sullicicn t reason for departing from the usual had stolen (or, "and Rachel stole," 11.vniling meaning" for" (Rosenmiillcr)-all the riohe ■ herself likewise of the ol?portunity presented which God hath taken from our father,- by her father's absence) the images that thus Rachel and Leah also rocognise the hand were her father's. The teraphim, from an of ~od (Elohi?t) in Jacob's unusual pros- unused root, taraph, si~nifying to live com- ~r1ty- that IS ours, and our children's fort.1,bly, like the Sanscnt trip, Greek rp,1m11, (Rachel end Leah mean to say that what Arabic tarafa (Gesenius, Furst, sub voce), ,T?cob ~ad acq1~ired by his six years of ser- appear to have been smnll human figures Y1r.c ,nth their father was no more than (cf. eh.. xx.xi. 34), though the image in 1 would have naturally belonged to him had S_nm. XIX. 13 mut have been nearly life. they obtained their portions nt the first) : size, or at least a full-sized bust, sometimes now then, whatsoever God hath said unto made of silver (Judges xvii. 4), though com- thee, do. It is clear that, equally with him- monly constructed of wood (1 Sam. xi.x. 13 self, they were prepared for breakin"' 0 off -16); t~ey were worshipped ea go~s (,icl'w;\.a, connection ,dth their father Laban. LXX.; idola, Vulgate, cf. eh. x.xn. 30), con- Vers. 17, 18.-Then (literally, and) J"acob sulted for oracles (Ezek. xxi. 26 ; Zech. x. roee up (expressive of the vigour and alacrity 2), and believed to be the custodians and with which, having obtained the concurrence promoters of human happiness (Judges xvili. of_ !!is 'Y1ves, J~cob set about fulfilling the 24). Probably derived from the Ammieans D1vme mstructions), and set his sous-his (Furst, Kurtz), or the Chaldeans (Ezek. xxi. children, as in eh. xxxi. l ; xxxii. 12, in- 21, Kalisch, Wordsworth), the worship of cluding Dinah, if by this time she had been ~raphim was subsequently denounced as born (vide eh. xn:. 21)-and his wives upon idolatrous (1 Sam. xv. 23 ; 2 Kings xiii. camels. Since neither were able to under- 24). Cf. with Rachel's act that ascribed to take a journey to Canaan on foot, his oldest 1Eneas:- son being not more than thirteen years of age, and his youngest not more than six. On " Effigies sacrm divilm, Phrygiique Penates, the camel, vule eh. xiL 16. And he carried Quos mecum a Troja, mediisque ex ignibus away-the verb JO~, to pant, which is speci- urbis, ally used of those who are exhausted by Extuleram" (Virg., '1En.,' iiL 148-160). running (Gesenius, sub voce), may perhaps Rachel's motive for abstracting her father's indicate the haste with which. Jacob acted- teraphim has been variously ascribed to a all his c&ttle,-Milmeh, literally,possession, desire to prevent her father from discovering, from /.anah, to procure, always used of cattle, by inquiring at his gods, the direction of the chief wealth of a nomad (cf. eh. xiii 2; their flight (Aben Ezra, Rosenrniiller), to pro- :xxvi. H)-and all his goods which he tect herself, in case of being overtaken, by an had gotten,-Recush, literally, acqui-sition, appeal to her father's gods (Josephus), to draw hence substance, wealth in general, from her father from the practice of idolatry (Bazil, racash, to acquire (vide eh. xiv. 11, 16, 21 ; Gregory, Nazianzen, Tbeodoret), to obtain xv. 14), which, however, is more specifically children for herself through their assistance described as-the cattle of his getting, which (Lengerke, Gerlnch), to preserve a memorio.l he had gotten (both of the above verbs, of her ancestors, whose pictures these ter..- kanah and racash, being now employed) in phim were (Lightfoot) ; but wo.s probably (i. e. during his stay in) Padan-aram, for to due to avarice, if the images were made of go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. precious metals (Pererius), or to a taint of Ver. 19. -And Laban went-or, Now superstition which still adhered to her other- Laban had gone, probably to the other wise relirous nature (Chrysostorn, Calvin, station, which was three days' journey from 'Speakers Commentary'), causing her to Jacob's flocks ('llide eh. xxL 36; and cf. eh. look to these idols for protection (Kalisch, x:xxi. 22)-to &hear his sheep. fo this work Murphy) or consultation {Wordsworth) on he would probably be detained several days, her Journey. the time of shearing being commonly re- Ver. 20.-And Jo.cob stole away unawares garded as a festal season (cf. eh. xxx viiL 12 ; to Laban the Syrian, - literally, stole tM l Sam. x.xv. 4 ; 2 Sam. xiii. 23), at which heart of Laban the Sy1-ian, i. e. deceived friendly entertainments were given. Whether his mind and intelligence, like rr:X,1rrEt11 J acoli's absence from the festivities is to be 1100v, Hom.,' II.,' xiv. 227 (cf. vers. 26, 27); explained by the dissension existing between hence= ir:pv,j,, (LXX.); so Calvin, Rosen- Lim and Laban, which either caused him to miiller, Keil, Gesenius, and others. Longe be uninvited or led him to decline the in- fancifully understands by the henrt of Labau vitation (Kurtz), or by the supposition that which Jacob stole either Laban's daughters he had first gone and subsequently left the or his favourite Rachel. Gerlach contrasts banquet (Lange), the fact that Laban wo.s so Jacob's stealing with that of Rachel, in which i,ngo.ged afforded Jacob the opportunity he Jacob had no part. 'l'he exact import of desired for making bis escape. And B.acb.el Jacob's stealing is declnred by the worde CH. XXXI. 1-21.] THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 877
that follow-in tho.t he told him not (Lange quadrilateral root, signifyin$ to be hard, 11.nd Bush intorrret 11.itJ impersonally, ea though, according to the historian (by a eignifyiug in thtit or because It was not told; slight change in the punctuation), "The but in this among expositors they stand hill, or heap of witness," from the transaction alone) that he :11.ed. recorded in verses 45-47, which name it Ver. 21.-So (literally, and) he :11.ed with here proleptically receives, was not the (literally, and) all that he had; and he mountain-range to the south of the Jabbok, rose up, and paseed over the river,-i. e. now styled Jebel JilM (Gesenius), Jebel-es- the Euphrates, which was called by pre- Ssalt (Robinson), Jebel osha (Tristrarn), eminence the river (cf. 1 Kings iv. 21 ; Ezra since Jacob had not yet crossed the river, iv. 10, 16)-and set his face toward the but that upon its northern bank, called Jebel Ajlun, and sitnated near 1.fahanaim mount Gilead. 1ll~J, according to Geseniu~, (Delitzsch, Keil, Kalisch, Porter). "the hard, stony region," from on unused