And the flocks conceived before the rods
At them, and in sight of them; which had such influence upon them
through thee force of imagination, and a divine power and
providence so directing and succeeding this device, that they
brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and
spotted;
such as Jacob was to have for his hire; and, though there was no
doubt a more than ordinary concourse of divine Providence
attending this affair; yet there have been many strange things
brought about in a natural way by the strength of imagination, as
may be observed in those marks which women are said to mark their
children with, while with child of them; as also in conceiving
and bearing such like unto them they have fancied, as the woman
that bore a blackamoor, through often looking at the picture of
one in her chamber; and an Ethiopian queen, who by the same means
bore a white child, fair and beautiful, which she exposed, lest
she should be thought an adulteress F18: and what comes nearer
to the case here, Jerom reports F19 the like things done in
Spain among horses and mares, by placing beautiful horses before
mares at the time of leaping; and the Apis, or Egyptian ox, which
had peculiar spots in it, was produced in like manner, so that
there was always in succession one of the same form and colour,
as Austin asserts F20; and it may be observed, what is
affirmed by some writers F21, that sheep will change their
colours according to the different waters they drink of at the
time of their being covered; and that some rivers drank of will
make white sheep black, and black white, and others red and
yellow. But as Jacob was directed of God to take this method,
this is sufficient to justify him, and upon his blessing and
providence the success depended, whatever there may be in nature
to bring about such an effect; and as it was to do himself
justice, who had been greatly injured by Laban, it was equally as
just and righteous a thing to take this course, as it was for the
Israelites by a divine direction to borrow jewels of the
Egyptians, whereby they were repaid for their hard service. (This
was written over one hundred years before the laws of genetics
were discovered. We know that the result was from God not of
Jacob's schemes. Ed.)