Bible Strands
Genesis 31:27
Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Laban confronts Jacob after his clandestine departure, accusing him of deception and demanding an explanation for bypassing customary farewell rites.
The words — The Hebrew verbs nachbeṭā (did you hide yourself) and tignōḇ (did you steal) anchor Laban’s accusation, framing Jacob’s flight as both secretive and appropriative of Laban’s household.
The thread — The proposed musical celebration of departure resonates with later biblical scenes of deliverance and instrument origins, such as Miriam’s tambourine after the sea crossing (Exodus 15:20) and Jubal’s association with stringed instruments (Genesis 4:21).
Why it lands — The text records a literal complaint about unannounced departure and missing farewell rituals, while the surrounding context shows how relational breaches often mask deeper disputes over honor, closure, and shared joy.
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
King James Version
Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
Cross-references
- Exodus 15:20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
- Genesis 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
- Genesis 24:59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.
- Genesis 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
- Genesis 31:20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away.
- Genesis 31:31 “I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.
- Judges 6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.
- Job 21:11 They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
- Proverbs 26:23 Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.