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Genesis 31

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1 And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; and from that which was our father’s has he made all this glory.

2 And Jacob saw the faces of Laban, and behold he was not at all with him as yesterday and the day before*.

3 And Jehovah said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy fathers, and to thy birth place, and I will be with thee.

4 And Jacob sent, and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock.

5 And he said to them, I see your father’s faces, that he is not at all toward me as yesterday and the day before; and the God of my father has been with·​·me.

6 And you know that with all my power I have served your father.

7 And your father has deluded me, and has changed my wages ten ways, and God has not given him to do·​·evil with·​·me.

8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wage, then all the flock gave·​·birth·​·to speckled; and if he said thus, The mottled shall be thy wage, then all the flock gave·​·birth mottled.

9 And God has rescued the livestock of your father, and has given it to me.

10 And it was at the time that the flock grew·​·warm, that I lifted my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold the he-goats which went·​·up upon the flock were mottled, speckled, and dappled.

11 And the angel of God said to me in the dream, Jacob; and I said, Behold me!

12 And he said, Lift, I pray, thine eyes, and see all the he-goats going·​·up upon the flock, mottled, speckled, and dappled; for I have seen all that Laban does to thee.

13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou didst vow a vow to me; now arise, go·​·out from this land, and return to the land of thy birth.

14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Have we any·​·more a part and inheritance in our father’s house?

15 Are we not reckoned as foreigners to him? For he has sold us, and eating·​·up he has even eaten·​·up our silver.

16 For all the riches which God has rescued from our father, they are for us and for our sons; and now all that God has said to thee, do.

17 And Jacob arose, and lifted his sons and his women upon the camels.

18 And he drove all his livestock, and all his acquisition which he had acquired, the livestock which he had bought, which he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to come to Isaac his father, to the land of Canaan.

19 And Laban went to shear his flock; and Rachel stole the teraphim which her father had.

20 And Jacob stole the heart of Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that he was running·​·away.

21 And he ran·​·away, he and all that he had; and he arose and crossed·​·over the river, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.

22 And it was·​·told Laban on the third day, that Jacob had run·​·away.

23 And he took his brothers with him, and pursued after him a way of seven days, and joined him in the mountain of Gilead.

24 And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night, and said to him, Take·​·heed to thyself lest thou speak with Jacob from good even·​·to evil.

25 And Laban overtook Jacob, and Jacob pitched his tent on the mountain; and Laban pitched with his brothers on the mountain of Gilead.

26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen my heart, and hast driven my daughters as captives of the sword?

27 Why didst thou hide·​·thyself to run·​·away, and didst steal me,* and hast· not ·told me? And I would have sent· thee ·away with gladness, and with songs, with timbrel, and with harp.

28 And thou hast not allowed me to kiss my sons and my daughters; now thou hast been·​·senseless in so doing.

29 Let my hand be to God to do you evil! And the God of your father said to me last·​·night, saying, Take·​·heed to thyself that thou speak not with Jacob from good even·​·to evil.

30 And now going thou hast gone, for being·​·eager thou wast·​·eager for the house of thy father; why hast thou stolen my gods?

31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was fearful, for I said, Perhaps thou wilt take· thy daughters ·by·​·robbery from me.

32 With whomever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live in·​·front·​·of our brothers; recognize thou what is with·​·me, and take it to thee. And Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

33 And Laban came·​·into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two maidservants, and found them not; and he went·​·out of Leah’s tent, and came·​·into Rachel’s tent.

34 And Rachel had taken the teraphim, and set them in the straw of the camel, and sat upon them; and Laban felt· all ·around the tent, and found them not.

35 And she said to her father, Let there not be fierceness in the eyes of my lord, that I am· not ·able rise·​·up before thee, for the way of women is upon me. And he searched and found not the teraphim.

36 And Jacob was·​·incensed, and strove with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my transgression? What is my sin, that thou hast chased after me?

37 Whereas thou hast felt·​·around all my vessels, what hast thou found of all the vessels of thy house? Set it thus in·​·front·​·of my brothers and thy brothers, and let them judge between the two of us.

38 These twenty years have I been with thee, thy ewes and thy she-goats have not miscarried, and the rams of thy flock I have not eaten.

39 The torn I brought not to thee, I bear·​·the·​·loss of it, from my hand didst thou seek it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

40 Thus I was; in the day the heat devoured me, and the frost in the night, and my sleep has fled·​·away from my eyes.

41 These twenty years I have served thee in thy house, fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock, and thou hast changed my wages ten ways.

42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Dread* of Isaac, had been with me, surely now thou would have sent· me ·away empty. God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and reproved thee last·​·night.

43 And Laban answered, and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the flock is my flock, and all that thou seest, it is mine; and what will I do today for these my daughters, or for their sons whom they have brought·​·forth?

44 And now go, let us cut a covenant, I and thou, and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

45 And Jacob took a stone, and made· it ·high for a pillar.

46 And Jacob said to his brothers, Collect stones; and they took stones, and made a heap, and they did eat there upon the heap.

47 And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.

48 And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee today; therefore he called the name of it Galeed;

49 and Mizpah; for he said, Jehovah watch between me and thee, for we shall be hidden a man from his companion.

50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, and if thou shalt take women over my daughters, there is no man with us; see God is witness between me and thee.

51 And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar which I have set up* between me and thee.

52 This heap be a witness, and the pillar be a witness, that· I ·should not pass·​·by this heap to thee, and that· thou ·shouldst not pass·​·by this heap to me, and this pillar, for evil.

53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us, the God of their father; and Jacob promised by the Dread of his father Isaac.

54 And Jacob sacrificed a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brothers to eat bread; and they did eat bread, and passed·​·the·​·night in the mountain.

55 32:1 And in the morning Laban got·​·up·​·early, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban went and returned to his place.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 4197

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4197. 'And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and you today; therefore he called its name Galeed' means that it will be so for ever - hence the nature of it is described a second time. This is clear from the meaning of 'a heap' as good, dealt with above in 4192, and from the meaning of 'a witness' as the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'today' as for ever, dealt with in 2838, 3998; and from the meaning of 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 2009, 2724, 3421. The particular nature of that good is contained in the name Galeed; for in ancient times when a name was given to anything the name contained the essential nature of that thing, 340, 1946, 2643, 3422. From this one may see what is meant by 'Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and you today; therefore he called its name Galeed', namely this: A testimony that the good meant here by 'Laban' was joined to the Divine good of the Lord's Natural, and therefore that the Lord was joined to the gentiles through good, it being this good that 'Laban' represents now, 4189. The truths belonging to this good are what bear witness to that conjunction; but as long as gentiles are living in this world their good is 'out of line' because they do not possess Divine truths. Nevertheless although those who are governed by that good, that is, who lead charitable lives with one another, do not have Divine truths straight from the Divine source, that is, from the Word, the good they have is not closed up but such as can be opened. What is more, it is opened in the next life when they receive instruction there in the truths of faith, and about the Lord. With Christians it is different. With those of them who lead charitable lives with one another, more so with those who are governed by love to the Lord, good straight from the Divine source is present even while they live in this world because they are in possession of Divine truths. For this reason they enter heaven without undergoing such instruction, provided that their truths have not contained falsities which must first be dispelled. But Christians who have not led charitable lives close heaven against themselves, very many doing so to such an extent that it cannot be opened. For they know truths but deny them and also harden themselves against them, if not with the lips nevertheless in their hearts.

[2] Why Laban first of all called the heap Jegar Sahadutha, its name in his own language, and after that Galeed, its name in the Canaanite language, when in fact the two have practically the same meaning, is for the sake of a bringing together and thereby a joining together. Speaking in the language or 'lip' of Canaan means responding to what is Divine, for 'Canaan' means the Lord's kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord, 1607, 3038, 3705, as is evident in Isaiah,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak in the lip of Canaan and swear by Jehovah Zebaoth. On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah at its border; and it will be for a sign and a witness to Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt. Isaiah 19:18-20.

[3] The meaning of 'a witness' as the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, and the consequent meaning of 'a testimony' as good in which truth is rooted, and truth which arises out of good, may be seen from other parts of the Word. 'A witness' is seen to mean the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, from the following places: In Joshua,

Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Jehovah, to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses. Then put away the foreigner's gods which are in the midst of you, and incline your heart to Jehovah the God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, Jehovah our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey. And Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and set them a statute and a judgement in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak that was in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of Jehovah which He spoke to us; and it will be a witness to you, lest you deny your God. Joshua 24:22-27.

'A witness' in this passage clearly means a confirming - a confirming of the covenant and therefore of their being joined [to Jehovah]; for a covenant means a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021. And since being joined to Jehovah or the Lord is not possible except through good, and since no good effecting that conjunction is possible apart from that which gains its true nature from truth, 'a witness' consequently means the confirmation of good by means of truth. The good meant in this passage consisted in being joined to Jehovah or the Lord, which came about through their choosing Him, to serve Him; and the truth by which it was confirmed was meant by 'the stone'; for 'a stone' means truth, see 643, 1298, 3720. In the highest sense 'the stone' is the Lord Himself since He is the source of all truth, and for that reason is also called 'the Stone of Israel' in Genesis 49:24, and in what is said here in Joshua, 'Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of Jehovah which He spoke to us'.

[4] In John,

I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. The are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which are standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire will come out of their mouth and devour their enemies. These have power to shut heaven. But when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them. But after three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood up on their feet. Revelation 11:3-7, 11.

'The two witnesses' in this case are good and truth - that is, good in which truth is present and truth arising out of good - when both of these have been confirmed in people's hearts, as is evident from the statement that the two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands. For 'an olive tree' means that kind of good, see 886, and 'the two olive trees' stands for celestial good and for spiritual good. Celestial good is essentially love to the Lord, spiritual good is essentially charity towards the neighbour. 'The lampstands' are the truths that belong to those two kinds of good, as will be clear when, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the lampstands are the subject. And it is these - forms of goodness and truth - which have the power to close heaven or to open it; see the Preface to Chapter 22. 'The beast out of the abyss, which is hell, will kill them' means the vastation of good and truth within the Church, and 'the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood up on their feet' means a new Church.

[5] Just as heaps in ancient times were set up to serve as witnesses, so later on were altars, as is clear in Joshua,

The Reubenites and the Gadites said, See the replica of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called it The Altar - a witness between us that Jehovah is God. Joshua 22:28, 34.

'An altar' means the good of love, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself, 921, 2777, 2811. 'A witness' stands in the internal sense for the confirmation of good by means of truth.

[6] Since 'a witness' means the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, 'a witness' in the highest sense therefore means the Lord, for He Himself is the Divine Truth that confirms, as in Isaiah,

I will make with you an eternal covenant, even the true mercies of David. Lo, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, a prince and teacher to the peoples. Isaiah 55:3-4.

In John,

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Revelation 1:5.

In the same book,

These things says the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. Revelation 3:14.

[7] The requirement in the representative Church that the truth must always be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses, not on that of one, Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6-7; 19:15; Matthew 18:16, originates in the Divine Law that one truth does not make good firm but many truths do so. For one truth unconnected to others does not confirm it only a number together, because from one truth it is possible to see another. One by itself does not give any form to good, and so does not manifest any essential quality possessed by good; but many in a connected series do so. For just as one musical note by itself does not constitute the melody, still less the full harmony, neither does one truth achieve anything. This is where the law requiring two or three witnesses originates, though to outward appearance it seems to have its origin in secular legislation. The one however is not contrary to the other, as is also the case with the Ten Commandments, dealt with in 2609.

[8] As regards 'a testimony' meaning good in which truth is rooted, and truth which arises out of good, this follows from what has just been said. It is also clear from the fact that the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone are referred to by the single expression 'the Testimony', as in Moses,

Jehovah gave Moses, when He had finished speaking to him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Exodus 31:18.

In the same author,

Moses came down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand; the tablets were written from the two sides of it. Exodus 32:15.

And because those tablets were placed inside the Ark, the Ark is called 'the Ark of the Testimony'; in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, You shall put into the Ark the Testimony which I shall give to you. Exodus 25:16, 21.

Moses took the Testimony and put it into the Ark. Exodus 40:20.

In the same author,

I will meet you, and talk to you from above the Mercy-seat, from between the two cherubs which are over the Ark of the Testimony. Exodus 25:22.

In the same author,

The cloud of incense covers the Mercy-seat which is over the Testimony. Leviticus 16:13.

In the same author,

The rods of the twelve tribes were left in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the Testimony. Numbers 17:4.

For evidence that the Ark was also called the Ark of the Testimony, see in addition to Exodus 25:22 quoted above, Exodus 31:7; Revelation 15:5.

[9] The Ten Commandments therefore were called the Testimony because they were the conditions of the covenant and so the conditions whereby God and man were joined to each other. But that joining to each other is not possible unless man keeps those commandments not only in their external form but also in their internal. What the internal form of those commandments is, see 2609; consequently it is good made firm by means of truth, and truth derived from good, that are meant by 'the Testimony'. And this being so, the tablets were also called 'the Tablets of the Covenant', and the Ark 'the Ark of the Covenant'. From this one may now see what is meant in the Word by 'the Testimony' in the genuine sense, for example in Deuteronomy 4:45; 6:17, 20; Isaiah 8:16; 2 Kings 17:15; Psalms 19:7; 25:10; 78:5, 56; 93:5; 119:2, 22, 24, 59, 79, 88, 138, 167; 122:4; Revelation 6:9; 12:17; 19:10.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.