Genesis 30:25-43

Genesis 30:25-John : . Jacob Grows Rich by Overreaching Laban.— This is a difficult section. It is taken from JE. The analysis is uncertain. To J may be assigned Genesis 30:25; Genesis 30:27, Genesis 30:29-Obadiah :, Genesis 30:35 f., to E Genesis 30:26; Genesis 30:28; Genesis 30:33 f., while Genesis 30:32 is to be divided between them. Genesis 30"37– 45 is in the main from J, but in its present form is barely intelligible. Two accounts of the bargain seem to be combined, though the fragmentary character and the state of E’ s text make reconstruction uncertain. According to E, Jacob takes out of Laban’ s flock all the parti-coloured animals, and they are his pay. If at any time Laban finds animals of the normal colour in Jacob’ s flock, they may be taken as stolen. According to J, Jacob stipulates for no share in Laban’ s present flock, but presumably for any abnormally coloured that may be born hereafter in the flock he tends for Laban. So Laban takes away all the abnormally coloured he has at present, and sends them right away three days’ journey from the flock Jacob has in charge, leaving him with the normally coloured animals only, thus, since they might be expected to have normally-coloured offspring, reducing Jacob’ s prospective share almost to vanishing point. In either case the proportion of abnormally coloured would be small, and Jacob’ s commission would appear to be paltry. Jacob then sets himself to defeat the ordinary course of nature on which Laban counted, and by placing the parti-coloured rods in the drinking-troughs before the females at coupling-time, secure parti-coloured offspring. The plan succeeded admirably; and as he employed it only in the case of the stronger animals, his flock grew sturdier and Laban’ s more delicate.

Genesis 30:27 . divined: perhaps literally meant, perhaps simply discerned by observation.

Genesis 30:32 . The sheep in Syria are almost all white, the goats brown or black.

Genesis 30:37 ff. “ The physiological principle is well established” (Driver).

Genesis 30:40 . The Heb. is obscure and the text corrupt; “ and set . . . of Laban” should probably be omitted as a gloss.