Genesis 31

Stolen gods...

Previous post: Genesis 30

This week, I’m going to change up the format a bit and break down Genesis 31 into two quick bullet-point takeaways.

1. Stolen gods

Why did Rachel steal her father’s idols? The Bible doesn’t say, but here’s one explanation: she wanted his inheritance.

The idea that Rachel’s theft of her father Laban’s household idols (teraphim) in Genesis 31:19 relates to inheritance rights is supported by archaeological and historical evidence from the ancient Near East. A reliable source for this is the book Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, edited by James B. Pritchard (Princeton University Press, 1969, pp. 219-220). This collection includes translations of cuneiform tablets from Nuzi, a Mesopotamian site, which describe legal customs of the period.

Specifically, one Nuzi tablet indicates that possession of household gods could entitle a son-in-law to claim a deceased father-in-law’s estate under certain conditions, such as adoption or marriage contracts. This suggests Rachel might have taken the teraphim to secure inheritance rights for Jacob, her husband, especially given Laban’s deceptive treatment of them (Genesis 31:14-16). The Nuzi texts provide a cultural parallel to the biblical narrative, showing that teraphim were sometimes linked to family authority and property rights. (Source: Grok AI)

Side note: I find it a bit funny that Laban doesn’t seem to see the irony in his stolen gods. If your god can be stolen from you, it’s probably time to find a better god. On to takeaway number two…

2. In this chapter, Laban loved money and used people. Jacob loved people and used money.

The picture Genesis paints of Laban is that he is a real piece of work. He basically does his best to wring every last drop of work and money out of Jacob that he can. Each move to extort more work out of Jacob somehow ends up transferring more wealth from Laban to Jacob. Laban grows poorer—losing kids, animals, food, etc. Jacob grows wealthier—gaining kids, animals, food, etc. It seems that Laban spends his days pinching pennies, cheating his employees, and squandering his wealth. Meanwhile, we see a picture of Jacob sacrificing and sharing his wealth with all of his relatives in verse 54.

He offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night there. Genesis 31:54, NIV

Genesis 31:54 reminds me of Luke 16:9.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9, NIV

That’s a good reminder for me today. It’s both a personal and business challenge. I want to be known as a person who loves people and uses money, not the other way around.

Here’s this week’s AI rap summary:

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™