the Second Week after Easter
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Brenton's Septuagint
Genesis 30:31
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He said, "What shall I give you?" Ya`akov said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.
And he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "Do not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flocks and keep them.
Laban asked, "Then what should I give you?" Jacob answered, "I don't want you to give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I will come back and take care of your flocks.
So Laban asked, "What should I give you?" "You don't need to give me a thing," Jacob replied, "but if you agree to this one condition, I will continue to care for your flocks and protect them:
Laban asked, "What shall I give you?" Jacob replied, "You shall not give me anything. But if you will do this one thing for me [which I now propose], I will again pasture and keep your flock:
So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:
Then he saide, What shal I giue thee? And Iaakob answered, Thou shalt giue mee nothing at all: if thou wilt doe this thing for mee, I will returne, feede, and keepe thy sheepe.
So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:
"How much do you want me to pay you?" Laban asked. Then Jacob told him: I don't want you to pay me anything. Just do one thing, and I'll take care of your sheep and goats.
Lavan said, "What should I give you?" "Nothing," answered Ya‘akov, "just do this one thing for me: once more I will pasture your flock and take care of it.
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me anything. If thou doest this for me, I will again feed [and] keep thy flock:
Laban asked, "Then what should I give you?" Jacob answered, "I don't want you to give me anything! I only want you to let me do this one thing: I will go back and take care of your sheep.
He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it:
And Laban said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me anything; if you will do for me the thing which I will tell you, I will go back to feed and keep your flock.
"What shall I pay you?" Laban asked. Jacob answered, "I don't want any wages. I will continue to take care of your flocks if you agree to this suggestion:
Laban asked, “What should I give you?”
And he said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will remain. I will feed your flock and keep it.
He saide: What shal I then geue the? Iacob sayde: Thou shalt geue me nothinge at all, but yf thou wilt do this for me yt I saye, then wyll I fede and kepe thy shepe agayne.
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it.
And Laban said, What am I to give you? And Jacob said, Do not give me anything; but I will again take up the care of your flock if you will only do this for me:
And he sayde: What shall I then geue thee? And Iacob aunswered, Thou shalt geue me nothyng at all: yf thou wylt do this thyng for me, then wyll I turne agayne, feede thy sheepe, and kepe them.
And he said: 'What shall I give thee?' And Jacob said: 'Thou shalt not give me aught; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it.
And hee said, what shall I giue thee? and Iacob said, Thou shalt not giue me any thing; if thou wilt doe this thing for mee, I will againe feed and keepe thy flocke.
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it.
"What can I give you?" Laban asked. "You do not need to give me anything," Jacob replied. "If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flock.
And Laban seide, What schal Y yyue to thee? And Jacob seide, Y wole no thing but if thou doist that that Y axe, eft Y schal fede and kepe thi scheep.
And he saith, `What do I give to thee?' And Jacob saith, `Thou dost not give me anything; if thou do for me this thing, I turn back; I have delight; thy flock I watch;
And he said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me anything: if you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed [and] keep thy flock:
He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.
So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks:
"What wages do you want?" Laban asked again. Jacob replied, "Don't give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I'll continue to tend and watch over your flocks.
Laban said, "What should I pay you?" Jacob said, "Do not pay me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again feed and take care of your flock.
He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything; if you will do this for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it:
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said: Thou shall give me, nothing at all, If thou wilt do for me this thing, I will return, I will shepherd thy flock I will keep it:
And Laban said: What shall I give thee? But he said: I require nothing; but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed and keep thy sheep again.
He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything; if you will do this for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it:
"So, what should I pay you?" Jacob said, "You don't have to pay me a thing. But how about this? I will go back to pasture and care for your flocks. Go through your entire flock today and take out every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. That way you can check on my honesty when you assess my wages. If you find any goat that's not speckled or spotted or a sheep that's not black, you will know that I stole it."
So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
2 Samuel 21:4-6, Psalms 118:8, Hebrews 13:5ö
Cross-References
And she gave him Balla her maid, for a wife to him; and Jacob went in to her.
And Rachel said, God has given judgment for me, and hearkened to my voice, and has given me a son; therefore she called his name, Dan.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he said, what shall I give thee?.... So said Laban to Jacob, still avoiding making any offer himself, but waiting for Jacob, and pressing upon him to fix his wages:
and Jacob said, thou shalt not give me anything; a speech Laban liked very well: his meaning is, that he should give him no certain settled salary, nor even of anything that Laban was now possessed of, and God had blessed him with for his sake he did not desire any part of it;
but if thou wilt do this thing for me; which he was about to mention, and does in Genesis 30:32;
I will again feed [and] keep thy flock; there is an elegance in the original; "I will return, I will feed, I will keep thy flock": it seems by this that Jacob had relinquished the care of the flock, upon the time of his servitude being out; but, upon the following condition, proposes to return to it, lead it out to the pastures, and feed it on them, and keep it night and day, as he had used to do.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Jacobâs Family and Wealth
6. ×× daÌn, Dan, âjudge, lord.â
8. × ×¤×ª×× naptaÌlıÌy, Naphtali, âwrestling.â
11. ×× gaÌd, Gad, âovercoming, victory.â ××× baÌgaÌd, âin victory orâ =×× ×× baÌ' gaÌd, âvictory cometh.â ××Ö¼× guÌd, âpress down.â ×××Ö¼× geduÌd, âtroop.â
13. ×ש×ר 'aÌasheÌr, Asher, âprosperity, happiness.â
18. ×ש×ש×ר yıÌsÌaÌskaÌr, Jissakar, âreward.â The second Hebrew letter (ש s) seems to have been merely a full mode of writing the word, instead of the abbreviated form ×ש××ר yıÌsÌaÌkaÌr.
20. ××××Ö¼× zebuluÌn, Zebulun, âdwelling.â There is here a play upon the two words ××× zaÌbad, âto endowâ and ××× zaÌbal, âto dwell,â the latter of which, however, prevails in the name. They occur only here as verbs.
21. ××× × dıÌynaÌh, Dinah, âjudgment.â
24. ×סף yoÌseÌph, Joseph, âhe shall add.â There is, however, an obvious allusion to the thought. âGod hath taken away (×סף 'aÌsap) my reproach.â Double references, we find, are usual in the giving of names (see Genesis 25:30).
This chapter is the continuation of the former, and completes the history of Jacob in Haran. The event immediately following probably took place after Leah had borne two of her sons, though not admitted into the narrative until she had paused for a short time.
Genesis 30:1-8
Bilhah, Rachelâs maid, bears two sons. Rachel becomes impatient of her barrenness and jealous of her sister, and unjustly reproaches her husband, who indignantly rebukes her. God, not he, has withheld children from her. She does what Sarah had done before her Genesis 16:2-3, gives her handmaid to her husband. No express law yet forbade this course, though nature and Scripture by implication did Genesis 2:23-25. âDan.â âGod hath judged me.â In this passage Jacob and Rachel use the common noun, God, the Everlasting, and therefore Almighty, who rules in the physical relations of things - a name suitable to the occasion. He had judged her, dealt with her according to his sovereign justice in withholding the fruit of the womb, when she was self-complacent and forgetful of her dependence on a higher power; and also in hearing her voice when she approached him in humble supplication. âNaphtali.â âWrestlings of God,â with God, in prayer, on the part of both sisters, so that they wrestled with one another in the self-same act. Rachel, though looking first to Jacob and then to her maid, had at length learned to look to her God, and then had prevailed.
Genesis 30:9-13
Leah having stayed from bearing, resorts to the same expedient. Her fourth son was seemingly born in the fourth year of Jacobâs marriage. Bearing her first four sons so rapidly, she would the sooner observe the temporary cessation. After the interval of a year she may have given Zilpah to Jacob. âGad.â âVictory cometh.â She too claims a victory. âAsher.â Daughters will pronounce her happy who is so rich in sons. Leah is seemingly conscious that she is here pursuing a device of her own heart; and hence there is no explicit reference to the divine name or influence in the naming of the two sons of her maid.
Genesis 30:14-21
âReubenâ was at this time four or five years of age, as it is probable that Leah began to bear again before Zilpah had her second son. âMandrakesâ - the fruit of the âmandragora vernaIis,â which is to this day supposed to promote fruitfulness of the womb. Rachel therefore desires to partake of them, and obtains them by a compact with Leah. Leah betakes herself to prayer, and bears a fifth son. She calls him âIssakar,â with a double allusion. She had hired her husband with the mandrakes, and had received this son as her hire for giving her maid to her husband; which she regards as an act of generosity or self-denial. âZebulun.â Here Leah confesses, âGod hath endowed me with a good dowry.â She speaks now like Rachel of the God of nature. The cherished thought that her husband will dwell with her who is the mother of six sons takes form in the name. âDinahâ is the only daughter of Jacob mentioned Genesis 46:7, and that on account of her subsequent connection with the history of Jacob Genesis 34:0. Issakar appears to have been born in the sixth year after Jacobâs marriage, Zebulun in the seventh, and Dinah in the eighth.
Genesis 30:22-24
âGod remembered Rachel,â in the best time for her, after he had taught her the lessons of dependence and patience. âJoseph.â There is a remote allusion to her gratitude for the reproach of barrenness taken away. But there is also hope in the name. The selfish feeling also has died away, and the thankful Rachel rises from Elohim, the invisible Eternal, to Yahweh, the manifest Self-existent. The birth of Joseph was after the fourteen years of service were completed. He and Dinah appear to have been born in the same year.
Genesis 30:25-36
Jacob enters into a new contract of service with Laban. âWhen Rachel had borne Joseph.â Jacob cannot ask his dismissal until the twice seven years of service were completed. Hence, the birth of Joseph, which is the date of his request, took place at the earliest in the fifteenth year of his sojourn with Laban. Jacob now wishes to return home, from which he had been detained so long by serving for Rachel. He no doubt expects of Laban the means at least of accomplishing his journey. Laban is loath to part with him. âI have divinedâ - I have been an attentive observer. The result of his observation is expressed in the following words. âAppoint.â Laban offers to leave the fixing of the hire to Jacob. âThy hire upon me,â which I will take upon me as binding. Jacob touches upon the value of his services, perhaps with the tacit feeling that Laban in equity owed him at least the means of returning to his home. âBrake forthâ - increased. âAt my footâ - under my guidance and tending of thy flocks.
âDoâ - provide. âThou shalt not give me anything.â This shows that Jacob had no stock from Laban to begin with. âI will pass through all thy flock todayâ with thee. âRemove thou thence every speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats.â These were the rare colors, as in the East the sheep are usually white, and the goats black or dark brown. âAnd such shall be my hire.â Such as these uncommon party-colored cattle, when they shall appear among the flock already cleared of them; and not those of this description that are now removed. For in this case Laban would have given Jacob something; whereas Jacob was resolved to be entirely dependent on the divine providence for his hire. âAnd my righteousness will answer for me.â The color will determine at once whose the animal is. Laban willingly consents to so favorable a proposal, removes the party-colored animals from the flock, gives them into the hands of his sons, and puts an interval of three daysâ journey between them and the pure stock which remains in Jacobâs hands. Jacob is now to begin with nothing, and have for his hire any party-colored lambs or kids that appear in those flocks, from which every specimen of this rare class has been carefully removed.
Genesis 30:37-43
Jacob devises means to provide himself with a flock in these unfavorable circumstances. His first device is to place party-colored rods before the eyes of the cattle at the rutting season, that they might drop lambs and kids varied with speckles, patches, or streaks of white. He had learned from experience that there is a congruence between the colors of the objects contemplated by the dams at that season and those of their young. At all events they bare many straked, speckled, and spotted lambs and kids. He now separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flock toward the young of the rare colors, doubtless to affect them in the same way as the pilled rods. âPut his own folds by themselves.â These are the party-colored cattle that from time to time appeared in the flock of Laban. In order to secure the stronger cattle, Jacob added the second device of employing the party-colored rods only when the strong cattle conceived. The sheep in the East lamb twice a year, and it is supposed that the lambs dropped in autumn are stronger than those dropped in the spring. On this supposition Jacob used his artifice in the spring, and not in the autumn. It is probable, however, that he made his experiments on the healthy and vigorous cattle, without reference to the season of the year. The result is here stated. âThe man brake forth exceedinglyâ - became rapidly rich in hands and cattle.
It is obvious that the preceding and present chapters form one continuous piece of composition; as otherwise we have no account of the whole family of Jacob from one author. But the names ××××× 'eÌlohıÌym and ×××× yehovaÌh are both employed in the piece, and, hence, their presence and interchange cannot indicate diversity of authorship.
