Genesis 31 — Hebrew and Greek compared
← Genesis 30 compared · Reading text of Genesis 31 · Genesis: all chapters · Genesis 32 compared →
Same 13 Similar 8 Different 13 Divergent 18 Disparate 3
Disparate in this chapter: 31:7, 31:41, 31:43
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
Jacob’s Divine Command
31:1 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken all that belonged to our father, and from our father’s property he has acquired all this glory.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken all that belonged to our father, and from our father’s property he has acquired all this glory.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:2 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:2 Jacob saw that Laban’s attitude toward him was no longer as it had been before.
Greek · Saints priority
31:2 Jacob saw that Laban’s attitude toward him was no longer as it had been before.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:3 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:3 Then YHWH said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
Hebrew fathers is plural; Greek father is singular [G31].
31:4 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flock was.
Greek · Saints priority
31:4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flock was.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:5 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:5 He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is no longer as it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:5 He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is no longer as it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:6 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:6 “And you yourselves know that with all my power I have served your father.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:6 “And you yourselves know that with all my power I have served your father.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:7 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:7 “Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not allowed him to harm me.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:7 “Your father has cheated me and changed my wages of ten lambs, but God has not allowed him to harm me.”
Hebrew ten times and Greek ten lambs differ; the Greek is retained even though the wage expression is unusual [G31]. This changes the stated measure of the disputed wages.
31:8 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:8 “If he said, ‘The speckled animals shall be your wages,’ all the flock bore speckled young. If he said, ‘The striped animals shall be your wages,’ all the flock bore striped young.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:8 “If he said, ‘The variegated animals shall be your wages,’ all the sheep bore variegated young. If he said, ‘The white animals shall be your wages,’ all the sheep bore white young.”
The pattern terms differ; Greek white is not silently changed to striped [G31].
31:9 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:9 “Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:9 “Thus God has taken away all the livestock of your father and given them to me.”
Greek includes all [G31].
31:10 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:10 “When the flock was mating, I looked up in a dream and saw that the male goats mounting the flock were striped, speckled, and mottled.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:10 “When the sheep were mating, I saw in a dream that the male goats and rams mounting the sheep and goats were white-marked, variegated, and ash-gray with spots.”
Greek explicitly includes rams and sheep, with a different pattern list [G31].
31:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:11 “The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I said, ‘Here I am.’”
Greek · Saints priority
31:11 “The angel of God said to me in a dream, ‘Jacob.’ I said, ‘What is it?’”
Hebrew gives Here I am; Greek gives What is it? Rahlfs–Hanhart names Jacob once, so the draft’s repeated address is removed. [G31]
31:12 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:12 “He said, ‘Look up and see: all the male goats mounting the flock are striped, speckled, and mottled, for I have seen everything Laban is doing to you.’”
Greek · Saints priority
31:12 “He said, ‘Look up and see the male goats and rams mounting the sheep and goats, white-marked, variegated, and ash-gray with spots, for I have seen everything Laban is doing to you.’”
The animal and pattern distinctions of verse 10 recur [G31].
31:13 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:13 “‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to Me. Now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’”
Greek · Saints priority
31:13 “‘I am the God who appeared to you in the place of God, where you anointed a pillar to Me and made a vow to Me. Now arise, leave this land, go to the land of your birth, and I will be with you.’”
Greek describes the place as the place of God and adds I will be with you. Hebrew names Bethel. The missing words of God are restored to the Greek column. [G31]
Jacob Flees from Laban
31:14 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there yet any portion or inheritance left for us in our father’s house?”
Greek · Saints priority
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there yet any portion or inheritance left for us in our father’s house?”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:15 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:15 “Does he not regard us as foreigners? He has sold us and entirely consumed our money.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:15 “Does he not regard us as foreigners? He has sold us and entirely consumed our money.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:16 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:16 “Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children; now therefore, do whatever God has spoken to you.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:16 “Surely all the wealth and glory which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children; now therefore, do whatever God has spoken to you.”
Greek includes glory, here referring to wealth or standing [G31].
31:17 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:17 Jacob arose and put his children and wives on the camels.
Greek · Saints priority
31:17 Then Jacob arose and took his wives and his children and set them upon camels.
The order of wives and children differs.
31:18 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:18 He drove away all his livestock and all the goods he had acquired, the livestock he had gained in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
Greek · Saints priority
31:18 He led away all his belongings and all the household goods he had acquired in Mesopotamia, with everything he had, to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
The Greek collective household-goods term may include dependents as well as baggage; Hebrew explicitly repeats livestock. The regional names correspond [G31].
31:19 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s teraphim.
Greek · Saints priority
31:19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s idols.
Teraphim is retained as the Hebrew object name; Greek has idols. No motive for Rachel’s theft is supplied by this verse.
31:20 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:20 Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.
Greek · Saints priority
31:20 Jacob concealed his departure from Laban the Syrian by not telling him that he was fleeing.
Hebrew stole the heart is an idiom for deception; Greek describes concealment [G31].
31:21 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:21 So he fled with all that he had, and he arose and crossed the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.
Greek · Saints priority
31:21 So he fled with all that he had, and crossed the River, and rushed toward the mountain of Gilead.
The travel expressions differ; the River is retained without adding a river name to the translation.
Laban Pursues Jacob
31:22 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:22 And it was reported to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.
Greek · Saints priority
31:22 And it was reported to Laban the Syrian on the third day that Jacob had fled.
Greek explicitly adds the Syrian [G31].
31:23 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:23 So he took his brethren with him and pursued after him a seven days’ journey; and he overtook him in the mountain country of Gilead.
Greek · Saints priority
31:23 He took all his kinsmen with him and pursued Jacob for a seven-day journey, overtaking him in the hill country of Gilead.
Greek includes all; brothers is broader kinship language here [G31].
31:24 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:24 God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said, “Be careful not to speak to Jacob either good or bad.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:24 God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream at night and said, “Be careful not to speak evil to Jacob.”
The scope of the warning differs; the Hebrew good-or-bad idiom can forbid interference rather than all speech [G31].
31:25 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:25 Laban overtook Jacob. Jacob had pitched his tent in the hills, and Laban camped with his kinsmen in the hill country of Gilead.
Greek · Saints priority
31:25 So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent on the mountain, and Laban stationed his brethren in the mountain country of Gilead.
Hebrew describes Laban camping with his kinsmen; Greek describes his stationing them [G31].
31:26 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives taken by the sword.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? Why did you run away secretly and defraud me, and lead away my daughters as captives taken by the sword?”
Greek includes a separate question about secret flight [G31]. The captivity comparison is Laban’s accusation.
31:27 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:27 “Why did you flee secretly and deceive me without telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and songs, with tambourine and lyre.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:27 “If you had told me, I would have sent you away with joy and music, with tambourines and lyre.”
Greek has a shorter opening, following the secret-flight question in verse 26 [G31].
31:28 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:28 “But you did not allow me to kiss my children and my daughters; now therefore, you have acted foolishly.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:28 “I was not thought worthy to kiss my children and daughters. You have acted foolishly.”
The consulted Greek is first person, I was not thought worthy, correcting V1’s you were not worthy [G31]. Both object to the lost farewell.
31:29 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:29 “And now my hand has power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take heed to yourself, lest you speak to Jacob either good or bad.’”
Greek · Saints priority
31:29 “And now my hand has power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take heed to yourself, lest you speak evil things to Jacob.’”
The warning’s scope repeats verse 24 [G31].
31:30 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:30 “And now you have departed, because you longed with a great longing for your father’s house; but why have you stolen my gods?”
Greek · Saints priority
31:30 “And now you have departed, because you longed with a great longing for your father’s house; but why have you stolen my gods?”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:31 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:31 Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, for I thought you might tear your daughters away from me.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:31 Jacob answered Laban, “I thought you might take your daughters away from me, and everything I have.”
Greek includes all Jacob’s belongings but lacks the explicit I was afraid in the consulted reading [G31].
31:32 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:32 “Whoever has your gods shall not live. Before our kinsmen, identify anything of yours that is with me and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
Greek · Saints priority
31:32 “Identify anything of yours that is with me and take it.” He identified nothing with him. Jacob said to him, “Whoever has your gods shall not live before our kinsmen.” Jacob did not know that Rachel his wife had stolen them.
Rahlfs–Hanhart puts the identification and failed search before Jacob’s death pronouncement. It also calls Rachel his wife. The clause order is preserved; the earlier English had rearranged it. [G31]
31:33 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:33 Laban entered Jacob’s tent, Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two slave women, but found nothing. He left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.
Greek · Saints priority
31:33 Laban entered and searched Leah’s dwelling, but found nothing. Leaving Leah’s dwelling, he searched Jacob’s dwelling and the dwelling of the two slave women, but found nothing. He also entered Rachel’s dwelling.
The order of the search differs. Jacob’s dwelling is restored to Greek from the consulted reading; V1 omitted it [G31].
31:34 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:34 Rachel had taken the teraphim, put them in the camel’s saddle basket, and sat on them. Laban searched the whole tent but found nothing.
Greek · Saints priority
31:34 Rachel had taken the idols, put them in the camel’s saddle gear, and sat on them.
The consulted Greek reserves the search statement for verse 35; its duplication here in V1 is removed [G31].
31:35 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:35 She said to her father, “Do not be angry, my lord, because I cannot rise before you; the way of women is upon me.” He searched but did not find the teraphim.
Greek · Saints priority
31:35 She said to her father, “Do not take it badly, my lord. I cannot rise before you, because the customary condition of women is upon me.” Laban searched the whole dwelling but did not find the idols.
The euphemisms refer to menstruation. The narrative reports Rachel’s explanation; it does not require assuming it is medically verified [G31].
Jacob’s Grievances
31:36 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:36 Jacob became angry and disputed with Laban. He said, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have pursued me?”
Greek · Saints priority
31:36 Jacob became angry and disputed with Laban. He said, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have pursued me
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:37 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:37 “You have searched all my belongings. What have you found of your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and yours, and let them decide between us.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:37 “and searched all my belongings? What have you found among all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and yours, and let them decide between us.”
Read the opening with 31:36: Greek carries Jacob’s question into this verse. Rahlfs–Hanhart names my kinsmen before your kinsmen, agreeing with the Hebrew order. [G31]
31:38 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:38 “These twenty years I have been with you, your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:38 “These twenty years I have been with you, your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:39 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:39 “I did not bring you animals torn by wild animals; I bore the loss myself. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:39 “I did not bring you animals taken by wild animals; I made restitution myself for what was stolen by day or by night.”
The consulted Greek lacks the separate demand-from-my-hand clause [G31].
31:40 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:40 “By day the heat consumed me, and by night the frost; sleep fled from my eyes.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:40 “By day the heat consumed me, and by night the frost; sleep fled from my eyes.”
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:41 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:41 “I have been in your house twenty years. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:41 “I have been in your house twenty years. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years among your sheep, and you cheated me of wages amounting to ten ewe lambs.”
The ten times/ten ewe lambs distinction returns; the precise Greek wage construction remains open [G31]. This changes the stated measure of the disputed wages.
31:42 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:42 “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands, and He gave judgment last night.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:42 “If the God of my father Abraham and the Fear of Isaac had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my humiliation and the labor of my hands, and He rebuked you yesterday.”
Greek identifies Abraham directly as my father and explicitly names the rebuke’s object [G31]. Fear of Isaac is retained as a divine designation.
The Covenant at the Heap
31:43 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:43 Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children my children, the flock my flock, and all you see is mine. What can I do today to these daughters of mine or to the children they have borne?”
Greek · Saints priority
31:43 Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the sons my sons, the livestock my livestock, and everything you see is mine and my daughters’. What can I do today to these women or to their children whom they have borne?”
Rahlfs–Hanhart includes and my daughters’ in Laban’s ownership claim, assigning them a share absent from the Hebrew wording. It does not prefix the lists with your. The former note rejecting the daughters’ property clause is withdrawn. These are Laban’s claims, not a legal ruling by the narrator. [G31]
31:44 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:44 “Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between us.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:44 “Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between us.” He said to him, “Look, no one is with us; see, God is witness between you and me.”
Greek includes an explicit appeal to God as witness. Rahlfs–Hanhart does not name the speaker of the added sentence; the English preserves he rather than supplying Jacob. [G31]
31:45 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:45 And Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
Greek · Saints priority
31:45 And Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
The corresponding meaning and content agree.
31:46 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:46 Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” They took stones and made a heap, and ate there beside the heap.
Greek · Saints priority
31:46 Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” They gathered stones and made a heap, and ate and drank there beside the heap. Laban said to him, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.”
Greek includes drinking and Laban’s witness statement [G31].
31:47 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, while Jacob called it Galeed.
Greek · Saints priority
31:47 Laban called it Witness Heap, while Jacob called it The Heap Bears Witness.
Hebrew preserves the Aramaic and Hebrew names; Greek translates their witness meanings [G31].
31:48 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore it was named Galeed,
Greek · Saints priority
31:48 And Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap, and the pillar, which I have set between me and you; this heap witnesses, and this pillar witnesses; therefore its name was called: The Heap Witnesses.”
Greek gives a longer heap-and-pillar declaration; some corresponding Hebrew material occurs in verses 51–52 [G31].
31:49 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:49 and Mizpah, because he said, “May YHWH watch between you and me when we are out of one another’s sight.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:49 and The Watch, because he said, “May God watch between you and me, for we are about to part from one another.”
Mizpah is translated descriptively in Greek; divine designation and separation wording differ [G31].
31:50 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:50 “If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives beside them, though no one is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:50 “If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives beside them, see, there is no one with us.”
The consulted Greek lacks the final God-as-witness clause here; it has already appeared in verse 44 [G31].
31:51 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:51 Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and this pillar that I have set between you and me.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:51 [No separate Greek text at this verse; corresponding material appears in verse 48.]
The consulted Greek has no text under verse 51. The editorial marker prevents inventing a duplicate sentence [G31].
31:52 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:52 “This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass this heap to harm you, and you will not pass this heap and pillar to harm me.”
Greek · Saints priority
31:52 “For if I do not cross over to you, neither shall you cross this heap and pillar to me for harm.”
Greek has a shorter, conditional boundary statement; the witness declarations stand earlier [G31].
31:53 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:53 “May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
Greek · Saints priority
31:53 “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor will judge between us.” Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
Greek lacks the God of their father. Rahlfs–Hanhart places Jacob’s oath in this verse, as does the Hebrew alignment; the oath is moved back from the draft’s 31:54. Laban’s divine designations are preserved without theological harmonization. [G31]
31:54 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread; and they ate bread and slept on the mountain.
Greek · Saints priority
31:54 Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hills and called his kinsmen. They ate and drank and slept in the hills.
Hebrew explicitly mentions bread; Greek includes drinking. Rahlfs–Hanhart places the preceding oath in 31:53, so it is not repeated here. [G31]
31:55 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
31:55 [MT 32:1] And Laban rose up early in the morning, and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them; and Laban departed and returned to his place.
Greek · Saints priority
31:55 [RH 32:1] And Laban rose up early in the morning, and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them; and Laban departed and returned to his place.
The farewell agrees. The row uses common English numbering, 31:55; both the Hebrew source and Rahlfs–Hanhart locate it at 32:1. The next chapter’s English verse numbers are therefore one lower than both source editions. [H32; G32]
← Genesis 30 compared · Reading text of Genesis 31 · Genesis: all chapters · Genesis 32 compared →
Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.