Komentarz do Rodzaju 31:36

דלקת means THOU HAST PURSUED — as in (Lamentations 4:19) “They chased us (דלקנו) upon the mountains”, and (1 Samuel 17:53) ‘‘from chasing (מדלק) after the Philistines”.

AND JACOB WAS WROTH, AND QUARRELLED WITH LABAN. Jacob had originally given him permission to search the tents, for he said, With whomsoever thou findest thy gods,²²⁶Verse 26 here. and he further said, before our brethren recognize what is thine with me,²²⁶Verse 26 here. and how could Laban find it if not by searching and handling? At first, however, Jacob feared lest one of the wives or servants had stolen Laban’s gods, and now that he saw that they were not with them his anger was aroused, for he said, “He did not lose his gods, only he is seeking a quarrel with me.”²²⁷Judges 14:4. So he said, “Why have you hotly pursued after me as one pursues a thief? You have not found in my possession anything of all thy household stuff²²⁸Verse 37 here. though I was entitled to take from you all I could for you have changed my hire ten times,²²⁹Verse 41 here. and you demanded of me recompense for the animals that were torn by beasts,²³⁰Verse 39 here. and I paid you, though not legally by law required to do so.”

ויחר ליעקב וירב בלבן, after Lavan did not find anything, Yaakov thought that his teraphim had never been stolen at all, but that Lavan had used the accusation as a pretext to search Yaakov’s belongings and to make him appear as a suspected thief.