“And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.”
When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. The theft of the household gods — objects associated with inheritance rights in the ancient Near East — is the complication Jacob does not know about and that will create the dangerous crisis of verses 30-35. The application: departures that are otherwise clean can be complicated by a family member's private action. Rachel's theft introduces a danger Jacob is unaware of.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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