Read Genesis 31:3-32:2 at Bible Gateway.
the teaching tools of scripture
Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Gen 28:10-32:2 {p} God fulfills His promise to Jacob
Strong themes of the parashah:
Gen 28:10-32:2 {p} God fulfills His promise to Jacob
gen 28:10-32:2 chiastic structure reveals the strong theme
Gen 31:3-32:2 chiastic structure:
1a) Gen 31:3-21, God met Jacob/ he departed Padan-Aram and went on his way to Canaan;
1b) Gen 31:22-23a, Laban arose and pursued Jacob;
1c) Gen 31:23b-25, God reminds Laban that Jacob is in covenant with Him;
1d) Gen 31:26-30, Laban was angry and rebuked Jacob;
central axis) Gen 31:31-35, Laban searched among Jacob’s things for the household idols, but did not find them;
2d) Gen 31:36-42, Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban;
2c) Gen 31:43-54, Jacob’s covenant with Laban;
2b) Gen 31:55, Laban departed and returned to his place;
2a) Gen 31:1-2, Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
Theme of the parashah:
Jacob departed his father-in-law’s (pagan) household with the blessings God had given him, to return to Canaan.
chiastic structure of the patriarchs
Finding Messiah in Torah:
And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey … Gen 31:22-23a
Three is a sign of Messiah in Torah. The third day is the day of resurrection and new life. His life in Padan-Aram, among the idolaters of his father-in-law’s household, had been a life of hardship looking after Laban’s flocks and herds. But by the third day Jacob had broken free from his father-in-law’s household, and by the seventh day (a week of completion) he was within the mountains of Gilead, on the borders of Canaan … well and truly free.
Additional readings for this parashah:
Psa 26 | Jer 30 | Jam 4
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