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Genesis 30:38

in Genesis 30

Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

KJV

And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

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This verse in Genesis 30

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Cyril of Alexandria

GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.4 · Written before 444.

But where did Jacob place his rods? In the troughs of water. And these troughs, in which the reasonable herd, that is we, go to water, must be interpreted as the writings of Moses and the prophetical predictions that nearly burst forth for us like a heavenly sermon from God. In fact, it was written, "You draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation." And there we will find the Immanuel, the rod of power.

This site's exposition

fresh branches of poplar

on Genesis 30:37-39

Jacob peels white stripes into branches and sets them in the watering troughs where the flocks breed. At 31:10 to 12 Jacob credits an angel and a dream. Ambrose and Cyril of Alexandria read the peeled branches at the troughs as a figure of the Scriptures the flock drinks from.

This site's exposition

set the peeled branches in the watering troughs

Jacob sets the peeled branches where the animals drink and breed. Adam Clarke reports the old belief that what a female sees when she conceives marks her young, a belief he said reason had never explained. Clarke still counted the result among the strange things in this chapter.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Probably this custom was commonly used by the shepherds of Canaan, who coveted to have their cattle of this motley colour. Note, It becomes a man to be master of his trade, whatever it is, and to be not only industrious, but ingenious in it, and to be versed in all its lawful arts and mysteries; for what is a man but his trade?

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks - It has long been an opinion that whatever makes a strong impression on the mind of a female in the time of conception and gestation, will have a corresponding influence on the mind or body of the fetus. This opinion is not yet rationally accounted for.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיַּצֵּ֗גand he placed

    vaiyatzegH3322 →16 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַמַּקְלוֹת֙the branches

    hamaklotH4731 →18 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • פִּצֵּ֔לhe had stripped

    pitzelH6478 →

  • בָּרֳהָטִ֖יםin the drinking troughs

    borohatimH7298 →

  • בְּשִֽׁקֲת֣וֹתin [the] watering channels of

    beshikatotH8268 →

  • הַמָּ֑יִם<the> water

    hamayimH4325 →581 times

  • אֲשֶׁר֩which

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • תָּבֹ֨אןָthey came

    tavonaH935 →2568 times

  • הַצֹּ֤אןthe flock

    hatzonH6629 →274 times

  • לִשְׁתּוֹת֙to drink

    lishtotH8354 →217 times

  • לְנֹ֣כַחto before

    lenokhachH5227 →

  • הַצֹּ֔אןthe flock

    hatzonH6629 →274 times

  • וַיֵּחַ֖מְנָהand they mated

    vaiyechamnahH3179 →6 times

  • בְּבֹאָ֥ןwhen came they

    bevoanH935 →2568 times

  • לִשְׁתּֽוֹת׃to drink

    lishtotH8354 →217 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 30 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Jacob and the Blessed Life; Cyril of Alexandria, GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 5.4; Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra on Genesis; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 30 →