And your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
ten times.
Genesis 31:41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
Leviticus 26:26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
Numbers 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Nehemiah 4:12 And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.
God.
Genesis 31:29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
Genesis 20:6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
Job 1:10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
God has not allowed him to harm me
Despite Laban's attempts to exploit Jacob, God's protection over Jacob is evident. This phrase underscores the biblical theme of divine providence and protection. It echoes the promise God made to Jacob at Bethel (Genesis 28:15), where God assured him of His presence and protection. This divine safeguarding is a recurring theme in the lives of the patriarchs, as seen in the protection of Abraham and Isaac. It also foreshadows the New Testament assurance of God's protection over believers, as seen in Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" This protection is a type of Christ, who ultimately delivers and protects His people from spiritual harm.
Jacob recounts to his wives the long pattern of dishonesty he has endured at Laban’s hands (Genesis 29:21-27; 30:27).
• Laban’s conduct violates the clear moral standard later articulated in Leviticus 19:13, “Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.”
• Like Jacob, Job experienced repetitive mistreatment and cried, “These ten times you have reproached me” (Job 19:3), underscoring how persistent wrong can wear down the righteous.
• God’s people are not naïve about evil; they recognize it for what it is but refuse to become embittered (Romans 12:17-19).
The phrase reports deliberate, repeated manipulation (Genesis 31:41).
• “Ten” often marks fullness or completeness; here it stresses that Laban used every turn to advantage himself, yet Jacob stayed the course (cf. Numbers 14:22; Daniel 1:20).
• The injustice was concrete—sheep and goats that should have belonged to Jacob were stripped away (Genesis 30:31-36).
• Scripture consistently condemns shifting terms to exploit workers (Deuteronomy 24:14-15; James 5:4).
• Jacob’s endurance models steadfastness under pressure (1 Peter 2:19-20).
Divine oversight overrules human scheming.
• Before Laban could overtake Jacob, the LORD warned him in a dream, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad” (Genesis 31:24).
• This protective hand fulfills the earlier promise at Bethel: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go” (Genesis 28:15).
• Similar safeguarding appears when God told Abimelech, “I also kept you from sinning against Me” (Genesis 20:6) and when David confessed, “The LORD will keep you from all harm” (Psalm 121:7).
• God’s sovereign boundary setting shows that no human plot can thwart His covenant purposes (Proverbs 21:30; Romans 8:31).
Genesis 31:7 highlights the tension between human injustice and divine protection. Laban’s relentless deceit and wage-tampering could not cancel God’s plan or injure Jacob beyond what the LORD permitted. The verse invites believers to recognize wrong, endure faithfully, and rest in the sure promise that God Himself guards their lives while He works out His larger purposes.
(7) Ten times.--That is, a good many times.Verse 7. - And your father hath deceived me, - הֵתֵל, the hiph. of תָּלַל, means to rob or plunder (Furst), or to cause to fall, as in the cognate languages, whence to deceive (Gesenius) - and changed my wages ten times; - i.e. many times, as in Numbers 14:22; Job 19:3 (Rosenmüller, Bush, Kalisch, Lange); as often as possible, the number ten expressing the idea of completeness (Keil, Murphy) - but God (Elohim, Jacob purposing to say that he had been protected, not by human stratagem, but by Divine interposition) suffered him not to hurt me - literally, to do evil to me. The verb here construed with עִמָּד = עִם is sometimes followed by עַל (1 Kings 17:20), and sometimes by בְּ (1 Chronicles 16:22).