Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 31:27 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 27. 27Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Laban says Jacob's secrecy deprived him of a joyful musical sendoff. The reader hears this claim after God restrained Laban and before Laban admits he had power to harm, so the speech cannot be treated as proof of what Laban would actually have done.
Read It With
- Genesis 31:22–42
Read verses 26–31. Laban describes the farewell he says he wanted, then admits his capacity to hurt Jacob; Jacob answers that he feared Rachel and Leah would be taken by force. Reading verse 27 alone makes Laban's unrealized claim sound like verified history.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The imagined musical farewell presents Laban's preferred version of what open departure would have produced.
Read Genesis 31:26–30 together
Why these verses belong together: Laban's family accusation, claimed farewell, admitted power, reported warning, and teraphim charge form his opening case.
Verse 26. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?
Verse 27. 27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
Verse 28. 28 And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing.
Verse 29. 29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Verse 30. 30 And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
What Remains True
A peaceful account of what someone says they would have done should be weighed against their power, conduct, and the credible fears of those leaving.
How It Can Shape Life
- Do not dismiss a vulnerable person's safety concern merely because the powerful person later describes a kinder hypothetical response.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 31:22–42 — Laban Pursues and Searches Jacob's CampSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The narrator reports Laban's claim but does not state whether the promised musical farewell was sincere, strategic, or both.
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, pursuit, warning, accusations, search, labor defense, later narrative, shepherd-liability, and menstrual-purity comparisons.
Exact location: Genesis 31:22–42 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 28:10–22; 29:15–30; 30:25–43; 31:1–21, 43–55; 35:1–20; Exodus 22:10–13; and Leviticus 15:19–23
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 idioms, knowledge states, search language, physical labor terms, divine title, and final divine-action wording.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 31:22–42; morphology and wording for pursued, good or bad, power of my hand, longed, take by force, let him not live, camel equipment, way of women, chode, judge, torn, heat, cold, Fear of Isaac, affliction, labor, and rebuked
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Pursuit chronology, Gilead, good-to-bad idiom, family and farewell rhetoric, longing, force, death oath, tent order, camel saddle, menstruation, labor conditions, Fear of Isaac, and rebuke translation details.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 31:22–42 and translator notes, especially notes on 31:23–35 and 31:38–42
Open NET Genesis 31 ↗