Genesis 30:29-39

29 And he said unto him, "Thou knowest how I have served thee and how thy flocks have been with me.

30 For it was little which thou had before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming. And now, when shall I provide for mine own house also?"

31 And he said, "What shall I give thee?" And Jacob said, "Thou shalt not give me any thing. If thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

32 I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted animals, and all the brown animals among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and of such shall be my hire.

33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me."

34 And Laban said, "Behold, I would it might be according to thy word."

35 And he removed that day the hegoats that were ringstreaked and spotted, and all the shegoats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

36 And he set three days' journey between himself and Jacob; and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

37 And Jacob took rods of green poplar and of the hazel and chestnut tree, and peeled white strips in them and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38 And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth animals ringstreaked, speckled and spotted.

Genesis 30:29-39 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 30

This chapter gives an account of Rachel's envy of her sister for her fruitfulness, and of her earnest desire of having children, which she expressed to Jacob in an unbecoming manner, for which he reproved her, Ge 30:1,2, of her giving her maid Bilhah to Jacob, by whom he had two sons, Dan and Naphtali, Ge 30:3-8; and of Leah's giving her maid Zilpah to him, by whom he had two other sons, Gad and Asher, Ge 30:9-13; and of Reuben's mandrakes he found in the field, and the agreement made between Rachel and Leah about them, Ge 30:14-16; and of Leah's bearing Jacob two more sons and one daughter, Ge 30:17-21, and of Rachel's also bearing him a son, whose name was Joseph, Ge 30:22-24; upon which he desires leave of Laban to depart into his own country, his time of servitude being up, Ge 30:25,26; which brought on a new agreement between him and Laban, that for the future he should have all the speckled, spotted, and brown cattle for his service, Ge 30:27-36; and the chapter is concluded with an account of a cunning scheme of Jacob's to increase that sort of cattle, which succeeded, and by which he became rich, Ge 30:37-43.