Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 31:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Rachel and Leah say Laban counts them as strangers because he sold them and consumed their money. They describe deep family alienation and economic misuse, likely connected with Jacob's long marriage-service.
Read It With
- Genesis 31:1–21
Read verse 15 with verses 14–16 and Genesis 29:15–30. The inheritance question precedes it, their claim to the transferred wealth follows it, and the marriage narrative explains the years of service. Reading only 'sold us' can make an ancient economic complaint sound like the narrator's approval of owning women.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Their outsider and sale language explains the depth of their alienation and economic grievance.
Read Genesis 31:14–16 together
Why these verses belong together: Rachel and Leah describe exclusion, economic loss, their children's claim, and agreement to leave.
Verse 14. 14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house?
Verse 15. 15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
Verse 16. 16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
Follow the Context
- Laban's sons accuse Jacob of taking their father's wealth, Laban's attitude changes, and God commands Jacob to return with the promise of presence (31:1–3).
- Jacob calls Rachel and Leah to the field and explains Laban's hostility, his own service, repeated wage changes, and God's protection (31:4–9).
- Jacob recounts a dream in which the angel of God shows the marked breeding animals, says God has seen Laban's actions, identifies himself as the God of Bethel, and commands Jacob to leave (31:10–13).
- Rachel and Leah describe themselves as outsiders deprived of a portion in their father's household and agree that Jacob should do what God commanded (31:14–16).
- Jacob loads his children and wives, takes the property acquired in Paddan-aram, and begins the journey toward Isaac in Canaan (31:17–18).
- While Laban is away shearing, Rachel steals his teraphim, Jacob conceals the flight from Laban, and the household crosses the Euphrates toward Gilead (31:19–21).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“counted ... strangers”
In plain language: Treated as outsiders rather than daughters with a continuing place.
The family bond has been economically and relationally broken.
Why it matters: Alienation, not merely money, explains their readiness to leave.
How certain? very strong“sold us”
In plain language: Treated their marriages as an economic transfer through Jacob's labor.
The daughters interpret Laban's use of the arrangement as commodifying them.
Why it matters: The text gives them critical speech rather than endorsing the system.
How certain? strong“devoured also our money”
In plain language: Used up the economic benefit they regard as theirs.
Laban retained or consumed the value connected with the marriages.
Why it matters: The charge is strong, while the exact ancient accounting remains unknown.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The statement does not make the sale or transfer of women morally acceptable.
It does not prove the exact form of every ancient bride-price, dowry, or inheritance expectation.
The word strangers does not authorize ethnic or immigration hostility.
Their grievance does not make every later act by the departing household morally right.
What Remains True
Family authority becomes corrupt when it treats persons as outsiders and consumes benefits that should serve their welfare.
How It Can Shape Life
- Do not use family hierarchy to appropriate another adult's wages, gifts, inheritance, or economic security while denying them a voice.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 31:15's contribution to Genesis 31:1–21. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 31:1–21 — Jacob Secretly Leaves LabanSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The most likely economic background is Jacob's service as bridal payment, but the text does not preserve a contract stating exactly what Laban owed his daughters.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, unit boundary, Bethel connection, departure, pursuit setup, foreign-god context, and return movement.
Exact location: Genesis 31:1–21 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 28:10–22; 30:25–43; 31:22–55; 32:1–21; and 35:1–7
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Hebrew vocabulary, idioms, speaker distinctions, dream language, wage claims, household-god term, and geography.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 31:1–21; morphology and wording for glory, countenance, ten times, taken, given, seen, sold, consumed, teraphim, stole the heart, fled, river, and Gilead
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Wealth, attitude, wage-number, animal, inheritance, teraphim, stolen-heart, Aramean, Euphrates, and route translation details.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 31:1–21 and translator notes, especially notes on 31:1–3, 7–16, 19–21; compared with 30:25–43 and 31:22–42
Open NET Genesis 31 ↗modern scholarly open biblical marriage study
Bride-Price: The Story of Jacob's Marriage to Rachel and Leah
Kristine Henriksen Garroway
TheTorah.com SBL e-journal, 2020
Supports: Comparative evidence for labor as probable bridal payment and the economic background to Rachel and Leah's complaint; uncertainty about the exact contract remains.
Exact location: Kristine Henriksen Garroway, TheTorah.com (2020), Bride-Price section and discussion of Jacob's labor for Rachel and Leah, ancient marriage gifts, timing, and legal reconstruction
Open source ↗