Genesis 30:38

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 30:38 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 30:38

And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks,
&c.] Opposite them, in the view of them: in the gutters in the watering troughs, when the flocks came to
drink;
that is, in places of water, where troughs or vessels were made, into which the water ran convenient for the cattle to drink out of; and here he placed his party coloured rods right over against the flocks: that they should conceive when they came to drink;
as it was most likely they should when they were together at the water, and had refreshed themselves with it; and being "heated" ^F17, as the word signifies, with a desire of copulation, might conceive in sight of the above rods; which were set to move upon their imagination at the time of their conception, in order to produce cattle of different colours; to which no doubt he was directed of God, and it had, through his blessing, the wished for success, as follows:

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (hnmxy) "incalescebant", Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius; "ut incalescerent", Junius & Tremellius.

Genesis 30:38 In-Context

36 Then he took these animals to a place that was three days' journey away from Jacob. Jacob took care of all the flocks that were left.

37 So Jacob cut green branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them.

38 He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated there,

39 so the flocks mated in front of the branches. Then the young that were born were streaked, speckled, or spotted.

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.