Genesis 30:42
in Genesis 30But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but when the flock were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
KJV
But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
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This verse in Genesis 30
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in,.... Or "when covered", as Menachem, that is, with wool, and so not so desirous of copulation with the males, nor so fit and strong for generation; and therefore he put not in the rods into the gutters, partly that he might have none feeble in his flock, and partly that he might not spoil Laban of his whole flock, strong and weak: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's; not only his flocks became more numerous than Laban's, but were a better quality.
This site's exposition
Then he set his own stock apart
on Genesis 30:40-42
Jacob sets his own stock apart from Laban's animals, putting the branches out for the stronger females and keeping them back when the animals are weak. So the weaker went to Laban and the stronger to Jacob. At 31:9 Jacob says God took the livestock from Laban and gave them to him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Ver. 41 and 42.) And the flocks conceived against the rods that Jacob had set before the flocks in the gutters, so that they conceived by the rods; but the sheep that were weak, he did not put the rods. And Laban's flocks were weak, but Jacob's were strong and healthy. This is not found in the Septuagint Interpreters, but instead of the weak and healthy ones, they translated something else, I don't know what, which does not make sense. But what the Scripture says is this: Jacob, wise and clever, observed justice and fairness even in a new way.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְהַעֲטִ֥יף | uvehaatif | and when was feeble | H5848 → | |
| הַצֹּ֖אן | hatzon | the sheep | H6629 → | 274 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָשִׂ֑ים | yasim | he put [them] out | H7760 → | 584 times |
| וְהָיָ֤ה | vehayah | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הָעֲטֻפִים֙ | haatufim | the enfeebled ones | H5848 → | |
| לְלָבָ֔ן | lelavan | [belonged] to Laban | H3837 → | 55 times |
| וְהַקְּשֻׁרִ֖ים | vehakeshurim | and the vigorous [ones] | H7194 → | 44 times |
| לְיַעֲקֹֽב׃ | leyaako | [belonged] to Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
וּבְהַעֲטִ֥יףand when was feeble
uvehaatifH5848 →
הַצֹּ֖אןthe sheep
hatzonH6629 →274 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָשִׂ֑יםhe put [them] out
yasimH7760 →584 times
וְהָיָ֤הand it was
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
הָעֲטֻפִים֙the enfeebled ones
haatufimH5848 →
לְלָבָ֔ן[belonged] to Laban
lelavanH3837 →55 times
וְהַקְּשֻׁרִ֖יםand the vigorous [ones]
vehakeshurimH7194 →44 times
לְיַעֲקֹֽב׃[belonged] to Jacob
leyaakoH3290 →350 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.