31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 1 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 2 the money paid for us! 3 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”
1 tn The two nouns may form a hendiadys, meaning “a share in the inheritance” or “a portion to inherit.”
2 tn Heb “and he devoured, even devouring.” The infinitive absolute (following the finite verb here) is used for emphasis.
sn He sold us and…wasted our money. The precise nature of Rachel’s and Leah’s complaint is not entirely clear. Since Jacob had to work to pay for them, they probably mean that their father has cheated Jacob and therefore cheated them as well. See M. Burrows, “The Complaint of Laban’s Daughters,” JAOS 57 (1937): 250-76.
3 tn Heb “our money.” The word “money” is used figuratively here; it means the price paid for Leah and Rachel. A literal translation (“our money”) makes it sound as if Laban wasted money that belonged to Rachel and Leah, rather than the money paid for them.