And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father’s.
- BSB Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
- NKJV Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s.
- NASB Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the household idols that were her father’s.
- NLT At the time they left, Laban was some distance away, shearing his sheep. Rachel stole her father’s household idols and took them with her.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
While Laban shears his sheep, Rachel secretly steals his household idols (teraphim). Her theft will create danger and tension on the journey.
Overview
Rachel's taking of the teraphim, likely valued as household gods or tokens of inheritance, reveals lingering attachment to pagan objects in Jacob's family. Her secret act will nearly cost her life and forces a later cleansing of foreign gods (Genesis 35:2-4). The episode shows that even the covenant family struggled to leave idolatry fully behind, highlighting the need for wholehearted devotion to the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Sam 19:13And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
- Hos 3:4For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
- Gen 31:30And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
- Gen 35:2Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
- Ezek 21:21For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he made his arrows bright, he consulted with images, he looked in the liver.
- Judg 18:14–24Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.
- Judg 17:4–5Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
- Gen 31:34Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not.
- Gen 31:32With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
- Judg 18:31And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
- Josh 24:2And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 31:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.