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 31:9

31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

Genesis 30:35-43

30:35 So that day Laban ⁴  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 ⁵  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁶  while ⁷  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. ⁸  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁹  in front of the branches, they ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  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, ¹²  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. ¹³  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ¹⁴  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ¹⁵  became extremely prosperous. He owned ¹⁶  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

[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.”

[30:35]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:35]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”

[30:36]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob.”

[30:36]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the vav with subject) is circumstantial/temporal; Laban removed the animals while Jacob was taking care of the rest.

[30:38]  ⁸ sn He put the branches in front of the flocks…when they came to drink. It was generally believed that placing such “visual aids” before the animals as they were mating, it was possible to influence the appearance of their offspring. E. A. Speiser notes that “Jacob finds a way to outwit his father-in-law, through prenatal conditioning of the flock by visual aids – in conformance with universal folk beliefs” (Genesis [AB], 238). Nevertheless, in spite of Jacob’s efforts at animal husbandry, he still attributes the resulting success to God (see 31:5).

[30:39]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.

[30:39]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[30:40]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he set the faces of.”

[30:41]  ¹² tn Heb “and at every breeding-heat of the flock.”

[30:42]  ¹³ tn Heb “he did not put [them] in.” The referent of the [understood] direct object, “them,” has been specified as “the branches” in the translation for clarity.

[30:42]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “were for Laban.”

[30:43]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[30:43]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and there were to him.”