Genesis 31:43 kjv
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?
Genesis 31:43 nkjv
And Laban answered and said to Jacob, "These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?
Genesis 31:43 niv
Laban answered Jacob, "The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne?
Genesis 31:43 esv
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?
Genesis 31:43 nlt
Then Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks ? in fact, everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and their children?
Genesis 31 43 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 28:15 | "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land..." | God's promise to Jacob to prosper and protect him. |
| Gen 30:2 | Jacob said to Rachel, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" | Children are a blessing from God, not subject to human control. |
| Gen 30:27-30 | Laban said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay with me; for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake." | Laban previously acknowledged God's blessing on him through Jacob. |
| Gen 30:43 | So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female servants, male servants, camels, and donkeys. | Divine blessing behind Jacob's wealth, countering Laban's claims. |
| Gen 31:1-2 | Now Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this esteem." | The sons echo Laban's covetousness and sense of theft. |
| Gen 31:7-9 | "Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. If he said, 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flocks bore speckled..." | Jacob's testimony of Laban's deception and God's protective intervention. |
| Gen 31:42 | "...Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed." | God intervened on Jacob's behalf, restraining Laban's greed. |
| Gen 31:44 | "Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me." | The resolution to this conflict is a covenant, confirming separation. |
| Gen 36:6-7 | Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the people of his household, his livestock, all his animals, and all his goods... and went from the presence of his brother Jacob. | Departure of families and possessions is a common biblical theme for separation. |
| Num 36:6-7 | "This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry whom they think best; only they must marry into the family of the tribe of their father." | Law on daughters marrying into the family for inheritance; cultural emphasis on familial lineage. |
| Dt 8:17-18 | "...you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth..." | Wealth comes from God, not solely human effort or claim. |
| Ps 24:1 | The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. | Ultimate ownership belongs to God, rendering human claims temporal. |
| Ps 127:3 | Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. | Children are God's gift, not simply human property. |
| Prov 11:1 | Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight. | Condemnation of deceitful practices, like Laban's. |
| Prov 22:22-23 | Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; For the LORD will plead their cause... | Warning against oppressing others to gain wealth. |
| Is 5:8 | Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no more room... | Denounces greed and boundless accumulation of property. |
| Mt 19:6 | "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." | Highlights the indissoluble bond of marriage (though polygamous context here). |
| Lk 12:15 | "And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.'" | Warns against greed, Laban's dominant trait. |
| Jn 18:31 | Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." | A parallel rhetorical statement acknowledging lack of authority/power. |
| Acts 5:4 | While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? | Illustrates the concept of owning property vs. making false claims. |
| 1 Th 4:6 | that no one should defraud his brother or take advantage of him in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. | Applies to deceitful business practices. |
| Heb 13:5 | Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." | Command against covetousness and reliance on God's provision. |
Genesis 31 verses
Genesis 31 43 Meaning
Genesis 31:43 records Laban's final, desperate attempt to assert his paternal claim and ownership over everything Jacob had acquired during his years in Haran. He declares that Jacob's wives (his own daughters), their children, Jacob's flocks, and all his possessions rightfully belong to Laban. However, his concluding rhetorical question expresses his ultimate powerlessness to undo what God has done through Jacob, particularly in the permanent bonds of family. It signifies Laban's reluctant acknowledgement of an unalterable reality, though still clinging to his perceived rights and greed.
Genesis 31 43 Context
Genesis chapter 31 describes Jacob's clandestine departure from Laban after 20 years of service, fearing Laban's changing countenance and sensing God's call to return to his homeland. Jacob recounts to his wives, Laban's daughters, how their father repeatedly cheated him by changing his wages. The wives agree, noting Laban has treated them like foreigners and sold them for Jacob's service, and that God has rightfully taken Laban's possessions and given them to Jacob. Laban pursues Jacob, finally catching up, intending harm but is supernaturally warned by God in a dream not to speak good or bad to Jacob. Laban confronts Jacob, accusing him of stealing his daughters and possessions, specifically the household gods (teraphim) Rachel secretly took. Jacob vehemently denies theft and offers the perpetrator of the teraphim theft to be put to death. Laban then searches but finds nothing. This verse (Gen 31:43) is Laban's concession statement following the failed search and before the final covenant, recognizing his inability to reverse the situation created by God's providence and Jacob's years of labor.
Genesis 31 43 Word analysis
- Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, (וַיַּעַן לָבָן וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־יַעֲקֹב – vayya'an Lavan vayyomer 'el-Ya'aqov): Standard biblical narrative transition. It introduces Laban's response to Jacob's impassioned defense (Gen 31:36-42), setting the stage for a resolution.
- 'The daughters are my daughters, (בְּנוֹתַי בְּנוֹתַי – benotay benotay): Repetition for emphatic assertion of ownership and parental rights. Hebrew benotay means "my daughters." Culturally, daughters were valuable assets for their labor and for marriage alliances. Laban asserts his perpetual claim over them despite their marriage to Jacob.
- the children are my children, (וְהַבָּנִים בָּנָי – v'habanim banay): Banim generally means "sons" but is often used collectively for "children" or "descendants," encompassing both male and female offspring in context. Laban claims paternal right over his daughters' children, who are biologically Jacob's heirs, attempting to extend his lineage and authority.
- the flocks are my flocks, (וְהַצֹּאן צֹאנִי – v'hatson tsoniy): Tsoniy means "my flocks," referring to sheep and goats. Laban asserts ownership over the accumulated wealth of livestock, despite Jacob having legitimately earned them according to their agreements, and ultimately, by God's blessing (Gen 31:9-12).
- and all that you see is mine. (וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה רֹאֶה לִי – v'khol asher attah ro'eh liy): Khol asher attah ro'eh means "all which you see." Liy means "to me" or "mine." This is a sweeping, encompassing claim, revealing Laban's persistent greed and sense of entitlement, desiring to control all tangible assets Jacob has accumulated. It refers to all the accumulated prosperity.
Words-group analysis:
- But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?': (וּמָה אֶעֱשֶׂה הַיּוֹם לָאֵלֶּה בְּנֹתַי אוֹ לִבְנֵיהֶן אֲשֶׁר יָלָדוּ – u'mah e'eseh hayyom la'elleh benotay o liv'neyhen asher yaladu) This rhetorical question marks a crucial pivot.
- "But what can I do" (u'mah e'eseh): Laban acknowledges his powerlessness in the face of an established reality. His legal and paternal claims are irrelevant, given that Jacob and his family have successfully left. This shows reluctant acceptance of defeat or the inevitable.
- "this day" (hayyom): Emphasizes the immediate, irreversible situation. Laban cannot change the past or present facts; the children have been born, and the families have truly departed.
- "for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne": This phrase highlights the indissoluble marital and parental bonds. While Laban claims ownership, he cannot reverse the biological and legal reality of Jacob being the father and husband. He cannot separate them without divine wrath. This is the crux of his dilemma; his greedy claim to possessions extends even to his own kin. The phrasing asher yaladu ("whom they have borne") reiterates the definitive nature of their birth as Jacob's lineage.
Genesis 31 43 Bonus section
Laban's character throughout the Jacob narrative (Gen 29-31) is often cited in theological discussions as a biblical example of unchecked covetousness and deceptive practice. His repeated manipulation of Jacob's wages (changed "ten times," Gen 31:7, 41) is a prime illustration of injustice in personal and business dealings. This verse, Gen 31:43, marks the peak of his hubris—claiming even what he couldn't control (the fruit of his daughters' wombs) as his own—and also the point of his practical surrender. The patriarch Laban represents a familial "cul-de-sac" from which the divine blessing lineage needed to depart, affirming God's selective working in human history. Jacob's eventual success under divine protection, despite Laban's oppressive actions, reinforces the biblical theme that God vindicates the righteous and ensures His promises come to pass, even in the face of human greed and obstruction.
Genesis 31 43 Commentary
Laban's statement in Gen 31:43 is a testament to his ingrained self-serving character. Despite God's direct warning to him (Gen 31:29) and Jacob's truthful recounting of Laban's consistent deceit (Gen 31:38-42), Laban still attempts to assert a false claim of ownership over Jacob's entire household and wealth. His repetition of "my daughters, my children, my flocks" underscores his covetousness and sense of grievance, portraying himself as the injured party, a master manipulator's final act of self-justification.
However, the concluding rhetorical question, "But what can I do this day...?" marks his reluctant and frustrating acknowledgement of the unalterable truth. He cannot reclaim what God has blessed Jacob with, nor can he separate his daughters and their children from Jacob. His statement, therefore, transitions from an assertion of right to a public concession of powerlessness. It reveals the limitations of human schemes against divine providence. Laban, out of pure pragmatic reality, cannot undo the fact that his daughters are irrevocably Jacob's wives and their children, Jacob's offspring. This paved the way for the peaceful, though tenuous, covenant that follows, a departure from potential conflict born of his initial rage. The verse sets the stage for God's clear demarcation of boundaries between the family of promise (Jacob) and the family that remained rooted in paganism and worldly gain (Laban).