Genesis 31:35

Rachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched but could not find the household idols.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Rachel addresses her father Laban while he searches the camel’s saddlebag for his missing household idols. She speaks at the precise moment her concealment strategy faces direct scrutiny.

The words — The verb אַל־יִחַר (al-yiḥar) literally means “may it not burn” and functions as a command to withhold anger. Rachel links it with כִּי (ki, “that”) to state the physiological condition preventing her from rising.

The thread — The tension between physical limitation and cultural deference appears in Leviticus 19:32 and Exodus 20:12, which mandate honor for the aged. Genesis 18:11 similarly grounds human interaction in the reality of bodily decline.

Why it lands — The passage records a calculated deception justified by a culturally recognized excuse. A reader must note how practical concealment temporarily overrides the expected posture of submission.

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

And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.

Cross-references

Leviticus 19:32 You are to rise in the presence of the elderly, honor the aged, and fear your God. I am the LORD.
Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Genesis 18:11 And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
Leviticus 15:19 When a woman has a discharge consisting of blood from her body, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.
Leviticus 19:3 Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
1 Kings 2:19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah. The king stood up to greet her, bowed to her, and sat down on his throne. Then the king had a throne brought for his mother, who sat down at his right hand.
Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
1 Peter 2:18 Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable.
1 Peter 3:6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.