Interpolated Translation for Parshah Vayeitzei

Jacob's Dream

28:10 Jacob left Beersheba. While he was living there, Jacob's righteous conduct inspired the inhabitants of the city to behave properly and made them feel ashamed to behave improperly. Thus, his departure left a palpable vacuum, and the inhabitants felt that their city had lost its most valuable asset.1

After Jacob left, Esau sent his son Eliphaz to kill him. Eliphaz pursued Jacob and caught up with him, but was then faced with a dilemma: on the one hand, he was duty-bound to obey his father's command to kill Jacob; on the other hand, because he had been raised by his righteous grandfather, Isaac, his conscience got the better of him and he could not bring himself to kill his uncle Jacob. So he decided to ask Jacob himself what he should do. In response, Jacob gave Eliphaz all his possessions, pointing out to him that the Torah views a poor person as dead because he lacks resources with which to influence other people.2 Eliphaz could now therefore tell his father that he had indeed left Jacob "dead."3

Aware of the challenges awaiting him in Charan, Jacob realized that he needed to prepare himself spiritually before going there. He therefore returned to the academy of Ever (Shem had already died by then), studying there assiduously for the next fourteen years (2171-2185). He then finally set out for Charan. When he arrived, he realized that he had unwittingly passed Mount Moriah, where his father and grandfather had prayed, without praying there himself. In order to rectify this apparent affront to his forebears' conduct, he turned around and retraced his steps in the direction of Mount Moriah. When he reached Bethel, God miraculously uprooted Mount Moriah and set it down in Bethel.

11 Thus, Jacob unknowingly came upon the place, Mount Moriah, where his father had been bound and nearly sacrificed. Although it was still daylight when he arrived, God made the sun set early in order to force him to spend the night. Once it became dark, Jacob prayed to God, for in addition to following his father's custom of praying every afternoon and his grandfather's custom of praying every morning,4 he had instituted the practice of praying every night, as well. Thus, although he had not originally planned on doing so, he spent the night there, on Mount Moriah, because the sun had set. In order to protect himself from wild animals, he took some of the stones of that place and placed them around his body5 and head. When he took another stone to use as a pillow, the stones he had placed around his head protested, each demanding the honor of serving as Jacob's pillow, so God miraculously transformed them into one stone.6 Jacob lay down in that place to sleep. This was the first time in fourteen years that he actually lay down to sleep, for during his stay in Ever's academy, he had made it a point to continue studying into the night, only taking short naps as necessary.

12 He had a dream: he beheld a ladder standing firmly on the ground and sloping diagonally upward, its top reaching up toward heaven: its base rested in Beersheba and its top was above Bethel; thus, the original, natural location of Mount Moriah was beneath a point in between the two extremes of the ladder.7 Upon it, behold, the angels of God who had accompanied him on his trip thus far were ascending back toward heaven, for they were not permitted to leave the Land of Israel, and other angels, who were designated to accompany him while he was outside the Land of Israel, were descending.

13 And behold, God was standing over him, to guard him during his sojourn in Charan. He said, "I am God, God of Abraham your forebear, and God of Isaac." God does not usually refer to Himself as "the God of" a living person since that person might commit a sin at any time, and thereafter God would not want to be associated with him. However, in Isaac's case, since his seriously-impaired eyesight rendered him unsusceptible to the world's temptations,8 God did not hesitate to refer to Himself as Isaac's God. He miraculously contracted the entire Land of Israel into the four square cubits under Jacob's body, and told him, "I will give the land upon which you are lying to you and your descendants. It will be as easy for them to conquer it from its inhabitants as it is for a person to control the four square cubits occupied by his own body.9

14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out powerfully to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south, and all the families on earth will be blessed through you and through your descendants.

15 Behold, you do not need to fear Esau or Laban, for I am with you, I will protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land, for I will not neglect you by not providing you with food and clothing10 until I have fulfilled what I have promised Abraham concerning you. For I intend to fulfill all the promises I made to Abraham through you and not through your brother Esau,11 including My promise that Abraham's children will all remain true to their heritage. Esau's inheritance from Abraham will consist solely of the territory promised him.12

16 Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "God is truly present in this place, yet I was not aware of it. Had I known that this was a holy place, I would not have slept here."

17 He became afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than Mount Moriah, the future site of the House of God.13 And thus, this is the gateway through which prayer ascends to heaven, passing through the heavenly Temple, which is figuratively situated 'above' the site of the physical Temple," meaning that the site of the future Temple is the earthly locale most receptive to the spiritual consciousness of the higher worlds.

18 Jacob rose early in the morning, took the semicircular stone that he had placed under his head, and set it up as a monument. He then poured oil on the top of it, consecrating it as an altar.14

19 This place was already known as Bethel, but in light of the revelation he had just received, Jacob ratified this name. He named that place again Bethel ["House of God"], although the original name of the town was Luz.

20 Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me; and will protect me physically on this journey that I am undertaking; and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear;

21 and will protect me spiritually from Laban's evil influence so that I will be able to return to my father's house untainted by sin; and if God will be both my God and the God of the children I will father in Laban's house, in that they all remain true to their heritage and not rebel as did some of my grandfather Abraham's and one of my father Isaac's children—as He has promised me all this15—

22 then this stone that I have set up as a monument will become a house of God. I will offer up sacrifices on it. And," addressing God directly, he said, "I will set aside a tenth for You of everything that You give me, as my forebears did."16

Jacob Arrives in Charan

Second Reading 29:1 God's explicit promise of protection dispelled Jacob's previous feelings of apprehensiveness and trepidation. Light of foot, Jacob enthusiastically and optimistically set out for the land of the people of the east (see Figure 28). When he reached the bank of the Jordan River, he put his staff into the water, causing it to miraculously split for him and allowing him to cross over to the opposite bank.17

2 When he reached Aram Naharayim, he looked, and there before his eyes was a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for the local shepherds watered the flocks from that well. The boulder covering the opening of the well was huge.

3 Every day, when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would together roll the boulder off the opening of the well and water the sheep, and then replace the boulder over the opening of the well. But Jacob did not know that this was how the shepherds watered their sheep.

4 Jacob asked them, "My brothers, where are you from?" and they replied, "We are from Charan."

5 He asked them, "Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nachor?" and they replied, "We know him."

6 He asked them, "Is he well?" and they replied, "He is well—and here is his daughter Rachel, approaching with the flocks." Laban would send his daughters to tend his flocks because he had no sons to do so.18

7 When Jacob saw the shepherds sitting by idly, he assumed they had finished pasturing their flocks. He said to them, "Look, it is still broad daylight. If you are day-laborers, you have not yet put in a full day's work. And even if these are your own flocks, it is still not yet time to round up the livestock and take them home. If they need to drink, water the flocks and go off and pasture them."

8 They replied, "We cannot, because the boulder covering the well is too heavy for us to move. We have to wait until all the flocks are rounded up and all the shepherds can roll the boulder off the opening of the well together. Only then we can water the animals."

9 He was still speaking with them when Rachel arrived with her father's flock, for she was a shepherdess.

10 And when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and the flocks of Laban, his mother's brother, Jacob stepped forward and effortlessly rolled the boulder off the opening of the well, and watered the flocks of Laban, his mother's brother.

11 Then Jacob kissed his cousin Rachel. He wept aloud, for two reasons: First, he foresaw that, although he and Rachel would indeed marry, they would not be buried together. Second, whereas Eliezer was able to impress the family with an abundant show of wealth when he arrived in Charan in search of a bride for Isaac, in contrast, he himself had arrived destitute (after having relinquished all he owned to Eliphaz).

12 Seeing that she was perplexed by his unusual behavior, Jacob told Rachel that he was both her father's relative as well as Rebecca's son. When he told her that his purpose in coming was to marry her, Rachel apprised him of the fact that her father was a deceiver and would no doubt try to trick him out of marrying her. Jacob responded that if Laban would try to deceive him, he would prove that he was her father's equal in deception, but if would treat him honestly, he would act as Rebecca's son and also behave honestly. Since Rachel's mother was no longer alive, she ran and told only her father of Jacob's arrival.

13 When Laban heard the news of the arrival of Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to greet him—not because of any love for Jacob, but rather19—because he recalled how Eliezer had come years before laden with riches. When he saw that Jacob had arrived empty-handed, he embraced him, trying to feel around for gold coins in his pockets. When he saw that he had none, he then kissed him, trying to ascertain if he perhaps had pearls in his mouth. When he saw he had no pearls, either, Laban nevertheless brought him home, and Jacob told Laban of all these events: how he was forced to flee his brother and give up all his wealth on the way. He did not mention that he had been sent to marry one of his daughters.

14 Laban said to him, "If that be the case, I have no reason to welcome you into my home other than the fact that you are truly my own flesh and blood. You may stay with me for a month if you tend my flocks." So Jacob stayed with him for a month and tended his flocks.

15 Laban then said to Jacob, "Just because you are my close relative, does it mean that you must work for me for free?! Tell me what your payment should be."

16 Now Laban had two twin20 daughters. The name of the older one, who had emerged from the womb first, was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. He also had two additional daughters, Bilhah and Zilpah, whom he had fathered by his concubine21 and whom he kept as handmaids.

17 Ever since Leah and Rachel were born, people used to say, "Laban has two daughters and Isaac has two sons: the older daughter is destined for the older son and the younger daughter for the younger son." Leah, thinking that she was destined to become one of Esau's wives, cried constantly. Her eyes were therefore swollen and tender, while Rachel's face had beautiful features and the luster of her complexion caused her to be of beautiful appearance.

Jacob's Family

Third Reading 18 Jacob loved Rachel, and he said to Laban, "I will work for you for seven years—the maximum amount of time my mother stipulated that I can stay here22—for Rachel. Now, do not try to deceive me by giving me some other girl named Rachel; I mean your daughter. Furthermore, do not try to deceive me by changing your daughter Leah's name to Rachel; I mean your younger daughter." Nevertheless, despite having taken these precautions against deception, Jacob knew that Laban would still try to deceive him, so he gave Rachel secret signs by which he would be able to distinguish her from her twin sister even in the dark.

19 Laban replied, "Better that I give her to you than give her to another man. Stay with me."

20 So Jacob worked seven years for Laban in order to marry Rachel, but in his eyes they seemed a mere few days because of his love for her.

21 At the end of these seven years, Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my intended wife—for, first of all, the maximum time my mother allowed me to remain here is up, and furthermore, my time to have children might soon be up, since I am already eighty-four years old—and let me cohabit with her." Jacob demanded his wife because his intention was entirely innocent: to father children.23

22 So Laban gathered together all the local people and made a wedding-feast.

23 When it was evening, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. Rachel, realizing that her sister Leah was about to be placed in an embarrassing situation, disclosed to her the secret signs Jacob had given her. Thus, Jacob thought that Leah was Rachel and consummated the marriage with her.

24 Laban gave his visibly younger handmaid/daughter Zilpah to his older daughter Leah, to be her handmaid. He gave the younger handmaid to Leah in order to reinforce his deception of Jacob, since Jacob would naturally think that Laban would give the older handmaid to the older daughter and the younger to the younger.24

25 When morning came, behold, Jacob discerned that it was Leah he had married, so he said to Laban, "What have you done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I worked for you? Why did you deceive me?"

26 Laban replied, "I am not denying you Rachel. It is just that in our region, established practice forbids giving a younger daughter in marriage before the older; it is therefore something that is simply not done here. Therefore, in order to give you Rachel, I had to give you Leah first.

27 Complete the bridal-celebration week of this one, Leah, and then we will give you that one, Rachel, too, on the following day—in return for the work that you will do for me for another seven years."

28 Jacob, like his father and grandfather before him, had voluntarily undertaken to observe all the Torah's commandments. Even though the Torah explicitly prohibits one man from marrying two sisters,25 Jacob nonetheless assented to Laban's proposal for two reasons: (a) voluntary observance of the Torah cannot override one's obligation to keep a promise, and Jacob had promised Rachel that he would marry her—and she certainly would not have consented to release him from his promise, for that would have meant that she would probably have had to marry Esau;26 (b) the Torah explicitly states that two sisters are prohibited to marry the same man because this will cause jealousy between them, but in this case, Rachel voluntarily disclosed her secret signs to Leah, demonstrating that she harbored no jealousy towards her for marrying Jacob.27 Jacob therefore acquiesced to Laban's proposal and completed the bridal-celebration week of the one, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

29 Laban gave his older handmaid/daughter Bilhah to his younger daughter Rachel, to be her handmaid.

30 Jacob thus also married Rachel, and although he loved Leah, he loved Rachel even more than he loved Leah. He then worked for Laban for another seven years. He worked for Laban as faithfully during the second set of seven years as he had done during the first set of seven years, despite the fact that Laban had deceived him.

31 God saw that Jacob loved Rachel so much that Leah felt hated by her husband in comparison. God therefore compensated Leah, who, like her identical twin Rachel, was barren by nature, and miraculously28 opened her womb, i.e., blessed her with the ability to reproduce, while Rachel remained barren.

32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son. Leah knew that Abraham's and Isaac's firstborn sons, Ishmael and Esau, had turned out wicked; she was therefore understandably apprehensive that this might prove to be a family pattern and that Jacob's firstborn son might also turn out wicked. But she foresaw prophetically29 that not only would her newborn son be righteous: he would even be of extraordinarily righteous behavior. She therefore named him Reuben, saying, "See [re'u] the difference between [bein] my firstborn and my father-in-law Isaac's firstborn, Esau! Esau did not value the fact that he was the firstborn: he willingly sold his birthright to Jacob. Reuben, however, will value his birthright. Nonetheless, he will not complain when he will prophetically see that God will at one point transfer his birthright to his younger brother, Joseph,30 even though he will not receive any compensation. In fact, he will even try to save Joseph when his life is threatened."31 "Therefore," she said, "God has seen [ra'ah] my humiliation, for now, in the merit of my son's exceptional qualities, my husband will love me as much as he loves my sister."32 A twin sister was born along with Reuben.33

33 She again conceived and gave birth to a son—"because," she said, "God heard [shama] that I felt hated, so He gave me this one as well," and she named him Simeon [Shimon]. Two sisters were born along with Simeon.34

34 Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, "This time my husband will become attached [yilaveh] to me, for I have borne him three sons and thereby fulfilled my procreative obligations to him." Leah foresaw that Jacob would marry four women and eventually father twelve sons, so when she bore her third son, she assumed that she had fulfilled her equal share of this destiny. This third son was destined to be the progenitor of the priestly class of the Jewish people, so when he was born, God sent the angel Gabriel to bring him before Him, and He conferred upon him all the rights of the priesthood. God therefore named him Levi, both because he was accompanied [another meaning of yilaveh] by gifts when Gabriel returned him, and because of Leah's pronouncement that Jacob would now become attached to her. A twin sister was born along with Levi.35

35 She again conceived and gave birth to a son and a twin daughter.36 She said, "This time I will thank [odeh] God," for He has allowed me to give birth to more than my natural share of the total number of my husband's sons, and she therefore named him Judah [Yehudah]. She then ceased bearing children.

30:1 Rachel saw that she had not borne any children to Jacob; Rachel was therefore jealous of her sister's good deeds. Since the two sisters were otherwise identical in all aspects, Rachel concluded that it was in the merit of Leah's good deeds that she was blessed with children.37 She said to Jacob, "Is this how your father behaved when your mother was barren? Didn't he pray for her to conceive? Give me children, for if not, I will have no perpetuity and it will be as if I am dead."

2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "How can you compare me to my father? He felt justified in praying to God because he was childless. I, however, have children. He has denied you children, not me! Can I take the place of God, who has denied you the fruit of your womb?"

3 So she said, "Learn, then, from your grandfather Abraham's example. Although he had children with Hagar, he nevertheless still prayed to have children with Sarah." Jacob replied, "Yes, but he did so only after Sarah demonstrated to God that she was so desperate for children that she was willing to let Abraham marry her handmaid in the hopes that, in this merit, would she also conceive." Rachel responded, "If that is the only obstacle, then here is my bondwoman Bilhah. Cohabit with her and let her bear you a child, and I will raise her children on my own lap, i.e., as if they were my own, and thus, through the merit of sharing you with her, I, too, will bear children of my own and thereby be built up into a matriarch whose essence will be perpetuated, just like Sarah."38

4 She gave him her handmaid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob cohabited with her.

5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son and a twin daughter.39

6 Rachel then said, "God has judged me [danani] and found me unworthy; therefore He made me barren. Now He has judged me again, this time favorably, and has also heard my prayer, and therefore He has given me a son." She therefore named him Dan.

7 Rachel's handmaid Bilhah once again conceived and bore Jacob a second son and twin daughter.40

8 Rachel said, "I have persistently pleaded [niftalti] with God to be on par with my sister, and I have prevailed," so she named him Naphtali.

9 When Leah realized that she had ceased bearing children, and saw that Rachel had given her handmaid to Jacob as a wife, she also took her handmaid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Although Bilhah and Zilpah were sisters, they did not have the legal status of sisters, since, as the daughters of Laban's concubine,41 they were considered his property, devoid of any familial status. Jacob therefore did not violate the Torah's prohibition of marrying two sisters by marrying them.42

10 Zilpah, Leah's handmaid/sister, bore Jacob a son and a twin daughter.43 Zilpah was the youngest of Jacob's four wives; since she had not yet begun menstruating, she did not experience any interrupted menses as a sign of pregnancy. Thus, there was no indication—neither to herself nor to others—that she had conceived until her abdomen began to swell in the final months of her pregnancy.44

11 When Zilpah gave birth, Leah said, "Good fortune [gad] has come," so she named the newborn Gad. "Still," she said to Jacob, "you betrayed me [bagad] when you agreed to be intimate with my handmaid, for since I already had borne you children, you did not have to consent to my offer." Although Leah herself had given her handmaid to Jacob, she felt that he should have refused. Additionally, formal permission does not necessarily imply sincere acquiescence.45

Gad was born circumcised.

12 Leah's handmaid Zilpah once again conceived, and (as during her first pregnancy) did not experience any physiological indication of pregnancy until her abdomen began to swell. When she bore a second son and twin daughter46 to Jacob, Leah said,

13 "Now that I have borne yet another son through my handmaid, I will be praised, for young women will praise [ishru] me on this account," so she named him Asher.

Fourth Reading 14 Reuben was taking a walk during the season of the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field. Even though it was the harvest season, when cut grain is lying in the fields and readily available for the taking, Reuben did not take any, for it did not belong to him. Rather, he took mandrakes, which were ownerless growing wild. Mandrakes can be made into a potion for female fertility; knowing that she wanted to have more children,47 he brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel, having witnessed this, said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes, for she also wanted to have children."

15 She answered her, "Is it not bad enough that you have taken away my husband? Do you have to also take away my son's mandrakes?" Rachel replied, "Tonight it is my turn to cohabit with Jacob, but since I would rather have those mandrakes, therefore I propose that Jacob sleep with you tonight, in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

16 When Jacob returned from the field in the evening, Leah went out to greet him before he went to Rachel's tent and said, "You are to come to me this evening, for I have hired you from Rachel with my son's mandrakes." He cohabited with her that night.

17 God listened to Leah, i.e., He took note of her efforts to bear Jacob as many sons as possible, and restored her fertility. She conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son together with a twin daughter.48

18 Leah said, "God has granted me my reward [sachar] for having given my handmaid to my husband," so she named him Issachar.

19 Leah once again conceived and bore Jacob a sixth son, together with a twin daughter.49

20 Then Leah said, "God has indeed given me a superlative portion in my husband's household: I myself have borne him the same number of sons that his other three wives will bear him together. Now my husband will surely make his chief50 abode [zevul] with me," and she named him Zebulun.

21 After that, Leah conceived again. When she learned that she was pregnant, she prayed for a girl, in order to save her sister Rachel from humiliation. Since she knew that Jacob was destined to have only twelve sons, and that she herself had already borne him six and the handmaids two each, leaving two, it followed that if this child of hers were to be a boy, her sister Rachel would be able to have only one son at most. This would leave Rachel with fewer sons than each of the handmaids. As a result of her prayer, the baby boy she was carrying in her womb was miraculously transformed into a girl. Thus, she gave birth to a daughter, and she named her Dinah ["judgment"], recalling how she had "judged" herself and determined that she was not willing to be the cause of her sister's humiliation.

22 Then God remembered how Rachel had similarly saved Leah from humiliation when, on Leah's wedding night, she divulged the secret signs Jacob had given her. In addition, Rachel was now afraid that Jacob might divorce her because she was barren, and that Esau might then try to marry her. God hearkened to her prayers and opened her womb (i.e., made her fertile).

23 She conceived and gave birth to a son, along with a twin daughter,51 and she said, "God has taken away my disgrace: until now, people belittled me for being childless and tormented me by insinuating that I will fall into Esau's clutches. Furthermore, now that I have a son, my husband will no longer be able to blame me alone for everything that goes wrong."

24 She named him Joseph ["May He add"], saying, "May God add [yoseif] another son for me." Since she knew that Jacob was destined to father only one more son, she therefore did not pray for any more than one. Joseph was born circumcised.52

During the fourteen years Jacob worked for Laban, Laban fathered some sons, as well.53

Jacob's Payment

25 In the year 2199, the fourteen years that Jacob had agreed to work for Laban in exchange for Rachel and Leah were up. At the same time, Rebecca's wet nurse Deborah arrived in Padan Aram, sent by Rebecca to inform Jacob that Esau's hatred toward him had abated to the extent that it was now safe for him to return to Canaan.54 Jacob therefore began to think about returning to Canaan, but despite his mother's reassurances, he was afraid to risk a confrontation with his openly-rancorous brother. But when Rachel gave birth to Joseph that same year, Jacob sensed that God would protect him from Esau in the merit of his newborn son's unique spiritual qualities. Jacob therefore then felt confident enough to undertake the journey home, and said to Laban, "Please send me on my way, and I will go to my home and to my land.

26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and I will go, for you know that during the time I worked for you I completely fulfilled the terms of my contract."

27 Laban said to him, "If only I would find favor in your eyes and you would stay!55 I have learned by divination that it is on your account that God blessed me with sons. Until your arrival, I only had daughters."56

Fifth Reading 28 But Jacob had no plans to stay. So Laban then said, "Specify your payment due from me, and I will pay you accordingly."

29 So Jacob said to him, "You know very well how faithfully I have toiled for you, and just how few were your livestock that you placed with me to herd when I first began working for you.

30 For the little you had before my arrival has increased substantially, and God has blessed you on my account. Until now, I have worked solely for you and your benefit, leaving my sons to work for their own subsistence. But now, if I continue to work only for your benefit, when will I have a chance to provide for my own household, as well? I now need to help my sons, because they cannot put aside anything for the future from the little they produce by themselves."

31 Laban asked, "So what shall I give you?"

Jacob said, "Do not give me anything outright. If you will do this one thing for me, I will continue to pasture your flocks and to tend them:

32 As you know, the majority of goats are solid black or brown, while the minority have some white markings on them. These white markings come in four varieties: speckles (see Figure 29), blotches (see Figure 30), ankle-rings (see Figure 31), and belts (see Figure 32). As you also know, the majority of sheep are solid white, while the minority are black or brown, with or without white markings (see Figure 33).57 I propose that you let me take some of the goats and sheep born from now on that are in the minority, i.e., the goats that are born white-speckled or white-blotched and the sheep that are born solid brown or black. I want you to feel comfortable with this arrangement; therefore, in order to (a) allay any suspicion on your part that I am expropriating any of these types of goats and sheep that are already in the flock, and (b) minimize the probability that the offspring of the flock born from now on will be of these types, let me pass with you58 through all your flocks today. Remove from there every white-speckled or white-blotched he-goat,59 as well as every solid-black or solid-brown lamb, and every white-blotched or white-speckled she-goat. Segregate these irregular types of sheep and goats and give them over into the care of your sons. The remainder of the flock, which I will tend, will include all the regular animals plus the white-ankle-ringed and white-belted goats and the black or brown sheep with any white markings. The sheep and goats that they bear from now on with the markings and colorings of those you segregated shall be my payment. The rest shall be yours.

33 And at some time in the future, if you ever suspect me of having appropriated any of your flock, my integrity will testify on my behalf regarding my payment: any animal that is neither white-speckled nor white-blotched among the goats, or neither solid black nor solid brown among the sheep, is in my possession by theft."

34 Laban replied reluctantly, for he suspected that Jacob was up to something, "Very well, let it be as you say." Being an experienced breeder, Laban knew that offspring usually inherit their parents' coloring and markings. Thus, by removing the gene-pool of the type of goats and sheep that Jacob was proposing to take, Laban stood to get the majority of the next generation of the flock. So logically, he had no reason to refuse Jacob's request.60

But Laban also knew that Jacob could produce animals colored or marked differently from their parents by having the parents look at other animals of different coloring or marking while mating. This, Laban understood, was why Jacob wanted to keep some of the white-marked goats and sheep for himself.

35 Aware of this, Laban tried to further tip the odds in his favor. On that day, Laban also removed the he-goats that were white-ankle-ringed61 (which Jacob had not mentioned in his proposal)—in addition to all the white-speckled and white-blotched he-goats and all the white-speckled and white-blotched she-goats (which Jacob had mentioned)—in order to make it impossible for Jacob to have his female goats look at them while mating and thereby produce offspring with white markings. In order to make it even harder to produce goats with white markings, Laban removed all the black and brown sheep62 with white markings (which Jacob had not mentioned)—in addition to all the solid-black and solid-brown sheep (which Jacob had mentioned)—so Jacob could not have his goats look at these sheep while mating.63 Nonetheless, Laban did not remove the female goats with white ankle-rings or the white-belted goats, because he felt that Jacob would not let him go so far as to remove all possibility of producing goats with white markings. Similarly, he did not remove the solid-brown or solid-black goats, because their absence would have precluded Jacob from having his sheep look at them while mating and thereby produce brown or black offspring; again, he felt that Jacob would not let him go so far as to remove all possibility of producing the offspring he wanted as payment.

By removing these additional types of animals, Laban implicitly included these types among those that would belong to Jacob. But, as stated, he believed that he had markedly reduced the probability that any such animals would be born.64

Finally, in order to further reduce the number of newly-born animals that would belong to Jacob, Laban also removed all the robust goats and sheep from those that he left Jacob, i.e., all the goats that were solid black, solid brown, or white-belted, plus the white-ankle-ringed she-goats, and all the sheep that were solid white.65

He left all the aforementioned animals that he took in the charge of his sons, and left Jacob only the weak and/or sterile goats without white markings and the weak and/or sterile sheep that were not brown.