Genesis 31:23

So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The narrative describes Laban mobilizing his kin to chase Jacob, occurring on the third day after Jacob’s departure was reported.

The words — וַ/יִּרְדֹּ֣ף (va/i.yir.Dof) translates literally as “and he pursued,” marking the active escalation from news of flight to physical chase.

The thread — The pursuit motif and divine warning frame the immediate context (Genesis 31:22–24), while the text’s supplied cross-references track related themes of kinship boundaries (Genesis 13:8), covenant loyalty (Genesis 24:27), and the observation of human labor (Exodus 2:11).

Why it lands — The verse records the factual timeline of the chase and the geographic endpoint before the divine intervention in the following verse. It demands recognition that human pursuit operates within a bounded window, immediately superseded by divine constraint.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיִּקַּ֤חva/i.yi.Kachand/ he took אֶת־'et-<obj.>אֶחָיו֙'e.Cha/vrelatives/ his עִמּ֔וֹi.M/owith/ him וַיִּרְדֹּ֣ףva/i.yir.Dofand/ he pursued אַחֲרָ֔יו'a.cha.Ra/vafter/ him דֶּ֖רֶךְDe.rekha journey of שִׁבְעַ֣תshiv.'Atseven יָמִ֑יםya.Mimdays וַיַּדְבֵּ֥קva/i.yad.Bekand/ he overtook אֹת֖וֹ'o.T/o<obj.>/ him בְּהַ֥רbe./Harin/ [the] hill country of הַגִּלְעָֽד׃ha./gil.'Ad<the>/ Gilead

King James Version

And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.

Cross-references

Genesis 13:8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no contention between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen. After all, we are kinsmen.
Genesis 24:27 saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
Exodus 2:11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.
Exodus 2:13 The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”