Genesis 30:32

30:32 Let me walk among ¹  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ²  and the spotted or speckled goats. ³  These animals will be my wages. ⁴ 

Genesis 31:8

31:8 If he said, ⁵  ‘The speckled animals ⁶  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring.

Genesis 30:39

30:39 When the sheep mated ⁷  in front of the branches, they ⁸  gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.

Genesis 31:10

31:10 “Once ⁹  during breeding season I saw ¹⁰  in a dream that the male goats mating with ¹¹  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

Genesis 31:12

31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ¹²  that all the male goats mating with ¹³  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you.

Genesis 30:33

30:33 My integrity will testify for me ¹⁴  later on. ¹⁵  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ¹⁶  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ¹⁷ 

Genesis 30:35

30:35 So that day Laban ¹⁸  removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care ¹⁹  of his sons.

---

¹ tn Heb “pass through.”

² tn Or “every black lamb”; Heb “and every dark sheep among the lambs.”

³ tn Heb “and the spotted and speckled among the goats.”

⁴ tn Heb “and it will be my wage.” The referent collective singular pronoun (“it) has been specified as “these animals” in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn In the protasis (“if” section) of this conditional clause, the imperfect verbal form has a customary nuance – whatever he would say worked to Jacob’s benefit.

⁶ tn Heb “speckled” (twice this verse). The word “animals” (after the first occurrence of “speckled”) and “offspring” (after the second) have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. The same two terms (“animals” and “offspring”) have been supplied after the two occurrences of “streaked” later in this verse.

⁷ tn The Hebrew verb used here can mean “to be in heat” (see v. 38) or “to mate; to conceive; to become pregnant.” The latter nuance makes better sense in this verse, for the next clause describes them giving birth.

⁸ tn Heb “the sheep.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁹ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator, “and it happened at the time of.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “in the time of the breeding of the flock I lifted up my eyes and I saw.”

¹¹ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

¹² tn Heb “lift up (now) your eyes and see.”

¹³ tn Heb “going up on,” that is, mounting for intercourse.

¹⁴ tn Heb “will answer on my behalf.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “on the following day,” or “tomorrow.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “when you come concerning my wage before you.”

sn Only the wage we agreed on. Jacob would have to be considered completely honest here, for he would have no control over the kind of animals born; and there could be no disagreement over which animals were his wages.

¹⁷ tn Heb “every one which is not speckled and spotted among the lambs and dark among the goats, stolen it is with me.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Heb “and he gave [them] into the hand.”