the Second Week after Easter
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Brenton's Septuagint
Genesis 30:39
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The flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
And the flocks mated by the branches, so the flocks bore streaked, speckled, and spotted.
so the flocks mated in front of the branches. Then the young that were born were streaked, speckled, or spotted.
When the sheep mated in front of the branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
So the flocks mated and conceived by the branches, and the flocks gave birth to streaked, speckled, and spotted offspring.
So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks delivered striped, speckled, and spotted offspring.
And the sheepe were in heate before the rods, and afterward brought forth yong of partie colour, and with small and great spots.
So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.
in front of the branches, and their young were spotted and speckled.
the animals mated in sight of the rods and gave birth to streaked, speckled and spotted young.
And the flock was ardent before the rods; and the flock brought forth ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
Then when the goats mated in front of the branches, the young that were born were spotted, striped, or black.
the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth lambs that were speckled and spotted.
So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young.
And the flocks were in heat before the rods and bore striped, speckled and spotted offspring .
So the flockes conceaued ouer ye staues, and brought forth speckelde, spotted and partye coloured.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstreaked, speckled, and spotted.
And because of this, the flock gave birth to young which were marked with bands of colour.
And the sheepe conceaued before the roddes, & brought foorth lambes ryngstraked, spotted, and partie.
And the flocks conceived at the sight of the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.
And the flockes conceiued before the rods, and brought forth cattell ringstraked, speckled and spotted.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
And it was doon that in thilke heete of riding the sheep schulde biholde the yerdis, and that thei schulden brynge forth spotti beestis, and dyuerse, and bispreynt with dyuerse colour.
and the flocks conceive at the rods, and the flock beareth ring-straked, speckled, and spotted ones.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstreaked, speckled, and spotted.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted.
The flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.
So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.
And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
So the flocks mated in front of the sticks. And the young that were born had spots.
the flocks bred in front of the rods, and so the flocks produced young that were striped, speckled, and spotted.
and the males of the flock were in heat before the rods, - so the flocks brought forth ring-straked, speckled, and spotted.
And it came to pass, that in the very heat of coition, the sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers colours, and speckled.
the flocks bred in front of the rods and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.
So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
brought forth: Genesis 31:9-12, Genesis 31:38, Genesis 31:40, Genesis 31:42, Exodus 12:35, Exodus 12:36
Reciprocal: Genesis 31:10 - ringstreaked
Cross-References
And Lea saw that she ceased from bearing, and she took Zelpha her maid, and gave her to Jacob for a wife; and he went in to her.
And Zelpha the maid of Lea conceived yet again, and bore Jacob a second son.
And he separated in that day the spotted and speckled he-goats, and all the spotted and speckled she-goats, and all that was grey among the rams, and every one that was white among them, and he gave them into the hand of his sons.
And he set a distance of a three days’ journey between them and Jacob. And Jacob tended the cattle of Laban that were left behind.
These twenty years have I been with thee; thy sheep, and thy she-goats have not failed in bearing; I devoured not the rams of thy cattle.
I was parched with heat by day, and chilled with frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.
Unless I had the God of my father Abraam, and the fear of Isaac, now thou wouldest have sent me away empty; God saw my humiliation, and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesterday.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And the flocks conceived before the rods,.... At them, and in sight of them; which had such influence upon them through thee force of imagination, and a divine power and providence so directing and succeeding this device, that they
brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted; such as Jacob was to have for his hire; and, though there was no doubt a more than ordinary concourse of divine Providence attending this affair; yet there have been many strange things brought about in a natural way by the strength of imagination, as may be observed in those marks which women are said to mark their children with, while with child of them; as also in conceiving and bearing such like unto them they have fancied, as the woman that bore a blackamoor, through often looking at the picture of one in her chamber; and an Ethiopian queen, who by the same means bore a white child, fair and beautiful, which she exposed, lest she should be thought an adulteress r: and what comes nearer to the case here, Jerom reports s the like things done in Spain among horses and mares, by placing beautiful horses before mares at the time of leaping; and the Apis, or Egyptian ox, which had peculiar spots in it, was produced in like manner, so that there was always in succession one of the same form and colour, as Austin asserts t; and it may be observed, what is affirmed by some writers u, that sheep will change their colours according to the different waters they drink of at the time of their being covered; and that some rivers drank of will make white sheep black, and black white, and others red and yellow. But as Jacob was directed of God to take this method, this is sufficient to justify him, and upon his blessing and providence the success depended, whatever there may be in nature to bring about such an effect; and as it was to do himself justice, who had been greatly injured by Laban, it was equally as just and righteous a thing to take this course, as it was for the Israelites by a divine direction to borrow jewels, &c. of the Egyptians, whereby they were repaid for their hard service.
(This was written over one hundred years before the laws of genetics were discovered. We know that the result was from God not of Jacob's schemes. Ed.)
r Heliodor. Ethiopic. l. 4. c. 8. s Quaest. Heb. in Gen. fol. 70. L. M. t De Civit. Dei, l. 18. c. 5. u Aelian. de Animal. l. 8. c. 21. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 103.
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 gedûd, “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 zebulûn, 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 yehovâh are both employed in the piece, and, hence, their presence and interchange cannot indicate diversity of authorship.
