If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.
If he said, 'The speckled animals will be your payment,' then all the livestock gave birth to speckled young. And if he said, 'The striped animals will be your wages,' then all the livestock gave birth to striped young.
Jacob is explaining how God intervened to ensure he received fair payment, no matter how his father-in-law Laban tried to cheat him.
📚 Historical Context
This verse is part of Jacob's explanation to his wives about why they should leave Laban's household. Jacob had worked for his father-in-law Laban for twenty years, and Laban had repeatedly changed Jacob's wages to avoid paying him fairly. Despite Laban's attempts to manipulate the breeding arrangement for the livestock, God supernaturally caused the animals to produce offspring that would belong to Jacob according to whatever agreement Laban had set.
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