Genesis 30:25-43
New English Translation
The Flocks of Jacob
25 After Rachel had given birth to[a] Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send[b] me on my way so that I can go[c] home to my own country.[d] 26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you.[e] Then I’ll depart,[f] because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.”[g]
27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here,[h] for I have learned by divination[i] that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 28 He added, “Just name your wages—I’ll pay whatever you want.”[j]
29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied,[k] “and how well your livestock have fared under my care.[l] 30 Indeed,[m] you had little before I arrived,[n] but now your possessions have increased many times over.[o] The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked.[p] But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?”[q]
31 So Laban asked,[r] “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,”[s] Jacob replied,[t] “but if you agree to this one condition,[u] I will continue to care for[v] your flocks and protect them: 32 Let me walk among[w] all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb,[x] and the spotted or speckled goats.[y] These animals will be my wages.[z] 33 My integrity will testify for me[aa] later on.[ab] When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on,[ac] if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.”[ad] 34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.”[ae]
35 So that day Laban[af] removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care[ag] of his sons. 36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey,[ah] while[ai] Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink.[aj] 39 When the sheep mated[ak] in front of the branches, they[al] gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face[am] the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 41 When the stronger females were in heat,[an] Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there.[ao] So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban[ap] and the stronger animals to Jacob. 43 In this way Jacob[aq] became extremely prosperous. He owned[ar] large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
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- Genesis 30:25 tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
- Genesis 30:25 tn The imperatival form here expresses a request.sn For Jacob to ask to leave would mean that seven more years had passed. Thus all Jacob’s children were born within the range of seven years of each other, with Joseph coming right at the end of the seven years.
- Genesis 30:25 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 30:25 tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”
- Genesis 30:26 tn Heb “give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you.” In one sense Laban had already “given” Jacob his two daughters as wives (Gen 29:21, 28). Here Jacob was asking for permission to take his own family along with him on the journey back to Canaan.
- Genesis 30:26 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
- Genesis 30:26 tn Heb “for you, you know my service [with] which I have served you.”
- Genesis 30:27 tn The words “stay here” have been supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 30:27 tn Or perhaps “I have grown rich and the Lord has blessed me” (cf. NEB). See J. Finkelstein, “An Old Babylonian Herding Contract and Genesis 31:38f.,” JAOS 88 (1968): 34, n. 19.
- Genesis 30:28 tn Heb “set your wage for me so I may give [it].”
- Genesis 30:29 tn Heb “and he said to him, ‘You know how I have served you.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons, and the referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 30:29 tn Heb “and how your cattle were with me.”
- Genesis 30:30 tn Or “for.”
- Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “before me.”
- Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “and it has broken out with respect to abundance.”
- Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “at my foot.”
- Genesis 30:30 tn Heb “How long [until] I do, also I, for my house?”
- Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “and he said.” The referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 30:31 tn The negated imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance.
- Genesis 30:31 tn The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “If you do for me this thing.”
- Genesis 30:31 tn Heb “I will return, I will tend,” an idiom meaning “I will continue tending.”
- Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “pass through.”
- Genesis 30:32 tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”
- Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”
- Genesis 30:32 tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”
- Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”
- Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”sn Only the wage we agreed on. Jacob would have to be considered completely honest here, for he would have no control over the kind of animals born; and there could be no disagreement over which animals were his wages.
- Genesis 30:33 tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”
- Genesis 30:34 tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘Good, let it be according to your word.’” On the asseverative use of the particle לוּ (lu) here, see HALOT 521 s.v. לוּ.
- Genesis 30:35 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 30:35 tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”
- Genesis 30:36 tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”sn Three days’ traveling distance from Jacob. E. A. Speiser observes, “Laban is delighted with the terms, and promptly proceeds to violate the spirit of the bargain by removing to a safe distance all the grown animals that would be likely to produce the specified spots” (Genesis [AB], 238). Laban apparently thought that by separating out the spotted, striped, and dark colored animals he could minimize the production of spotted, striped, or dark offspring that would then belong to Jacob.
- Genesis 30:36 tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav [ו] with subject) is circumstantial; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.
- Genesis 30:38 sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids—in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).
- Genesis 30:39 tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.
- Genesis 30:39 tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 30:40 tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”
- Genesis 30:41 tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock, the strong females.”
- Genesis 30:42 tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 30:42 tn Heb “were for Laban.”
- Genesis 30:43 tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 30:43 tn Heb “and there were to him.”
Genesis 30:25-43
Christian Standard Bible
Jacob’s Flocks Multiply
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. 26 Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go.(A) You know how hard I have worked for you.”
27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28 Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”(B)
29 So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.(C) 30 For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”
31 Laban asked, “What should I give you?”
And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. 32 Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages. 33 In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”
34 “Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”
35 That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. 36 He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.
37 Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. 38 He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. 39 The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young.(D) 40 Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked sheep and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.
41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. 42 As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. 43 And the man became very rich.[a] He had many flocks, female and male slaves, and camels and donkeys.(E)
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- 30:43 Lit The man spread out very much, very much
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