Genesis 30:37

37 But Jacob got fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark, leaving white stripes on them.

Genesis 30:37 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 30:37

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar
Of the white poplar tree, called green, not from the colour, but from the moisture, being such as were cut off of the tree: and of the hazel and chestnut tree;
the former some take to be the almond tree, as Saadiah Gaon, and others; and the latter to be the plantain or plane tree, so Ainsworth, and others: and pilled white strakes in them;
took off the bark of them in some places, and left it on in others, which made white strakes: and made the white appear which [was] in the rods;
that part of the rods which was stripped of the bark appeared white; and it appeared the whiter for the bark that was left on in other parts; and both made the rods to appear to have various colours, which was the design of Jacob in pilling them.

Genesis 30:37 In-Context

35 But that very day Laban removed all the mottled and spotted billy goats and all the speckled and spotted nanny-goats, every animal that had even a touch of white on it plus all the black sheep and placed them under the care of his sons.

36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Meanwhile Jacob went on tending what was left of Laban's flock.

37 But Jacob got fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark, leaving white stripes on them.

38 He stuck the peeled branches in front of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. When the flocks were in heat, they came to drink

39 and mated in front of the streaked branches. Then they gave birth to young that were streaked or spotted or speckled.