Genesis 30:38 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 30:38
And he set the rods which he had pilled 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.
a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
gutters
בָּרֳהָטִ֖יםbo.ro.ha.Tim
H7298
a channel or watering-box · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
watering
הַמָּ֑יִםha.Ma.yim
H4325
water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
troughs
בְּשִֽׁקֲת֣וֹתbe.shi.ka.Tot
H8268
a trough (for watering) · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
flocks
הַצֹּ֔אןha.Tzon
H6629
a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
came
תָּבֹ֨אןָta.Vo.na
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine plural
drink
לִשְׁתּוֹת֙lish.toT
H8354
to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
conceive
וַיֵּחַ֖מְנָהvai.ye.Cham.nah
H3179
probably to be hot · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine plural
came
בְּבֹאָ֥ןbe.vo.'An
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine plural
drink
לִשְׁתּֽוֹתlish.Tot
H8354
to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 30:37–end
Here is Jacob's honest policy to make his bargain more advantageous to himself than it was likely to be. If he had not taken some course to help himself, it would have been a bad bargain indeed, which he knew Laban would never consider, or rather would be well pleased to see him a loser by, so little did Laban consult any one's interest but his own. Now Jacob's contrivances were, 1. To set peeled sticks before the cattle where they were watered, that, looking much at those unusual party-coloured sticks, by the power of imagination they might bring forth young ones in like manner party-coloured, Gen 30:37-39. Probably this custom was commonly used by the shepherds of Canaan, who coveted to ha…
watering troughs--usually a long stone block hollowed out, from which several sheep could drink at once, but sometimes so small as to admit of only one drinking at a time.
Next: Genesis Chapter 31
Adam Clarke on Genesis 30:38
And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks - It has long been an opinion that whatever makes a strong impression on the mind of a female in the time of conception and gestation, will have a corresponding influence on the mind or body of the fetus. This opinion is not yet rationally accounted for. It is not necessary to look for a miracle here; for though the fact has not been accounted for, it is nevertheless sufficiently plain that the effect does not exceed the powers of nature; and I have no doubt that the same modes of trial used by Jacob would produce the same results in similar cases. The finger of God works in nature myriads of ways unknown to us; we see effects without…
And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks,.... Opposite them, in the view of them:
in the gutters in the watering troughs, when the flocks came to drink; that is, in places of water, where troughs or vessels were made, into which the water ran convenient for the cattle to drink out of; and here he placed his party coloured rods right over against the flocks:
that they should conceive when they came to drink; as it was most likely they should when they were together at the water, and had refreshed themselves with it; and being "heated" (q), as the word signifies, with a desire of copulation, might conceive in sight of the above rods; which were set to move upon their imagina…
The Church Fathers
But where did Jacob place his rods? In the troughs of water. And these troughs, in which the reasonable herd, that is we, go to water, must be interpreted as the writings of Moses and the prophetical predictions that nearly burst forth for us like a heavenly sermon from God. In fact, it was written, "You draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation." And there we will find the Immanuel, the rod of power. And in his death for us he is also the firstborn from the dead, and is exalted in glory and increases the number of the believers, as I have just said. Every word of the holy prophets, including Moses, hints at the mystery of Christ. Therefore also the wise Paul says, "Christ is the end of the prophets and the law." Jacob peeled in the rods white stripes alternated with green ones, and the sheep that were by them conceived a spotted and speckled progeny. Jesus somehow removed the shadow from the law and the veil from the prophetical writings. And he showed the pure and beautiful doctrine which was in them, and he transferred it to the spiritual song, in order that he might lead people to virtue since they wanted to be speckled, that is, they wanted to exercise a double virtue in words and actions. And therefore the divine prophets of those who were justified in the faith, by bringing the image before them, openly proclaim, "Because of the fear of you, we conceived, O Lord, and were in pain and brought forth the spirit of your salvation." And the same blessed Isaiah, in another passage, says properly: "Strengthen your relaxed hands and palsied knees; comfort one another, you faint-hearted; be strong, fear not. Behold, our God renders judgment, and will render it." And again: "Behold the Lord! The Lord is coming with strength, and his arm is with power. He shall tend his flock as a shepherd, and shall gather the lambs with his arm and shall soothe them who are with young." That is, he will be a spiritual consolation for those who have already brought forth the divine sermon, for those who will be fruitful and for those who are about to bring forth the glories of evangelical life. This is the fruit of the holy and uncorrupted soul.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Concubine — In the Bible denotes a female conjugally united to a man, but in a relation inferior to that of a wife. Among the early Jews, from various causes, the difference between a wife and a concubine was…
Gutter — Heb. tsinnor, (2 Sam. 5:8). This Hebrew word occurs only elsewhere in Ps. 42:7 in the plural, where it is rendered “waterspouts.” It denotes some passage through which water passed; a water-course.…
Pilled — (Genesis 30:37,38) “peeled,” Isai 18:2; Ezek 29:28 The verb “to pill” appears in old English as identical in meaning with “to peel, to strip.”
Shepherd — A word naturally of frequent occurence in Scripture. Sometimes the word “pastor” is used instead (Jer. 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 12:10; 17:16). This word is used figuratively to represent the relation of…
Contracts · Violated — Violated
Craftiness · .In management of Laban’s flocks and herds — .In management of Laban’s flocks and herds
Dishonesty · .Jacob gains from Laban’s flocks by skillful manipulation — .Jacob gains from Laban’s flocks by skillful manipulation
Jacob · Sharp practice of, with the flocks and herds of Laban — Sharp practice of, with the flocks and herds of Laban
Laban · Jacob becomes his servant — Jacob becomes his servant
Sheep · .Jacob’ s management of — .Jacob’ s management of
And Jacob took him rods of green poplar. The narration of Moses, at first sight, may seem absurd: for he either intends to censure holy Jacob as guilty of fraud, or to praise his industry. But from the context it will appear that this adroitness was not culpable. Let us then see how it is to be excused. Should any one contend that he was impelled to act as he did, by the numerous injuries of his father-in-law, and that he sought nothing but the reparation of former losses; the defense would perhaps be plausible: yet in the sight of God it is neither firm nor probable; for although we may be unjustly treated, we must not enter the contest with equal injustice. And were it permitted to avenge…
Laban cheerfully accepted the proposal, but did not leave Jacob to make the selection. He undertook that himself, probably to make more sure, and then gave those which were set apart as Jacob's wages to his own sons to tend, since it was Jacob's duty to take care of Laban's flock, and "set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob," i.e., between the flock to be tended by himself through his sons, and that to be tended by Jacob, for the purpose of preventing any copulation between the animals of the two flocks. Nevertheless he was overreached by Jacob, who adopted a double method of increasing the wages agreed upon. In the first place (Gen 30:37-39), he took fresh rods of storax, maple,…
God blessed Jacob despite Laban’s duplicity. Not to be outwitted, Jacob used selective breeding to acquire a flock, following the traditional belief that peeled sticks influenced the kind of animal that would be born. The peeled branches seemingly made his animals produce streaked and spotted young; Jacob later acknowledged that God had prospered him (31:7-12). Jacob gained stronger animals for himself and weaker ones for Laban (30:41-42).
30:37 making white streaks: A clever wordplay captures the meaning of this whole section. When Jacob exposed the white (Hebrew laban) streaks of wood underneath, he played the “white” game (the Laban game) and won. As he outwitted Laban (“Whitey”), Jacob’…
ויצג AND HE SET — In the Targum it is rendered by ודעיץ which signifies in the Aramaic language sticking in and inserting. It occurs many times in the Talmud: (Shabbat 50b) “if he stuck it in (דצה) and pulled it out”; (Chullin 93b) “he stuck (דץ) something into it”, where דצה is the same as דעצה, being really a contracted form of it.
ברהטים IN THE GUTTERS — in the currents (מרוצות) of water running in the trenches made in the ground to water the sheep there (רהט is the Aramaic of רוץ).
אשר תבאנה WHERE THE FLOCKS COME TO DRINK etc. — In the currents whither the sheep come to drink, there did he set the rods in front of the sheep.
ויחמנה AND THEY CONCEIVED — The female animal saw the rods,…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
