A/N If the typing in the story is in Italics, it means that it is either a direct quote from the bible, or a persons thoughts.

Dinah's view

We were ready to go but we waited for two things. One the breaking of dawn and two Grandfather to go shear his sheep. Grandfather had left that morning just before us to go shear the sheep and Aunt Rachel went missing for awhile and on her return we left. As was typical, Father would not leave without his favorite wife. Why can't he love Mother like that? She is so much more deserving of love than Aunt Rachel... Mother is Kind, loving, generous, faithful to Fathers God and yet all Aunt Rachel has going for her is her looks. Are men that shallow? I pray not.

We rode on camels and donkeys, while the men herded the sheep away. We rode as hard and fast as the sheep would let us go. We headed towards the Euphrates and eventually crossed it at a shallow point where no animal would drown. My Father then decided to head towards the hill country of Gilead.

It was about 3 days into our journey when we heard that Grandfather was chasing us and it was a further 7 days when we had reached the hill country of Gilead before he had caught up to us. By then I was incredibly sore and tired and wishing this whole running away journey would end. Why were we running anyway? Surely it was our right to go if we wanted too? Its not like we stole anything.

When Father saw Grandfather Laban, we stopped moving and set up camp for the night in the hill country of Gilead. It honestly was a relief to set up camp early, it gave us all a bit of extra time to relax. Grandfather Laban set up his tents not far from ours and when he had done so he came and found Father only to accost him.

"What have you done, that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword? Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre? And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? Now you have done foolishly. It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.' And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house, but why did you steal my gods?" Grandfather Laban accused Father.

Father replied "Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours, and take it."

Aunt Rachel's face went white at this statement and hurried out of the tent to her tent. I wonder what she had done to get away with whatever it was she was hiding. But whatever it was, she must have pulled it off as Father was so angry then with Grandfather Laban. I have never ever seen Father angry, he is too busy turning the other cheek or running away from the issue.

Jacob said to Laban, "What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.

These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night."

Grandfather replied, I felt rather unreasonably as Father had worked for him, it would have been different if he had not. Was he supposed to do them without compensation? That is ridiculous! "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me."

Looking around, my dad sees a cylindrical stone and set it up like a pillar. He then instructed us all to "Gather stones." and so we did, we spread out finding suitable stones and brought them back to Father who placed them into a heap. Mum and Aunt Leah and the women folk prepared a meal then and we sat down together and ate there by the newly made heap.

Grandfather Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today, I call it Jagar-sahadutha."

Father added "I call it Galeed."

All this was before Grandfather Laban said the Mizpah, "The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another's sight. If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me."

Then Laban said to Jacob, "See this heap and the pillar, which I have set between you and me. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, to do harm. The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us."

It was then that father replied by swearing "I promise by the fear of my father Isaac's God that I will not pass over the heap to you to do you harm, and should I do so may his judgement fall upon me and my family!"

Grandfather Laban looked at peace then.

"Shall we go offer a sacrifice to honor this promise?" Father asked Grand father.

Grandfather looked pensive for a minute while he thought, before nodding. So, father went further into the hill country to offer it. Once he had done so he called us altogether to eat bread. We then ate together, and spent the night sleeping in the open air of the hill country.

Early in the morning, Grandfather Laban, broke bread with us, then kissed and blessed us, his grandchildren, and his daughters. Then Grandfather Laban packed up and left to return home, we, sadly, never saw him or our uncles again.

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