They publicly acknowledge that they have been deprived of any inheritance from their father.
Rachel and Leah, the daughters of Laban (Jacob’s uncle who lived in Paddan-aram around the early 2nd millennium B.C.), recognize the loss of their standing in their father’s household in Genesis 31:15. They declare, “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.” (v.15) In this moment, the two sisters perceive that their father’s deception, including the wages Jacob dutifully earned during the twenty years he lived under Laban’s roof, has come at their own expense. Laban’s household was located in Mesopotamia, also called Aram (modern-day northern Syria and southeast Turkey), and he was the brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob. Historically, Jacob first traveled from Canaan to Aram (Genesis 28-29), then spent two decades serving Laban (Genesis 31:41-42), only to find that his father-in-law had consumed the bride price that would have provided for Rachel and Leah’s inheritance.
When Rachel and Leah say, “He has sold us,” it reflects how Laban exploited their marriages to gain more years of labor from Jacob. Rather than bestowing a proper dowry or preserving funds for his daughters’ future, he used it for himself. The sisters’ complaint, “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners?” underscores the depth of their estrangement: they feel as though they no longer have any right to their father’s provisions, as though they were strangers of no familial claim. In the broader storyline, God is about to call Jacob away from this unjust environment, which will lead to a tense confrontation with Laban, yet also to the next phase of God’s covenant promise through Jacob’s lineage (Genesis 28:13-15).
Their words also highlight a valuable theme that resonates into the New Testament, where God’s people are meant to rely on Him rather than the flawed practices of a broken world (Ephesians 1:11-14). Just as Rachel and Leah recognized Laban’s injustice, believers can find security in God’s faithfulness rather than in worldly arrangements that might fail. The possessions, status, or inheritance that people look to for identity are ultimately fleeting, but God's provision endures, fulfilling His promises regardless of human manipulation.
In this verse, Rachel and Leah reveal the familial betrayal they have experienced under Laban, and assert their determination to stand with Jacob as he follows God’s guidance out of Aram.
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Genesis 31:15 meaning
Rachel and Leah, the daughters of Laban (Jacob’s uncle who lived in Paddan-aram around the early 2nd millennium B.C.), recognize the loss of their standing in their father’s household in Genesis 31:15. They declare, “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.” (v.15) In this moment, the two sisters perceive that their father’s deception, including the wages Jacob dutifully earned during the twenty years he lived under Laban’s roof, has come at their own expense. Laban’s household was located in Mesopotamia, also called Aram (modern-day northern Syria and southeast Turkey), and he was the brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob. Historically, Jacob first traveled from Canaan to Aram (Genesis 28-29), then spent two decades serving Laban (Genesis 31:41-42), only to find that his father-in-law had consumed the bride price that would have provided for Rachel and Leah’s inheritance.
When Rachel and Leah say, “He has sold us,” it reflects how Laban exploited their marriages to gain more years of labor from Jacob. Rather than bestowing a proper dowry or preserving funds for his daughters’ future, he used it for himself. The sisters’ complaint, “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners?” underscores the depth of their estrangement: they feel as though they no longer have any right to their father’s provisions, as though they were strangers of no familial claim. In the broader storyline, God is about to call Jacob away from this unjust environment, which will lead to a tense confrontation with Laban, yet also to the next phase of God’s covenant promise through Jacob’s lineage (Genesis 28:13-15).
Their words also highlight a valuable theme that resonates into the New Testament, where God’s people are meant to rely on Him rather than the flawed practices of a broken world (Ephesians 1:11-14). Just as Rachel and Leah recognized Laban’s injustice, believers can find security in God’s faithfulness rather than in worldly arrangements that might fail. The possessions, status, or inheritance that people look to for identity are ultimately fleeting, but God's provision endures, fulfilling His promises regardless of human manipulation.
In this verse, Rachel and Leah reveal the familial betrayal they have experienced under Laban, and assert their determination to stand with Jacob as he follows God’s guidance out of Aram.