(Genesis 30:25 - 31:18)
At about the time that Joseph was born, Jacob spoke to his father-in-law Laban: "Let me go so I may return to my native country, my own land, along with my wives and children, for whose benefit I have toiled for you. Release me from your employ. You are surely aware of the good service I have done for you."
Laban replied, "Please remain with me -- if I am worthy of your loyalty -- for I have learned from divinations that I have been blessed by Jehovah because of you. Name the wages you want me to give you."
Jacob responded, "You know how hard I have worked for you, how well I have tended your flocks. You had very little before I came and now you have much, for Jehovah has blessed you since I came. But now I must start thinking about providing for my own family."
"What can I give you?" Laban asked.
"You needn't give me anything, if you will do this one thing for me, after which I will continue to manage your livestock. I will go through the flocks today and set aside the speckled, spotted, and mottled goats and all the black sheep: they will be my property in lieu of wages. When the time comes for an accounting of what you owe me, my good faith will be readily shown, for if you find me having in my possession any goat that is not spotted, speckled, or mottled or any sheep that is not black, then you may call me a thief.
"Very well," replied Laban, "let it be as you say."
On that very day, however, Laban removed from his flock all the billy goats and nanny goats that were of more than one color (any one that had white in its coat) and the ewes and rams that were dark in color. He had his sons take charge of them and graze them three days journey away from where his son-in-law herded the rest of his flocks.
Jacob took green branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and stripped some of the bark off them so that the white underneath would show, creating a two-toned pattern on the branches. He then placed them near the water trough where the flocks came to drink. In that way, the animals would see the partly stripped branches when they mated. It therefore happened that the females, after seeing the two-toned branches while in heat, gave birth to young that were two-toned. Jacob separated the young animals, keeping for himself the goat kids that were speckled, spotted, or mottled, and lambs that were black and segregating them from Laban's livestock.
Early in the mating season, Jacob set up the two-toned branches before the water trough so that the animals would mate in the presence of the branches. However, later in the season, he would remove the branches. Thus, the stronger animals, born early in the season, belonged to Jacob, while the feebler ones, born later, belonged to Laban.
Jacob grew very wealthy, possessing many servants, and flocks and herds of livestock, as well as donkeys and camels.
"Jacob has greatly enriched himself, but at the expense of our father," claimed Laban's sons.
Jacob heard these words and noticed that Laban was not as well disposed to him as he was formerly. And, more importantly, Jehovah was bidding him "Return to the land of your fathers and your family, and I will protect you." Therefore, Jacob called his wives Rachel and Leah into the fields where he was tending his flocks. He told them, "I see your father is not as well disposed to me of late as before. Also, the god of my father has communicated with me. --- You know that I have served your father to the utmost of my ability. But your father has played mind games with me, changing my wages a dozen times. Yet, Jehovah has not allowed him to do me any real harm. If he said, 'The speckled animals are your wages, then all the animals gave birth to speckled young.' But when he said, 'You may take for your wages all the white ones, then the flocks gave birth to young that were white.' Jehovah has taken the livestock away from your father and given them to me! When it was time for the livestock to conceive, I saw this vision in a dream: I saw males mounting females, and the males were all multi-colored, speckled, spotted, and mottled. The voice of Jehovah called to me in my sleep, "Jacob!," and I answered, 'Here I am.' The voice told me, 'Look, observe that the males mounting the females are all speckled, spotted, and mottled. --- I have seen everything Laban has done to you. I am the god who was present at Bethel, where you anointed the stone and made your vow. It is time for you to move on, to leave this land and return to your native country.'"
Rachel and Leah replied, "Is there any inheritance we can claim from our father? Are we not estranged from him? Did he not sell us and squander the money we brought him? All the wealth that Jehovah has taken from him, has been given to us and to our children. Therefore, whatever Jehovah asks you to do, do it!"
Without delay, Jacob put his wives and children on the backs of camels. He collected all the possessions he had, his flocks, and everything he had acquired in Aram, and set off to the land of Canaan where his father Isaac lived.
Notes
1. The concept of honesty and fair dealings does not seem to very prevalent during these times. Cheating one another is the order of the day. Jacob cheats his brother out of his inheritance and paternal blessing. Laban cheats Jacob out of his promised bride and now cheats him out of livestock. Jacob, in payment for his services, is entitled to claim all the goats of the herd that are speckled, spotted, or mottled (most goats of that time and place were of a single color) and sheep that are not uniformly white. It was a fair bargain, but Laban, a deceitful phony, is not satisfied unless he can bilk his son-in-law to the max. Before Jacob can take the livestock that belong to him, he removes the multi-colored animals and has his sons take them far away so Jacob can't find them. Jacob, in retaliation, not only finds a way to make the goats give birth to speckled, spotted, and mottled kids and the sheep, black lambs, but also a way of leaving Laban with the weakest animals. (Later he wonders why Laban and his sons no longer think he's a great guy.)
2. It should be mentioned that the text describing Jacob's deal with Laban and his trick with the branches is rather muddled, both in Hebrew and Latin, if not in most English translations. I have made some judicious paraphrasing for clarity's sake.
3. That nanny goats will produce spotted offspring after they have looked at a branch with the bark partly stripped off during mating sounds like an absurd and quaint piece of folklore. Genetics, of course, was unheard of at this time, but one would think a more sophisticated knowledge of animal husbandry would be possessed by so experienced and successful a herder as Jacob. Naturally, it is all explained as it being a miracle, by Jehovah's making it happen. But if Jehovah were God, why couldn't he just do it without the stupid rigmarole with the stripped branches?
No comments:
Post a Comment