Laban said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.
I will pass through all your flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. This will be my hire. So my righteousness will answer for me hereafter, when you come concerning my hire that is before you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that might be with me, will be considered stolen.”
Laban said, “Behold, let it be according to your word.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 31. Thou shalt not give me anything. The antithesis…
31. Thou shalt not give me anything. The antithesis between this and the preceding clause is to be noticed. For Jacob does not demand for himself certain and definite wages; but he treats with Laban, on this condition, that he shall receive whatever offspring may be brought forth by the sheep and goats of a pure and uniform color, which shall prove to be party-coloured and spotted. There is indeed some obscurity in the words. For, at first, Jacob seems to require for himself the spotted sheep as a present reward. But from the thirty-third verse (Genesis 30:33) another sense may be gathered: namely, that Jacob would suffer whatever was variegated in the flock to be separated and delivered to the sons of Laban to be fed; but that he himself would retain the unspotted sheep and goats. And certainly it would be absurd that Jacob should now claim part of the flock for himself, when he had just confessed, that hitherto he had made no gain. Moreover, the gain thus acquired would have been more than was just; and there was no hope that this could be obtained from Laban. A question however arises, by what hope, or by what counsel bad Jacob been induced to propose this condition? A little afterwards, Moses will relate that he had used cunning, in order that party-coloured and spotted lambs might be brought forth by the pure flock; but in the following chapter he more fully declares that Jacob had been divinely instructed thus to act (Genesis 31:1.) Therefore, although it was improbable in itself that this agreement should prove useful to the holy man, he yet obeys the celestial oracle, and wishes to be enriched in no other manner than according to the will of God. But Laban was dealt with according to his own disposition; for he eagerly caught at what seemed advantageous to himself, but God disappointed his shameful cupidity.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv32–33 Or, rid.
Or, rid.
Or, separate thou.
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That which shall hereafter be thus spotted.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv31–34 Gen 30:31 And he said, What shall I give…
Gen 30:31 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:
Ver. 31. What shall I give thee?] Solent multum quaerere, qui cupiunt parum dare . But Laban would know his price, that he might be out of his pain.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv32–34 Speckled and spotted cattle, which may seem to be…
Speckled and spotted cattle, which may seem to be thus distinguished; speckled with little spots, and spotted with greater spots or stains, both of diverse colours from the rest of the body. Or, the speckled may be the same with the ring-straked, by comparing this with Gen 30:35.
All the brown cattle; or black, or dark-coloured; for the Hebrew word signifies also great heat which produceth such a colour.
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Of such shall be my hire; or, then shall be my hire; and for then, as is frequent in Scripture. The sense is: Then, when the speckled, and spotted, and brown are separated, and none but white remaining, my hire shall be out of those white ones, and that in such manner as is expressed in Gen 30:33, all the white young ones shall be thine, and the speckled, and spotted, and brown which shall be brought forth by those white ones shall be mine.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And he removed that day the he goats that…
And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted,.... That had strakes of a different colour from the rest on their shoulders, thighs, logs, or feet, or in any part of the body: the word here used stands in the room of that before translated "speckled"; this Laban did, as the context shows; he went about it immediately at the motion of Jacob, with which he was pleased:
and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted; so that there might be neither male nor female of those mixed colours; this he did to prevent any generation of them:
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and everyone that had some white in it; any white spot in it, as the Targum of Jonathan; that is, everyone of the brown or black colour, that had any white in it:
and all the brown among the sheep: that were entirely so:
and, gave them into the hands of his sons; not the sons of Jacob, as some in Aben Ezra; for they were not fit for the care of a flock, the eldest son, Reuben, not being seven years of age; but the sons of Laban, who were now grown up and fit for such service.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v34 Laban was willing to consent to this bargain, because…
Laban was willing to consent to this bargain, because he thought if those few he had that were now speckled and spotted were separated from the rest, which was to be done immediately, the body of the flock which Jacob was to tend, being of one colour, either all black or all white, would produce few or none of mixt colours, and so he should have Jacob's service for nothing, or next to nothing. According to this bargain, those few that were party-coloured were separated, and put into the hands of Laban's sons, and sent three days journey off: so great was Laban's jealouly lest any of those should mix with the rest of the flock to the advantage of Jacob.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v32 Verse 32. I will pass through all thy flock]…
Verse 32. I will pass through all thy flock] צאן tson, implying, as we have before seen, all smaller cattle, such as sheep, goats, c.
All the speckled and spotted cattle] שה seh, which we translate cattle, signifies the young either of sheep or goats, what we call a lamb or a kid. Speckled, נקד nakod, signifies interspersed with variously coloured spots.
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Spotted] טלוא talu, spotted with large spot either of the same or different colours, from טלא tala, to patch, to make party-coloured or patch-work see Eze 16:16. I have never seen such sheep as are here described but in the islands of Zetland. There I have seen the most beautiful brown, or fine chocolate colour among the sheep; and several of the ring-streaked, spotted, speckled, and piebald among the same; and some of the latter description I have brought over, and can exhibit a specimen of Jacob's flock brought from the North Seas, feeding in Middlesex.
And all the brown] חום chum. I should rather suppose this to signify a lively brown, as the root signifies to be warm or hot.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv32, 34 Gen 30:32. Removing all the speckled and spotted —…
Gen 30:32. Removing all the speckled and spotted — He does not mean, that those cattle which were already speckled and spotted, &c., should be given him; for that does not agree with what went before: Thou shalt not give me any thing, that is, I will take nothing that is now thine. Besides, it would have been no wonder if those that were spotted already should bring forth others like themselves. But the sense is, that he would separate all the spotted sheep and goats, and then, out of those which were of one colour, would have all that should fall hereafter of the before-mentioned variety. Jacob desired to make a clear bargain, about which they might have no disputes. Had they agreed for a particular number of cattle every year, there might have been room for cavil and suspicions; for if any of the flock had by accident been lost, they might have differed whether Jacob’s or Laban’s were the lost cattle. But, to prevent all possible disputes, “Let me,” says Jacob, “have all the speckled and spotted cattle, and then, whenever you have a mind to look into my stock, my integrity will come before your face,” or be conspicuous, which is the meaning of the next verse.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv31–33 Nothing. I am willing to depart with my family…
Nothing. I am willing to depart with my family towards my father. But if I must stay, these are my terms. (Haydock) --- I require no certain wages, committing myself entirely to what Providence shall send. (Salien.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv31–32 Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing--A…
Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing--A new agreement was made, the substance of which was, that he was to receive remuneration in the usual way, but on certain conditions which Jacob specified.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv32–33 32. Brown cattle among the sheep… spotted and speckled…
32. Brown cattle among the sheep… spotted and speckled among the goats — The Syrian sheep are said to be usually all white, and the goats black or brown. This seems to have been the case with Laban’s flocks, so that Jacob’s proposition would leave Laban with by far the larger proportion of the flocks and their probable increase.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv32–33 32. I will pass, &c.] Jacob’s proposal to Laban…
32. I will pass, &c.] Jacob’s proposal to Laban is that he should serve for a wage, to be given, not in money, but in animals. The sheep in Syria are nearly always white, and the goats black; cf. Son_4:1. Jacob asks that his wage should consist of the sheep that were not white and the goats that were not black. Laban’s flocks would be, according to this arrangement, the great mass of the animals. To Jacob’s share would fall the exceptions, the spotted and black among the sheep, the spotted and speckled among the goats.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v32 (32) The speckled and spotted cattle (sheep).—In the East…
(32) The speckled and spotted cattle (sheep).—In the East sheep are generally white, and goats black or brown. Jacob, therefore, proposes that all such shall belong to Laban, but that the parti-coloured should be his hire. By “speckled” are meant those sheep and goats that had small spots upon their coats, and by “spotted,” those that had large patches of another colour. Besides these, Jacob is to have all “brown cattle,” that is, sheep, for the word “cattle” is usually now confined to kine, which was not the case 200 years ago. This translation is taken from Rashi, but the word usually signifies black. Philippsohn says that black sheep are seldom seen in the East, but that sheep of a blackish-red colour are common. In Gen_30:35 we have another word, “ring-straked,” that is, having the colours in stripes. This is never the case with sheep, but goats often have their coats thus definitely marked.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv31–34 And he (Laban, unwilling to part with so profitable…
And he (Laban, unwilling to part with so profitable an assistant) said, What shall I give thee? He was apparently prepared to detain Jacob at his own terms. And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me anything. Jacob did not design to serve Laban gratuitously, but chose rather to trust God than Laban for recompense (Wordsworth, Gosman in Lange); or he may have meant that he would have no wages of Laban"s setting, but only of his own proposing (Hughes). If thou wilt do this thing for me (accede to this stipulation), I will again feed and keep thy flock literally, I will turn, I will tend thy flock, I will keep (sc. 2).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv31, 33 What will I pay you
What will I pay you
"What can I pay you" or "What can I give you." This can be made more explicit. AT: "What can I pay you so that you stay and work for me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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If you will do this thing for me
The connecting word "But" can be used at the beginning to show that what Jacob is about to say contrasts with what he just said. AT: "But if you will do this thing for me" (See: Connecting Words)
this thing
The phrase "this thing" refers to what Jacob will propose in verse 32.
feed your flock and keep it
"feed and take care of your flock"
removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats
"and remove every sheep with spots, every black sheep, and every goat with spots"
These will be my wages
"This will be the cost of keeping me here"
translationWords
flocks
ewe
goat
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv32, 34 30:32 As Abraham had done with Lot (13:9), Jacob…
30:32 As Abraham had done with Lot (13:9), Jacob gave Laban what he valued most. White sheep were more common and more valuable than dark or multicolored sheep; as a man of faith, Jacob was willing to take the rejects (cp. 1 Cor 1:26).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.