Study Desk

Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "^(o)Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country.

Give me my wives and my children ^(p)for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have ^[n]rendered you."

But Laban said to him, "If now ^[o]it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined ^(q)that the Lord has blessed me on your account."

He ^[p]continued, "^(r)Name me your wages, and I will give it."

But he said to him, "^(s)You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have ^[q]fared with me.

For you had little before ^[r]I came and it has ^[s]increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you ^[t]wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?"

So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:

let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every ^(t)speckled and spotted sheep and every black ^[u]one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.

So my ^[v]honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my ^[w]wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen."

Laban said, "^[x]Good, let it be according to your word."

So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the ^[y]care of his sons.

And he put a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

Then Jacob ^[z]took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was ^[aa]in the rods.

He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they ^[ab]mated when they came to drink.

So the flocks ^[ac]mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.

Jacob separated the lambs, and ^[ad]made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban's flock.

Moreover, whenever the ^[ae]stronger of the flock ^[af]were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might ^[ag]mate by the rods;

but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the ^[ah]stronger Jacob's.

So ^(u)the man ^[ai]became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.