Jacob’s Plan to Return Home (25-34)

It would seem Rachel’s pregnancy and the birth of Joseph was a signal to Jacob that it was time to return home. It was as if he could sense the favor of God on his life to face what he had left. He went to Laban and asked for a send-off (25). Jacob seemed to ask Laban like an indentured servant would ask for his release (26). Laban told Jacob he had discerned that his favor and wealth from Yahweh had come through Jacob and told Jacob to name his wage and he would give it (27-28).  

Jacob rehearsed with Laban, in detail, how Yahweh had blessed the family business through his management of the estate (29). Jacob gave Laban an accounting of their increased assets and the current state of his accounts, compared to when he had arrived. Jacob specifically gave Yahweh credit for that blessing. He then posed the problem—while Laban had been made rich through Jacob, Jacob had not shared in the profit and needed a plan for enough wealth to return home, while leaving Laban’s newfound wealth intact (30).

Laban, being cornered by a sense of justice, asked Jacob what he thought to be a fair wage for his service, in addition to his daughters (31). Jacob wanted no fixed payment from Laban’s wealth but instead proposed a plan to allow the providence of Yahweh to select his wage. Jacob asked for every spotted, speckled, and black lamb and goat, born from that day forward. Sheep in that region were generally white, and goats were generally a solid color. Laban assumed that only a small minority of the herds would, under those rules, become Jacob’s property if allowed to breed normally (32). Jacob reminded Laban that, under those rules, any kind of dishonesty would be conspicuous and could easily be discovered (33). Laban agreed to the terms (34).

Let the Breeding Begin (35-43) 

As soon as Laban left the meeting, his distrust of Jacob led him to direct his sons to remove all the goats that were speckled, spotted, or with white patches and all the black sheep (35). He then had his sons move the speckled herds three days’ journey away so Jacob could not have the speckled animals only mate among themselves. 

Jacob stayed with Laban’s flocks and cared for them as he had before (36). Without any speckled sheep and goats, Jacob did three things:

• Jacob peeled the bark off of poplar, almond, and pine tree branches, making them streaky (37). Jacob placed the branches in the watering troughs where the flocks drank and mated (38). Oddly, the ones that mated in front of the speckled branches gave birth to spotted, speckled, and streaked offspring (39).

• Jacob then removed the spotted animals born from the solid-colored sheep. In doing this, he separated Laban’s sheep from his own, so the spotted, speckled, and streaked animals would only breed among themselves, and Laban’s solid-colored animals would breed among themselves (40).

• This whole breeding technique of putting the peeled branches in front of the mating herds and the feeding trough he did for the strong animals only; the weak animals he let breed without looking at the branches, so the weak animals would give birth to solid-colored offspring and the strong animals to speckled, spotted, and streaky offspring (41-42). Over time, the scheme worked; Jacob became wealthy in all respects, including in the acquiring of camels and servants (43).  

Yes, there is debate as to whether the peeling of the branches and putting them in the water troughs had any effect on the animals. The only possible biological connection might be the leaching of hormones through the sap into the water, affecting the animals’ colors. Maybe the secretions of sap into the drinking water had an effect on the animals that were mating. The true physical connection between the peeled branches and the speckled skins of animals may never be figured out.