genesis 31:3-32:2, triennial shuv el-eretz, “return to the land” outline

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