Genesis 31:29
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I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
ידי לאל ישׁ: "there is to God my hand" (Mic 2:1; cf. Deu 28:32; Neh 5:5), i.e., my hand serves me as God (Hab 1:11; Job 12:6), a proverbial expression for "the power lies in my hand."
Open source ↗Jacob was a very honest good man, a man of great devotion and integrity, yet he had more trouble and vexation than any of the patriarchs. He left his father's house in a fright, went to his uncle's in distress, very hard usage he met with there, and now is going back surrounded with fears. Here is, I. His resolution to return (v. 1-16). II. His clandestine departure, (Gen 31:17-21). III. Laban's pursuit of him in displeasure (Gen 31:22-25). IV. The hot words that passed between them (v. 26-42). V. Their amicable agreement at last (Gen 31:43, etc.).
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”
May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.
Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.