John Calvin Commentary Genesis 31:43

"And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children whom they have borne?" — Genesis 31:43 (ASV)

These daughters are my daughters. Laban now begins to speak in a manner very different from before: he sees that he has no further ground for contention. Therefore, being convinced, he buries all strife and glides into placid and amicable discourse. “Why,” he asks, “should I be hostile to you, when we have so much in common?”

“Shall I rage against my own flesh and blood? For both your wives and your children are my own blood; therefore, I should feel towards you as if you all were part of myself.” He now answers like an honorable man. How, then, has this humanity so suddenly arisen in the heart of him who recently had been driven onward, without any regard for right or wrong, to ruin Jacob, unless it was because he knew Jacob to have acted towards him with fidelity, and to have been finally compelled by necessity to adopt the plan of leaving secretly?

And this was an indication that he was not absolutely desperate: for we may find many persons of such utter impudence that, though overcome and silenced by arguments, they nevertheless continue to rush headlong in insane rebellion. From this passage, we infer that although avarice and other sinful passions impair judgment and soundness of mind, there still remains a knowledge of truth engraved on the souls of men, which, when stirred up, emits sparks to prevent the universal triumph of depravity.

If anyone had previously said, “What are you doing, Laban? What brutality is this, to rage against your own flesh and blood?” the protest would not have been heard, for he was burning with stubborn fury. But now he voluntarily suggests this to himself and proclaims what he would have been unwilling to hear from another. It appears, then, that the light of justice which now shines forth had been smothered in his mind.

In short, it is self-love alone that blinds us, because we all judge correctly when personal interests are not concerned.

If, however, we find ourselves temporarily perplexed, we must still seek to obey the dictates of reason and justice. But if anyone hardens himself in wickedness, the interior and hidden knowledge of which I have spoken will still remain engraved in his mind and will be sufficient for his condemnation.