Genesis 31:1

Jacob’s Flight from Laban

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ¹  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ²  at our father’s expense!” ³ 

Genesis 31:8

31:8 If he said, ⁴  ‘The speckled animals ⁵  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring.

[31:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying.”

[31:1]  ² sn The Hebrew word translated “gotten rich” (כָּבוֹד, cavod) has the basic idea of “weight.” If one is heavy with possessions, then that one is wealthy (13:2). Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph all became wealthy when they left the promised land. Jacob’s wealth foreshadows what will happen to Israel when they leave the land of Egypt (Exod 12:35-38).

[31:1]  ³ tn Heb “and from that which belonged to our father he has gained all this wealth.”

[31:8]  ⁴ tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.

[31:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.