Genesis 31:6

Study note

Setting — Jacob speaks to his two wives in the field at Mahanaim, explaining his decision to flee from his father-in-law's household. He grounds his departure in the documented record of his labor under the man's direct supervision.

The words — The verb עָבַדְתִּי ('a.Vad.ti) literally means "I have served" and establishes the action. The noun כֹּחִי (ko.Ch.i) translates to "my strength" and defines the measure of that service.

The thread — The accounting of verified labor appears in Genesis 30:29, where Jacob lists his care for the livestock, and reappears in Genesis 31:38, where he itemizes twenty years of unbroken watch over the flocks. The structural pattern of documented service is later mirrored in Ephesians 6:5.

Why it lands — The text requires a reader to acknowledge that faithful labor is a factual record before it becomes a moral argument. It demands that the reader weigh the speaker's concrete work against the employer's changed conduct.

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.