John Calvin Commentary Genesis 31:20

"And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled." — Genesis 31:20 (ASV)

And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban. By the Hebrew form of expression, “stole away the heart of Laban,” Moses shows that Jacob departed privately, or by stealth, unknown to his father-in-law. Meanwhile, he wishes to point out the desperate situation Jacob was in, so that he had no hope of deliverance except through flight. For Laban had determined to hold him all his life as a captive, as if he had been a slave bound to the land, or sentenced to the mines. Therefore let us also learn, by his example, when the Lord calls us, courageously to strive against every kind of obstacle, and not to be surprised if many arduous difficulties confront us.