Genesis 30:37-43

37 Iacob toke roddes of grene popular hasell and of chestnottrees and pilled whyte strakes in the and made the white apere in the staues:

38 And he put the staues which he had pilled eue before ye shepe in the gutters and watrynge troughes whe the shepe came to drynke: yt they shulde coceaue whe they came to drynke.

39 And the shepe coceaued before the staues and brought forth straked spotted and partie.

40 The Iacob parted the labes and turned the faces of the shepe toward spotted thinges and toward all maner of blacke thinges thorow out the flockes of Laba. And he made him flockes of his owne by the selfe which he put not vnto the flockes of Laba.

41 And allwaye in the first buckinge tyme of the shepe Iacob put the staues before the shepe in the gutters yt they myghte conceaue before the staues

42 But in the latter buckynge tyme he put them not there: so the last brode was Labas and the first Iacobs.

43 And the man became excedynge ryche and had many shepe maydeseruauntes menseruauntes camels and asses.

Genesis 30:37-43 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.