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Texts -- Genesis 30:23-43 (NET)

Context
30:23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son . Then she said , “God has taken away my shame .” 30:24 She named him Joseph , saying , “May the Lord give me yet another son .”
The Flocks of Jacob
30:25 After Rachel had given birth to Joseph , Jacob said to Laban , “Send me on my way so that I can go home to my own country . 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. Then I’ll depart , because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight , please stay here, for I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added , “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” 30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied , “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 30:30 Indeed , you had little before I arrived, but now your possessions have increased many times over. The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked . But now , how long must it be before I do something for my own family too ?” 30:31 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: 30:32 Let me walk among all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep , every dark-colored lamb , and the spotted or speckled goats . These animals will be my wages . 30:33 My integrity will testify for me later on. When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 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 .” 30:34 “Agreed !” said Laban , “It will be as you say .” 30:35 So that day Laban 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 of his sons . 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey , while Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks . 30:37 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 . 30:38 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 . 30:39 When the sheep mated in front of the branches , they gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted . 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs , but he made the rest of the flock face 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 . 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat , Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock , so they would mate near the branches . 30:42 But if the animals were weaker , he did not set the branches there. So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban and the stronger animals to Jacob . 30:43 In this way Jacob became extremely prosperous . He owned large flocks , male and female servants , camels , and donkeys .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • SPOT; SPOTTED

    [isbe] SPOT; SPOTTED - spot, spot'-ed (mum; spilos): The Hebrew word is used to denote a blemish which mars the perfection of the face, as in Song 4:7; Job 11:15. It is translated "blemish" in Lev 24:19 f, where it means an injury ...

  • RINGSTREAKED

    [isbe] RINGSTREAKED - ring'-strekt (the King James Version and the English Revised Version ringstraked): Gen 30:35,39,40; 31:8 (twice),10,12 for `aqodh. In the context of Gen 30:35, etc., `aqodh certainly denotes defective coloring...

  • PILLED

    [smith] (Genesis 30:37,38) "peeled," Isai 18:2; Ezek 29:28 The verb "to pill" appears in old English as identical in meaning with "to peel, to strip."

  • PEEL; PILL

    [isbe] PEEL; PILL - pel, pil: "Pill" (Gen 30:37,38; Tobit 11:13 (the Revised Version (British and American) "scaled")) and "peel" (Isa 18:2,7 (the King James Version and the Revised Version margin); Ezek 29:18 (the King James Versi...

  • NAMES, PROPER

    [isbe] NAMES, PROPER - I. THE FORM OF HEBREW NAMES 1. Various Types 2. Vocalization 3. Transposition of Parts 4. Methods of Abbreviation II. THE RANGE OF PROPER NAMES 1. Personal Names (1) Not Exclusively Descriptive (2) Drawn from...

  • Laban

    [nave] LABAN Son of Bethuel, Gen. 28:5. Brother of Rebekah, Gen. 22:23; 24:15, 29. Receives the servant of Abraham, Gen. 24:29-33. Receives Jacob, and gives him his daughters in marriage, Gen. 29:12-30. Jacob becomes his servan...

  • Jacob

    [nave] JACOB Son of Isaac, and twin brother of Esau, Gen. 25:24-26; Josh. 24:4; 1 Chr. 1:34; Acts 7:8. Ancestor of Jesus, Matt. 1:2. Given in answer to prayer, Gen. 25:21. Obtains Esau's birthright for a some stew, Gen. 25:29-34...

  • Haran

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. haran; i.e., "mountaineer." The eldest son of Terah, brother of Abraham and Nahor, and father of Lot, Milcah, and Iscah. He died before his father (Gen. 11:27), in Ur of the Chaldees. (2.) Heb. haran, i.e., "parche...

  • HAIR

    [isbe] HAIR - har (se`ar, sa`ar, Aramaic se`ar, and their derivatives; thrix, gen. case trichos, kome): 1. Hair Fashions: Hair was worn in different fashions by the Orientals of Biblical times, and not always in the same way among ...

  • Gutter

    [ebd] Heb. tsinnor, (2 Sam. 5:8). This Hebrew word occurs only elsewhere in Ps. 42:7 in the plural, where it is rendered "waterspouts." It denotes some passage through which water passed; a water-course. In Gen. 30:38, 41 the Hebr...

  • GOAT

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. 'ez, the she-goat (Gen. 15:9; 30:35; 31:38). This Hebrew word is also used for the he-goat (Ex. 12:5; Lev. 4:23; Num. 28:15), and to denote a kid (Gen. 38:17, 20). Hence it may be regarded as the generic name of th...
    [isbe] GOAT - got: 1. Names: The common generic word for "goat" is `ez (compare Arabic `anz, "she-goat"; aix), used often for "she-goat" (Gen 15:9; Nu 15:27), also with gedhi, "kid," as gedhi `izzim, "kid of the goats" (Gen 38:17),...

  • Dromedary

    [ebd] (Isa. 60:6), an African or Arabian species of camel having only one hump, while the Bactrian camel has two. It is distinguished from the camel only as a trained saddle-horse is distinguished from a cart-horse. It is remarkab...

  • Contracts

    [nave] CONTRACTS Between Abraham and Abimelech, concerning wells of water, Gen. 21:25-32; violated, Gen. 26:15. First contract between Laban and Jacob for Laban's daughter, Gen. 29:15-20, 27-30; violated, Gen. 29:23-27; second con...

  • Concubine

    [ebd] in the Bible denotes a female conjugally united to a man, but in a relation inferior to that of a wife. Among the early Jews, from various causes, the difference between a wife and a concubine was less marked than it would b...

  • Colour

    [ebd] The subject of colours holds an important place in the Scriptures. White occurs as the translation of various Hebrew words. It is applied to milk (Gen. 49:12), manna (Ex. 16:31), snow (Isa. 1:18), horses (Zech. 1:8), raiment...

  • COLOR; COLORS

    [isbe] COLOR; COLORS - kul'-er, kul'-erz: The word translated "color" in the King James Version is `ayin, which literally means "eye" or "appearance," and has been so translated in the Revised Version (British and American). In the...

  • CHILD; CHILDREN

    [isbe] CHILD; CHILDREN - child, chil'-dren (ben, "son," yeledh, "child" na`ar, "lad"; teknon, paidion): The Hebrews regarded the presence of children in the family as a mark of Divine favor and greatly to be desired (Gen 15:2; 30:1...

  • Barren

    [ebd] For a woman to be barren was accounted a severe punishment among the Jews (Gen. 16:2; 30:1-23; 1 Sam. 1:6, 27; Isa. 47:9; 49:21; Luke 1:25). Instances of barrenness are noticed (Gen. 11:30; 25:21; 29:31; Judg. 13:2, 3; Luke ...

  • Ass

    [ebd] frequently mentioned throughout Scripture. Of the domesticated species we read of, (1.) The she ass (Heb. 'athon), so named from its slowness (Gen. 12:16; 45:23; Num. 22:23; 1 Sam. 9:3). (2.) The male ass (Heb. hamor), the c...

  • ALMOND

    [ebd] a native of Syria and Palestine. In form, blossoms, and fruit it resembles the peach tree. Its blossoms are of a very pale pink colour, and appear before its leaves. Its Hebrew name, shaked, signifying "wakeful, hastening," ...
    [isbe] ALMOND - a'-mund: (1) shaqedh, Gen 43:11; Nu 17:8, etc. The word shaked comes from a Hebrew root meaning to "watch" or "wait." In Jer 1:11,12 there is a play on the word, "And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree (shaqedh)....

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Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
  • Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
  • The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
  • The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
  • "The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
  • "These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
  • The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
  • Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
  • A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
  • The long account of Jacob's relationship with Laban (chs. 29-31) is the centerpiece of the Jacob story (chs. 25-35). It is a story within a story, and it too has a chiastic structure. At its center is the account of the birth...
  • God formed Jacob's family, the ancestors of the tribes of Israel, as He had promised Jacob at Bethel. Unfortunately Jacob and his wives lived in envy and friction over how God chose to bless them."Jacob had planned to take Ra...
  • Jacob and Laban ("White") made an agreement that each man felt he could manipulate to his own advantage. However, God sovereignly overruled to bless Jacob as He had promised in spite of Laban's deceit and Jacob's devices (cf....
  • Jacob was ready to sacrifice part of his family expecting Esau to attack him, and he approached his brother as though Esau was his lord. In contrast, Esau welcomed Jacob magnanimously, reluctantly received his gift, and offer...
  • Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • Concerning the time the events recorded took place there have been many views ranging from the patriarchal age of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (beginning about 2100 B.C.) to the sixth century B.C.Internal evidence suggests that J...
  • 105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
  • Isaiah next tried to move Ahaz to faith (vv. 10-12), then denounced the king for his failure to trust Yahweh (vv. 13-15), and finally forecast a calamity worse than the division of Israel's united kingdom (vv. 16-17).7:10 Evi...
  • The angel's announcement of John's birth occurred even before Elizabeth conceived him (cf. Matt. 1:18-25). This is further evidence of his being a special provision from the Lord. Elizabeth's self-imposed five-month period of...
  • 1:28 The fact that Gabriel greeted Mary as he did and did not greet Zechariah the same way shows Mary's favored position. Gabriel's greeting was customary: Hail! or Greetings! (Gr. chaire). Mary was highly "favored"(Gr. kecha...
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