2. he might have ſome inconſj- derableAllowances or Priviledges from Laban,out of which he could eaſily defray. theſeCharges,which becauſe of his great care & watch- fulneſs did but ſeldom: happen: Or 3. theſe loſſes were put to his account,to be ſatisfied by him as ſoon as he ſhould be able to do it. |
40 Thus I was in the day, the drought conſumed me,