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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Genesis 30:29

Jacob answered, "You know that I have worked hard for you, and your flocks have grown while I cared for them.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Contracts;   Laban;   Rachel;   Servant;   Wages;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Servants;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Jacob;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Shepherd;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Israel;   Tribes of Israel;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Laban ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Benjamin;   Laban;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Canaan (2);   Smith Bible Dictionary - Shepherd;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Fare;   How;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.
King James Version
And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
Lexham English Bible
Then he said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have been with me.
New English Translation
"You know how I have worked for you," Jacob replied, "and how well your livestock have fared under my care.
Amplified Bible
Jacob answered him, "You know how I have served you and how your possessions, your cattle and sheep and goats, have fared with me.
New American Standard Bible
But Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have fared with me.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But he sayd vnto him, Thou knowest, what seruice I haue done thee, and in what taking thy cattell hath bene vnder me.
Legacy Standard Bible
But he said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have fared with me.
Contemporary English Version
Jacob answered: You've seen how hard I've worked for you, and you know how your flocks and herds have grown under my care.
Complete Jewish Bible
Ya‘akov replied, "You know how faithfully I have served you and how your livestock have prospered under my care.
Darby Translation
And he said to him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and what thy cattle has become with me.
Easy-to-Read Version
Jacob answered, "You know that I have worked hard for you. Your flocks have grown and been well while I cared for them.
English Standard Version
Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me.
George Lamsa Translation
And Jacob said to him, You yourself know the service which I have given you, and how your cattle have prospered with me.
Good News Translation
Jacob answered, "You know how I have worked for you and how your flocks have prospered under my care.
Christian Standard Bible®
So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.
Literal Translation
And he said to him, You know how I have served you and what your livestock has become with me.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But he saide vnto him: Thou knowest how I haue serued the, and what maner of catell thou hast vnder me.
American Standard Version
And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle have fared with me.
Bible in Basic English
Then Jacob said, You have seen what I have done for you, and how your cattle have done well under my care.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But he saide vnto him: Thou knowest what seruice I haue done thee, and in what takyng thy cattell haue ben vnder me:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said unto him: 'Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle have fared with me.
King James Version (1611)
And hee said vnto him, Thou knowest how I haue serued thee, and how thy cattell was with me.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Jacob said, Thou knowest in what things I have served thee, and how many cattle of thine are with me.
English Revised Version
And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle hath fared with me.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Jacob answered, "You know how I have served you and how your livestock has thrived under my care.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he answeride, Thou woost hou Y seruede thee, and hou greet thi possessioun was in myn hondis;
Young's Literal Translation
And he saith unto him, `Thou -- thou hast known that which I have served thee [in], and that which thy substance was with me;
Update Bible Version
And he said to him, You know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he said to him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle were with me.
World English Bible
He said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.
New King James Version
So Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.
New Living Translation
Jacob replied, "You know how hard I've worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care.
New Life Bible
Jacob said to him, "You know how much I have served you and how I have cared for your cattle.
New Revised Standard
Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said unto him, Thou, knowest how I have served thee, - and how thy cattle have fared, with me.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands.
Revised Standard Version
Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me.
THE MESSAGE
Jacob replied, "You know well what my work has meant to you and how your livestock has flourished under my care. The little you had when I arrived has increased greatly; everything I did resulted in blessings for you. Isn't it about time that I do something for my own family?"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But he said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me.

Contextual Overview

25 After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Now let me go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children and let me go. I have earned them by working for you, and you know that I have served you well." 27 Laban said to him, "If I have pleased you, please stay. I know the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me what I should pay you, and I will give it to you." 29 Jacob answered, "You know that I have worked hard for you, and your flocks have grown while I cared for them. 30 When I came, you had little, but now you have much. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. But when will I be able to do something for my own family?" 31 Laban asked, "Then what should I give you?" Jacob answered, "I don't want you to give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I will come back and take care of your flocks. 32 Today let me go through all your flocks. I will take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. That will be my pay. 33 In the future you can easily see if I am honest. When you come to look at my flocks, if I have any goat that isn't speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn't black, you will know I stole it." 34 Laban answered, "Agreed! We will do what you ask."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Genesis 30:5, Genesis 31:6, Genesis 31:38-40, Matthew 24:45, Ephesians 6:5-8, Colossians 3:22-25, Titus 2:9, Titus 2:10, 1 Peter 2:15, 1 Peter 2:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:2 - And Abel Genesis 30:26 - for thou Psalms 144:13 - our sheep

Cross-References

Genesis 30:5
She became pregnant and gave Jacob a son.
Genesis 30:8
Rachel said, "I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won." So she named that son Naphtali.
Genesis 30:9
Leah saw that she had stopped having children, so she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.
Genesis 30:10
When Zilpah had a son,
Genesis 30:22
Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer, making it possible for her to have children.
Genesis 30:25
After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Now let me go to my own home and country.
Genesis 30:38
He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated there,
Genesis 30:40
Jacob separated the young animals from the others, and he made them face the streaked and dark animals in Laban's flock. Jacob kept his animals separate from Laban's.
Genesis 31:6
You both know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father,
Matthew 24:45
"Who is the wise and loyal servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said unto him,.... Jacob to Laban,

thou knowest that I have served thee; not only diligently and faithfully, without any salary, excepting for his wives; otherwise he had no wages for his service all this time, which therefore should be considered for the future:

and how thy cattle was with me: always under his care, and he ever watchful of them; spent all his time and labour with them, and had no opportunity of getting anything for himself.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob’s Family and Wealth

6. דן dān, Dan, “judge, lord.”

8. נפתלי naptālı̂y, Naphtali, “wrestling.”

11. גד gād, Gad, “overcoming, victory.” בגד bāgād, “in victory or” =גד בא bā' gād, “victory cometh.” גוּד gûd, “press down.” גדוּד gedûd, “troop.”

13. אשׁר 'ǎashēr, Asher, “prosperity, happiness.”

18. ישׂשכר yı̂śāskār, Jissakar, “reward.” The second Hebrew letter (ש s) seems to have been merely a full mode of writing the word, instead of the abbreviated form ישׂכר yı̂śākār.

20. זבלוּן zebulûn, Zebulun, “dwelling.” There is here a play upon the two words זבד zābad, “to endow” and זבל zābal, “to dwell,” the latter of which, however, prevails in the name. They occur only here as verbs.

21. דינה dı̂ynâh, Dinah, “judgment.”

24. יסף yôsêph, Joseph, “he shall add.” There is, however, an obvious allusion to the thought. “God hath taken away (אסף 'āsap) my reproach.” Double references, we find, are usual in the giving of names (see Genesis 25:30).

This chapter is the continuation of the former, and completes the history of Jacob in Haran. The event immediately following probably took place after Leah had borne two of her sons, though not admitted into the narrative until she had paused for a short time.

Genesis 30:1-8

Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, bears two sons. Rachel becomes impatient of her barrenness and jealous of her sister, and unjustly reproaches her husband, who indignantly rebukes her. God, not he, has withheld children from her. She does what Sarah had done before her Genesis 16:2-3, gives her handmaid to her husband. No express law yet forbade this course, though nature and Scripture by implication did Genesis 2:23-25. “Dan.” “God hath judged me.” In this passage Jacob and Rachel use the common noun, God, the Everlasting, and therefore Almighty, who rules in the physical relations of things - a name suitable to the occasion. He had judged her, dealt with her according to his sovereign justice in withholding the fruit of the womb, when she was self-complacent and forgetful of her dependence on a higher power; and also in hearing her voice when she approached him in humble supplication. “Naphtali.” “Wrestlings of God,” with God, in prayer, on the part of both sisters, so that they wrestled with one another in the self-same act. Rachel, though looking first to Jacob and then to her maid, had at length learned to look to her God, and then had prevailed.

Genesis 30:9-13

Leah having stayed from bearing, resorts to the same expedient. Her fourth son was seemingly born in the fourth year of Jacob’s marriage. Bearing her first four sons so rapidly, she would the sooner observe the temporary cessation. After the interval of a year she may have given Zilpah to Jacob. “Gad.” “Victory cometh.” She too claims a victory. “Asher.” Daughters will pronounce her happy who is so rich in sons. Leah is seemingly conscious that she is here pursuing a device of her own heart; and hence there is no explicit reference to the divine name or influence in the naming of the two sons of her maid.

Genesis 30:14-21

“Reuben” was at this time four or five years of age, as it is probable that Leah began to bear again before Zilpah had her second son. “Mandrakes” - the fruit of the “mandragora vernaIis,” which is to this day supposed to promote fruitfulness of the womb. Rachel therefore desires to partake of them, and obtains them by a compact with Leah. Leah betakes herself to prayer, and bears a fifth son. She calls him “Issakar,” with a double allusion. She had hired her husband with the mandrakes, and had received this son as her hire for giving her maid to her husband; which she regards as an act of generosity or self-denial. “Zebulun.” Here Leah confesses, “God hath endowed me with a good dowry.” She speaks now like Rachel of the God of nature. The cherished thought that her husband will dwell with her who is the mother of six sons takes form in the name. “Dinah” is the only daughter of Jacob mentioned Genesis 46:7, and that on account of her subsequent connection with the history of Jacob Genesis 34:0. Issakar appears to have been born in the sixth year after Jacob’s marriage, Zebulun in the seventh, and Dinah in the eighth.

Genesis 30:22-24

“God remembered Rachel,” in the best time for her, after he had taught her the lessons of dependence and patience. “Joseph.” There is a remote allusion to her gratitude for the reproach of barrenness taken away. But there is also hope in the name. The selfish feeling also has died away, and the thankful Rachel rises from Elohim, the invisible Eternal, to Yahweh, the manifest Self-existent. The birth of Joseph was after the fourteen years of service were completed. He and Dinah appear to have been born in the same year.

Genesis 30:25-36

Jacob enters into a new contract of service with Laban. “When Rachel had borne Joseph.” Jacob cannot ask his dismissal until the twice seven years of service were completed. Hence, the birth of Joseph, which is the date of his request, took place at the earliest in the fifteenth year of his sojourn with Laban. Jacob now wishes to return home, from which he had been detained so long by serving for Rachel. He no doubt expects of Laban the means at least of accomplishing his journey. Laban is loath to part with him. “I have divined” - I have been an attentive observer. The result of his observation is expressed in the following words. “Appoint.” Laban offers to leave the fixing of the hire to Jacob. “Thy hire upon me,” which I will take upon me as binding. Jacob touches upon the value of his services, perhaps with the tacit feeling that Laban in equity owed him at least the means of returning to his home. “Brake forth” - increased. “At my foot” - under my guidance and tending of thy flocks.

“Do” - provide. “Thou shalt not give me anything.” This shows that Jacob had no stock from Laban to begin with. “I will pass through all thy flock today” with thee. “Remove thou thence every speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats.” These were the rare colors, as in the East the sheep are usually white, and the goats black or dark brown. “And such shall be my hire.” Such as these uncommon party-colored cattle, when they shall appear among the flock already cleared of them; and not those of this description that are now removed. For in this case Laban would have given Jacob something; whereas Jacob was resolved to be entirely dependent on the divine providence for his hire. “And my righteousness will answer for me.” The color will determine at once whose the animal is. Laban willingly consents to so favorable a proposal, removes the party-colored animals from the flock, gives them into the hands of his sons, and puts an interval of three days’ journey between them and the pure stock which remains in Jacob’s hands. Jacob is now to begin with nothing, and have for his hire any party-colored lambs or kids that appear in those flocks, from which every specimen of this rare class has been carefully removed.

Genesis 30:37-43

Jacob devises means to provide himself with a flock in these unfavorable circumstances. His first device is to place party-colored rods before the eyes of the cattle at the rutting season, that they might drop lambs and kids varied with speckles, patches, or streaks of white. He had learned from experience that there is a congruence between the colors of the objects contemplated by the dams at that season and those of their young. At all events they bare many straked, speckled, and spotted lambs and kids. He now separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flock toward the young of the rare colors, doubtless to affect them in the same way as the pilled rods. “Put his own folds by themselves.” These are the party-colored cattle that from time to time appeared in the flock of Laban. In order to secure the stronger cattle, Jacob added the second device of employing the party-colored rods only when the strong cattle conceived. The sheep in the East lamb twice a year, and it is supposed that the lambs dropped in autumn are stronger than those dropped in the spring. On this supposition Jacob used his artifice in the spring, and not in the autumn. It is probable, however, that he made his experiments on the healthy and vigorous cattle, without reference to the season of the year. The result is here stated. “The man brake forth exceedingly” - became rapidly rich in hands and cattle.

It is obvious that the preceding and present chapters form one continuous piece of composition; as otherwise we have no account of the whole family of Jacob from one author. But the names אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym and יהוה yehovâh are both employed in the piece, and, hence, their presence and interchange cannot indicate diversity of authorship.


 
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