“And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.”
My Notes
What Does Genesis 31:19 Mean?
Jacob flees from Laban while Laban is away shearing sheep. And Rachel — without Jacob's knowledge — steals her father's household idols (teraphim). The woman carrying the covenant promises takes pagan images with her. The matriarch smuggles gods.
The teraphim were small figurines used for divination and household worship throughout the ancient Near East. Possessing them may have also conferred inheritance rights. Rachel's theft might be religious (she hasn't fully abandoned her father's gods), legal (claiming inheritance), or both.
The detail is Luke-like in its honesty: the Bible doesn't sanitize its heroes. Rachel, the beloved wife, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, the woman whose barrenness God remembered — stole idols. The covenant family is carrying pagan gods in their luggage. Faith and idolatry coexist in the same tent.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'teraphim' are you carrying — backup gods hidden in your saddlebags that contradict your stated faith?
- 2.Does Rachel's idol-stealing challenge your picture of the matriarchs — and what does the Bible's honesty about it teach?
- 3.Why do we carry old gods into new lives — what makes us reluctant to leave them behind?
- 4.When does the 'put away the strange gods' moment come in your journey — and are you ready for it?
Devotional
Rachel stole the idols. Tucked them in her saddlebags. And the woman God loved carried gods that weren't God.
The Bible doesn't clean this up. It doesn't explain it away or excuse it. Rachel — matriarch, beloved wife, future mother of Joseph — took her father's household gods when she left. The woman inside the covenant was still attached to what was outside it.
Why? Maybe superstition. Maybe inheritance rights. Maybe the same reason anyone carries old gods into a new life: the new God hasn't fully replaced the old ones yet. You've heard the promises. You've experienced the provision. And you still have a saddlebag full of backup plans.
The teraphim represent everything you carry that contradicts what you claim to believe. The astrology app on the phone of someone who says they trust God. The relationship you hold onto because the one God offers feels too uncertain. The coping mechanism you packed when you left your old life — just in case the new life doesn't work out.
Rachel didn't broadcast the theft. She hid the images. Sat on them (31:34). Lied about them. The idols were secret — hidden under the appearance of faithfulness. Which is exactly how idols work in your life too: concealed, sat on, denied when someone asks.
Jacob didn't know. But God did. The covenant family carried pagan gods all the way to Canaan. And God still worked through them. Not because the idols were harmless. Because grace is bigger than your saddlebags.
But eventually (Genesis 35:2), Jacob will tell the household: put away the strange gods. The reckoning comes. The saddlebags get emptied. Not because God refused to bless until they did. Because the journey eventually demands that you travel lighter.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian,.... Went away without his knowledge, or giving him any notice of it;…
- Jacob’s Flight from Haran 19. תרפים terāpı̂ym, Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It…
Laban went to shear his sheep - Laban had gone; and this was a favorable time not only to take his images, but to return…
Here is, I. Jacob's flight from Laban. We may suppose he had been long considering of it, and casting about in his mind…
gone to shear his sheep Jacob selected, as an opportune moment for flight, Laban's absence from home and attendance at…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture