One verse. Three ways to understand.
Jacob took fresh branches from poplar, hazel, and chestnut trees. He peeled strips of bark off them, creating white streaks where he removed the bark and exposed the white wood underneath.
Jacob is preparing striped branches as part of his plan to influence which animals he would receive as payment from his father-in-law Laban.
These are AI-assisted adaptations, not separate Bible editions. Compare them with the KJV source and read our methodology. How these readings are made →
Read the KJV source
King James Version · EnglishAnd Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.Ask the AI Assistant
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📚 Historical Context
In the book of Genesis, Jacob was living with his uncle Laban in Haran and had agreed to work for him in exchange for a wife and later for wages in the form of speckled and spotted livestock. To increase his own flock as part of this deal, Jacob used peeled rods placed in the animals' watering troughs, a method that likely drew from ancient cultural beliefs about influencing breeding outcomes. This event highlights the patriarchal era's themes of human ingenuity and divine oversight in Jacob's journey.