Genesis 30:32

Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jacob addresses Laban during a livestock contract negotiation, proposing a method to determine his wages. He speaks at the moment of agreement before any animals are separated or bred.

The words — The Hebrew אֶעֱבֹר ('e.Vor) literally means "let me pass" or "let me go through," and הָסֵר (ha.Ser) translates as "I will remove." These verbs establish the procedural action Jacob proposes to inspect and separate the marked animals.

The thread — The terms of this separation and the subsequent breeding of the marked animals appear in Genesis 31:8, 31:10, and 30:35. These passages track the fulfillment of the wage agreement and the resulting increase of Jacob's share.

Why it lands — The text presents a concrete labor contract where wages are tied to observable, physical markers in the flock. It requires the reader to track how specific, verifiable conditions govern long-term agreements and their outcomes.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

אֶֽעֱבֹ֨ר'e.'e.Vorlet me pass בְּכָל־be./kholin/ all צֹֽאנְךָ֜tzo.ne./Khaflock/ your הַיּ֗וֹםhai./Yomthis/ day הָסֵ֨רha.SerI will remove מִשָּׁ֜םmi./Shamfrom/ there כָּל־kol-every שֶׂ֣ה׀sehsheep נָקֹ֣דna.Kodspeckled וְטָל֗וּאve./ta.Lu'and/ spotted וְכָל־ve./kholand/ every שֶׂה־seh-sheep חוּם֙chumdark בַּכְּשָׂבִ֔יםba./ke.sa.Vimamong the/ lambs וְטָל֥וּאve./ta.Lu'and/ [the] spotted וְנָקֹ֖דve./na.Kodand/ [the] speckled בָּעִזִּ֑יםba./'i.Zimamong the/ goats וְהָיָ֖הve./ha.Yahand/ it will be שְׂכָרִֽי׃se.kha.R/iwage[s]/ my

King James Version

I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

Cross-references

Genesis 31:8 If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore streaked offspring.
Genesis 31:10 When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.
Genesis 30:35 That very day Laban removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons.