Genesis 30:38

Brenton's Septuagint

And he laid the rods which he had peeled, in the hollows of the watering-troughs, that whensoever the cattle should come to drink, as they should have come to drink before the rods, the cattle might conceive at the rods.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He set the rods which he had peeled opposite the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.

King James Version
And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

Lexham English Bible
And he set the branches that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in the troughs and in the water containers. And they were in heat when they came to drink.

New Century Version
He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated there,

New English Translation
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.

Amplified Bible
Then he set the branches which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated and conceived when they came to drink.

New American Standard Bible
He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs, that is, in the watering channels where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then he put the rods, which he had pilled, in the gutters and watering troughes, when the sheepe came to drink, before the sheepe. (for they were in heate, when they came to drinke)

Legacy Standard Bible
And he set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the trough, that is, in the watering channels, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.

Contemporary English Version
Then he put the branches where the sheep and goats would see them while they were drinking from the water trough. The goats mated there

Complete Jewish Bible
Then he set the rods he had peeled upright in the watering troughs, so that the animals would see them when they came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

Darby Translation
And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flock, in the troughs at the watering-places where the flock came to drink, and they were ardent when they came to drink.

Easy-to-Read Version
He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated in that place.

English Standard Version
He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

George Lamsa Translation
And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the running water, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

Good News Translation
He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink.

Christian Standard Bible®
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.

Literal Translation
And he set the rods which he had peeled by the troughs, by the water troughs where the flocks came to drink, across from the flocks. And they were in heat when they came to drink.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and layed the staues that he had pylled, in the drynkinge troughes before the flocke, which came there to drynke, that they shulde conceaue, whan they came to drynke.

American Standard Version
And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

Bible in Basic English
And he put the banded sticks in the drinking-places where the flock came to get water; and they became with young when they came to the water.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And put the roddes which he had pilled, [euen] before the sheepe, in the gutters and watryng throughes when the sheepe came to drynke, that they should conceaue when they came to drynke.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

King James Version (1611)
And he set the rods which he had pilled, before the flockes in the gutters in the watering troughes when the flocks came to drinke, that they should conceiue when they came to drinke.

English Revised Version
And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

Berean Standard Bible
Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Jacob puttide tho yerdis in the trowis, where the watir was held out, that whanne the flockis schulden come to drynke, thei schulden haue the yerdis bifor the iyen, and schulden conseyue in the siyt of the yerdis.

Young's Literal Translation
and setteth up the rods which he hath peeled in the gutters in the watering troughs (when the flock cometh in to drink), over-against the flock, that they may conceive in their coming in to drink;

Update Bible Version
And he set the rods which he had peeled across from the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he set the rods, which he had peeled, before the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs, when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

World English Bible
He set the rods which he had peeled opposite the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.

New King James Version
And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.

New Living Translation
Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated.

New Life Bible
He took these sticks which he had cut and set them in front of the flocks, in the place where the flocks came to drink. And the animals mated when they came to drink.

New Revised Standard
He set the rods that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he set the reds which he had peeled, in the channels in the troughs of water, - where the flocks came in to drink straight before the flocks, and the females of the flock used to be in heat when they came in to drink;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out; that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive.

Revised Standard Version
He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the runnels, that is, the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.

Contextual Overview

³⁷ And Jacob took to himself green rods of storax tree and walnut and plane-tree; and Jacob peeled in them white stripes; and as he drew off the green, the white stripe which he had made appeared alternate on the rods. ³⁸ And he laid the rods which he had peeled, in the hollows of the watering-troughs, that whensoever the cattle should come to drink, as they should have come to drink before the rods, the cattle might conceive at the rods. ³⁹ So the cattle conceived at the rods, and the cattle brought forth young speckled, and streaked and spotted with ash-coloured spots. ⁴⁰ And Jacob separated the lambs, and set before the sheep a speckled ram, and every variegated one among the lambs, and he separated flocks for himself alone, and did not mingle them with the sheep of Laban. ⁴¹ And it came to pass in the time wherein the cattle became pregnant, conceiving in the belly, Jacob put the rods before the cattle in the troughs, that they might conceive by the rods. ⁴² But he did not put them in indiscriminately whenever the cattle happened to bring forth, but the unmarked ones were Laban’s, and the marked ones were Jacob’s. ⁴³ And the man became very rich, and he had many cattle, and oxen, and servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks,.... Opposite them, in the view of them:

in the gutters in the watering troughs, when the flocks came to drink; that is, in places of water, where troughs or vessels were made, into which the water ran convenient for the cattle to drink out of; and here he placed his party coloured rods right over against the flocks:

that they should conceive when they came to drink; as it was most likely they should when they were together at the water, and had refreshed themselves with it; and being "heated" q, as the word signifies, with a desire of copulation, might conceive in sight of the above rods; which were set to move upon their imagination at the time of their conception, in order to produce cattle of different colours; to which no doubt he was directed of God, and it had, through his blessing, the wished for success, as follows:

q יחמנה "incalescebant", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius; "ut incalescerent", Junius & Tremellius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob’s Family and Wealth

6. דן dān, Dan, “judge, lord.”

8. נפתלי naptālı̂y, Naphtali, “wrestling.”

11. גד gād, Gad, “overcoming, victory.” בגד bāgād, “in victory or” =גד בא bā' gād, “victory cometh.” גוּד gûd, “press down.” גדוּד g^edûd, “troop.”

13. אשׁר 'ǎashēr, Asher, “prosperity, happiness.”

18. ישׂשכר yı̂śāskār, Jissakar, “reward.” The second Hebrew letter (ש s) seems to have been merely a full mode of writing the word, instead of the abbreviated form ישׂכר yı̂śākār.

20. זבלוּן z^ebulûn, Zebulun, “dwelling.” There is here a play upon the two words זבד zābad, “to endow” and זבל zābal, “to dwell,” the latter of which, however, prevails in the name. They occur only here as verbs.

21. דינה dı̂ynâh, Dinah, “judgment.”

24. יסף yôsêph, Joseph, “he shall add.” There is, however, an obvious allusion to the thought. “God hath taken away (אסף 'āsap) my reproach.” 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, Rachel’s 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. “Dan.” “God hath judged me.” 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. “Naphtali.” “Wrestlings of God,” 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 Jacob’s 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. “Gad.” “Victory cometh.” She too claims a victory. “Asher.” 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

“Reuben” 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. “Mandrakes” - the fruit of the “mandragora vernaIis,” 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 “Issakar,” 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. “Zebulun.” Here Leah confesses, “God hath endowed me with a good dowry.” 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. “Dinah” 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 Jacob’s marriage, Zebulun in the seventh, and Dinah in the eighth.

Genesis 30:22-24

“God remembered Rachel,” in the best time for her, after he had taught her the lessons of dependence and patience. “Joseph.” 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. “When Rachel had borne Joseph.” 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. “I have divined” - I have been an attentive observer. The result of his observation is expressed in the following words. “Appoint.” Laban offers to leave the fixing of the hire to Jacob. “Thy hire upon me,” 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. “Brake forth” - increased. “At my foot” - under my guidance and tending of thy flocks.

“Do” - provide. “Thou shalt not give me anything.” This shows that Jacob had no stock from Laban to begin with. “I will pass through all thy flock today” with thee. “Remove thou thence every speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats.” These were the rare colors, as in the East the sheep are usually white, and the goats black or dark brown. “And such shall be my hire.” 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. “And my righteousness will answer for me.” 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 days’ journey between them and the pure stock which remains in Jacob’s 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. “Put his own folds by themselves.” 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. “The man brake forth exceedingly” - 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 אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym and יהוה y^ehovâh are both employed in the piece, and, hence, their presence and interchange cannot indicate diversity of authorship.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 30:38. And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks — It has long been an opinion that whatever makes a strong impression on the mind of a female in the time of conception and gestation, will have a corresponding influence on the mind or body of the fetus. This opinion is not yet rationally accounted for. It is not necessary to look for a miracle here; for though the fact has not been accounted for, it is nevertheless sufficiently plain that the effect does not exceed the powers of nature; and I have no doubt that the same modes of trial used by Jacob would produce the same results in similar cases. The finger of God works in nature myriads of ways unknown to us; we see effects without end, of which no rational cause can be assigned; it has pleased God to work thus and thus, and this is all that we know; and God mercifully hides the operations of his power from man in a variety of eases, that he may hide pride from him. Even with the little we know, how apt are we to be puffed up! We must adore God in a reverential silence on such subjects as these, confess our ignorance, and acknowledge that nature is the instrument by which he chooses to work, and that he performs all things according to the counsel of his own will, which is always infinitely wise and infinitely good.