Genesis 32:14
in Genesis 32200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
KJV
Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
⋯
This verse in Genesis 32
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTwo hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams. And it seems this proportion of one he goat to ten she goats, and of one ram to ten ewes, is a proper one, and what has been so judged in other times and countries (x). (x) Varro de rustica, l. 2. c. 3. apud Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 43. col. 439. &c. 53. col. 648.
This site's exposition
a gift for his brother Esau
on Genesis 32:13-15
The gift is counted out animal by animal, and it opens with 200 female goats and 20 male goats. Jacob had taken the blessing at Genesis 27 wearing the skins of two young goats and carrying a dish cooked from them. Clarke reads the whole drove as restitution for the wrong done to his brother. Henry notes that the man prayed first and then used means.
This site's exposition
200 female goats, 20 male goats
The males stand at one to ten against the females, the proportion a herdsman keeps for breeding. Jacob sends Esau a herd that will multiply. His skill with breeding flocks was learned in Laban's pastures, as chapter 30 records.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It was a present that he thought would be acceptable to Esau, who had traded so much in hunting wild beasts that perhaps he was but ill furnished with tame cattle with which to stock his new conquests.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
took . . . a present for Esau--Jacob combined active exertions with earnest prayer; and this teaches us that we must not depend upon the aid and interposition of God in such a way as to supersede the exercise of prudence and foresight. Superiors are always approached with presents, and the respect expressed is estimated by the quality and amount of the gift.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Two hundred she-goats, etc. - This was a princely present, and such as was sufficient to have compensated Esau for any kind of temporal loss he might have sustained in being deprived of his birthright and blessing.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
I WILL SURELY DO THEE GOOD. Even though he was afraid lest the sin cause him to lose that which he was promised, Jacob said: “You have done great kindnesses for me even though I was unworthy of them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עִזִּ֣ים | ʾizim | female goats | H5795 → | 74 times |
| מָאתַ֔יִם | matayim | two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וּתְיָשִׁ֖ים | uteyashim | and male goats | H8495 → | |
| עֶשְׂרִ֑ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| רְחֵלִ֥ים | rechelim | ewes | H7353 → | |
| מָאתַ֖יִם | matayim | two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וְאֵילִ֥ים | veeilim | and rams | H352 → | 187 times |
| עֶשְׂרִֽים׃ | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
עִזִּ֣יםfemale goats
ʾizimH5795 →74 times
מָאתַ֔יִםtwo hundred
matayimH3967 →581 times
וּתְיָשִׁ֖יםand male goats
uteyashimH8495 →
עֶשְׂרִ֑יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
רְחֵלִ֥יםewes
rechelimH7353 →
מָאתַ֖יִםtwo hundred
matayimH3967 →581 times
וְאֵילִ֥יםand rams
veeilimH352 →187 times
עֶשְׂרִֽים׃twenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 8:18But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 2:8
For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal.
- Deuteronomy 7:8
But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand…
- Psalms 127:1–2
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
- Deuteronomy 7:12
If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers.
- Proverbs 10:22
Through
Job 42:12So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
it leads to
- Job 8:7
Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.
- Ecclesiastes 7:8
The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
- Genesis 24:35
“The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys.
- Job 8:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.