4061. GENESIS 31

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

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 unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy nativity, and I will be with thee.

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

5. And he said unto 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 hath been with me.

6. And ye know that with all my strength I have served your father.

7. And your father hath deceived me, and hath changed my reward ten ways, and God hath not suffered him to do evil with me.

8. If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the flock bare speckled; and if he said thus, The party-colored shall be thy reward, then all the flock bare party-colored.

9. And God hath taken away the acquisition of your father, and hath given it to me.

10. And it came to pass at the time that the flock grew warm, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were party-colored, speckled, and grizzled.

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

12. And he said, Lift up I pray thine eyes, and see all the he-goats which leap upon the flock, party-colored, speckled, and grizzled; for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

13. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto me; now arise, go forth out of this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity.

14. And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Have we any longer a portion and inheritance in our father’s house?

15. Are we not counted of him strangers? For he hath sold us, and devouring hath also devoured our silver.

16. For all the riches which God hath taken away from our father, they are ours and our sons’; and now all that God hath said unto thee, do.

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

18. And he carried away all his acquisition, and all his substance which he had gathered, the acquisition of his purchase, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

19. And Laban was gone to shear his flock; and Rachel stole the teraphim which were her father’s.

20. And Jacob stole the heart of Laban the Aramean, in that he told him not that he was fleeing.

21. And he fled, he and all that he had; and he arose and passed over the river, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.

22. And it was told Laban on the third day, that Jacob was fled.

23. And he took his brethren 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 unto him, Take heed to thyself lest thou speak with Jacob from good even to evil.

25. And Laban came up with Jacob, and Jacob pitched his tent in the mountain; and Laban pitched with his brethren in the mountain of Gilead.

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

27. Wherefore hast thou concealed thyself to flee? and hast stolen 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 suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters; now thou hast acted foolishly.

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

30. And now going thou hast gone, because longing thou hast longed toward thy father’s house; wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?

31. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid, for I said, Perchance thou wilt take away thy daughters from me by force.

32. With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live before our brethren; search 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 handmaids, 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 put them in the camel’s straw, and sat upon them; and Laban felt about all the tent, and found them not.

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

36. And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? What is my sin, in that thou hast hotly pursued after me?

37. Whereas thou hast felt about all my vessels, what hast thou found of all the vessels of thy house? Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, and let them judge between us two.

38. These twenty years have I been with thee, thy sheep and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

39. The torn I brought not unto thee, I bare the loss of it, from my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

40. Thus I was; in the day the heat consumed me, and the cold in the night, and my sleep has been chased from mine eyes.

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

42. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Dread of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen my misery and the weariness of my hands, and judged yesternight.

43. And Laban answered, and said unto Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the flock is my flock, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their sons which they have borne?

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

45. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

46. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather 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 this day; 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 fellow.

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 witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over 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 swear by the Dread of his father Isaac.

54. And Jacob sacrificed a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread; and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain.

55. And in the morning Laban arose early, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban departed and returned to his place.

THE CONTENTS.

The subject here treated of in the internal sense is the separation of the good and truth represented by Jacob and his women, from the good signified by “Laban,” in order that the former might be conjoined with the Divine from a direct Divine stock; and also the state of both as regards the separation.

2788. On the third day. That this signifies completeness, and the beginning of sanctification, is evident from the signification of the “third day.” “Day” in the Word signifies state (n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893); as also does “year,” and in general all periods of time; as an “hour,” a “day,” a “week,” a “month,” a “year,” an “age;” as also “morning,” “noon,” “evening,” and “night;” and “spring,” “summer,” “autumn,” and “winter;” and when “third” is added to these, they signify the end of that state, and at the same time the beginning of the following state. As the Lord’s sanctification is here treated of, which was effected by temptations, the “third day” signifies completeness, and at the same time the beginning of sanctification, as also follows from what has been already said. The reason of this signification is that when the Lord had fulfilled all things He would rise again on the third day; for the things that were done, or that would be done by the Lord when He lived in the world, were in the representatives of the church as if already done (as also they were in the internal sense of the Word); for in God to be and to become are the same; indeed all eternity is present to Him.

[2] Hence the number “three” was representative, not only in the Ancient Church and in the Jewish, but also among various nations. (See what is said concerning this number above, n. 720, 901, 1825.) That this was the origin of the signification of “three,” is evident in Hosea:

Let us return unto Jehovah, for He hath wounded, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up; after two days He will revive us, on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live before Him (Hos. 6:1-2); where the “third day” denotes the Lord’s coming, and His resurrection. And from Jonah, that he “was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17); concerning which the Lord thus speaks in Matthew:

As Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).

[3] Be it known that in the internal sense of the Word “three days” and the “third day” signify the same, as also do “three” and “third” in the passages which now follow.

In John:

Jesus said to the Jews, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. He spake of the temple of His body (John 2:19-21; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; 15:29).

[4] That the Lord rose again on the third day is known. For the same reason the Lord distinguished the periods of His life into three, as stated in Luke:

Go ye and tell that fox, Behold I cast out demons, and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected (Luke 13:32).

His last temptation also, that of the cross, the Lord endured at the “third hour” of the day (Mark 15:25); and after three hours there came darkness over the whole land, or at the “sixth hour” (Luke 23:44); and after three hours, or at the “ninth hour,” the end (Mark 15:33-34, 37). But on the morning of the “third day” He rose again (Mark 16:1-4; Luke 24:7; (see Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; Luke 18:33; 24:46). From all this, and especially from the Lord’s resurrection on the third day, the number “three” was representative and significative, as may be seen from the following passages in the Word:

When Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai, He told Moses to sanctify the people today and tomorrow, and that they should wash their garments, and be ready against the third day, for on the third day Jehovah would descend (Exodus 19:10-11, 15-16).

When they set forth from the mount of Jehovah on a journey of three days, the ark of Jehovah went before them a three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them (Numbers 10:33).

There was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days, and they saw not one another for three days, but the sons of Israel had light (Exodus 10:22-23).

[5] The flesh of the sacrifice of a vow, or of a freewill-offering, was to be eaten on the first and second day; nothing was to be left to the third day, but the remainder was to be burnt, because it was an abomination.

So too with the flesh of the peace-offering; and if it should be eaten on the third day it would not propitiate, but the soul should carry its iniquity (Leviticus 7:16-18; 19:6-7).

He that touched one dead was to purify himself on the third day, and on the seventh day he should be clean; otherwise that soul should be cut off from Israel; and one that was clean should sprinkle water upon him that was unclean on the third day and on the seventh day (Numbers 19:12-13, 19).

They who slew a person in battle, or touched one that was slain, were to purify themselves on the third day, and on the seventh day (Numbers 31:19).

[6] When they came into the land of Canaan the fruit was to be uncircumcised three years, and was not to be eaten (Leviticus 19:23).

At the end of three years they were to bring all the tithes of their increase in that year and lay it up in their gates, that the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow might eat (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 24:12).

Three times in the year they were to keep a feast to Jehovah, and three times in the year every male was to appear before the face of the Lord Jehovih (Exodus 23:14, 17; Deuteronomy 16:16).

Joshua told the people that in three days they should pass over the Jordan and inherit the land (Josh. 1:11; 3:2).

[7] Jehovah called to Samuel three times, and he answered the third time (1 Samuel 3:8).

When Saul wished to kill David, David hid himself in the field till the third evening. Jonathan said to David that he would sound his father on the third day. Jonathan shot three arrows by the side of the stone, and David then fell upon his face to the earth before Jonathan and bowed himself down three times (1 Samuel 20:5, 12, 19-20, 30, 36, 41).

David was to choose one of three things: seven years of famine in the land; or that he should flee before his enemies three months; or a pestilence in the land three days (2 Samuel 24:12-13).

[8] There was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year (2 Samuel 21:1).

Elijah stretched himself upon the dead child three times and brought him to life (1 Kings 17:21).

When Elijah had built the altar to Jehovah, he told them to pour water upon the burnt offering and upon the wood three times (1 Kings 18:34).

The fire twice consumed the commanders over fifty, sent to Elijah, but not him that was sent the third time (2 Kings 1:13).

It was a sign to king Hezekiah that they should eat that year what sprung up spontaneously, in the second year the aftergrowth, but in the third year they should sow, reap, plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them (2 Kings 19:29).

[9] Daniel entered into his house and had the windows open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, and here three times a day he blessed upon his knees and prayed (Daniel 6:11, 14).

Daniel mourned three weeks of days, eating no pleasant bread, nor drinking wine, nor anointing himself, until the three weeks of days were fulfilled (Daniel 10:2-3.

Isaiah went naked and barefoot three years, for a sign and a wonder upon Egypt and upon Cush (Isaiah 20:3).

Out of the candlestick went forth three branches on each side, and three almond-shaped cups on each branch (Exodus 25:32-33).

In the Urim and Thummim there were three precious stones in each row (Exodus 28:17-19).

[10] In the new temple there were to be three chambers of the gate on this side and three on that side, and they three should have one measure; at the porch of the house the breadth of the gate should be three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side (Ezekiel 40:10, 21, 48).

In the new Jerusalem there were to be three gates to the north, three to the east, three to the south, and three to the west (Ezekiel 48:31-34; Revelation 21:13).

So in the following passages:

Peter denied Jesus thrice (Matthew 26:34, 26:69-75 d following verses).

The Lord said to Peter three times, “Lovest thou Me?” (John 21:17).

Also in the parable, the man who planted the vineyard sent servants three times, and at length his son (Luke 20:12; Mark 12:2, 4-6).

They who labored in the vineyard were hired at the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, and the eleventh hour (Matthew 20:1-17).

Because the fig tree did not bear fruit for three years, it was to be cut down (Luke 13:6-7).

[11] As a trine and a third were representative, so also was a third part; as that in the meat offering of fine flour two tenths were mixed with a third part of a hin of oil; and the wine for a libation was a third part of a hin (Numbers 15:6-7; Ezekiel 46:14).

The prophet Ezekiel was to pass a razor upon his head, and upon his beard, and then divide the hair and burn a third part in the fire, and smite a third with the sword, about it [the city], and scatter a third to the wind (Ezekiel 5:1-2, 11).

In the whole land, two parts were to be cut off and the third was to be left; but the third was to be brought through the fire and proved (Zech. 13:8-9).

[12] When the first angel sounded there came hail and fire mingled with blood, and it fell upon the earth so that a third part of the trees were burnt up. The second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and a third part of the sea became blood; because of which a third part of the creatures in the sea having souls, died, and a third part of the ships were destroyed. The third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven burning like a lamp, and it fell upon a third part of the rivers; the name of the star was Wormwood. The fourth angel sounded, and a third part of the sun was smitten, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night in like manner (Revelation 8:7-12).

[13] The four angels were loosed to kill a third part of men (Revelation 9:15).

By these three were the third part of men killed, by the fire, and the smoke, and the brimstone, which proceeded out of the mouth of the horses (Revelation 9:18).

The dragon drew with his tail a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth (Revelation 12:4).

A “third part,” however, signifies some, and what is not yet complete; but the “third,” and a “trine,” what is complete; and this, of evil to the evil, and of good to the good.