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.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jacob addresses his wives, Rachel and Leah, recounting a vision that occurred during the mating season of his flocks. He describes observing the breeding process while receiving a supernatural revelation in a dream.

The words — The text highlights בְּעֵת יַחֵם (bə-'ēt yaḥēm, "at the time they mated") and בַּחֲלֹם (ba-ḥālôm, "in a dream") to mark the precise moment of divine communication. These terms anchor the vision to a specific biological event and a nocturnal visionary state.

The thread — The dream motif connects to earlier divine interventions in Genesis 20:6 and 28:12, while the warning against false dreamers in Deuteronomy 13:1 establishes the need for discernment. This verse functions as a verified supernatural encounter within the patriarchal narratives.

Why it lands — The passage records an observed natural event followed by a divine revelation, requiring the reader to distinguish between ordinary breeding cycles and supernatural orchestration. It demands attention to how God communicates through specific circumstances without endorsing subjective dream interpretation.

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

וַיְהִ֗יva/y.Hiand/ it was בְּעֵת֙be./'Etat/ [the] time יַחֵ֣םya.Chemmated הַצֹּ֔אןha./Tzonthe/ flock וָאֶשָּׂ֥אva./'e.Sa'and/ I lifted up עֵינַ֛י'ei.Na/ieyes/ my וָאֵ֖רֶאva./'E.re'and/ I saw בַּחֲל֑וֹםba./cha.Lomin/ a dream וְהִנֵּ֤הve./hi.Nehand/ there!הָֽעַתֻּדִים֙ha./'a.tu.Dimthe/ male goats הָעֹלִ֣יםha./'o.Limwhich/ were going up עַל־'al-on הַצֹּ֔אןha./Tzonthe/ flock עֲקֻדִּ֥ים'a.ku.Dim[were] striped נְקֻדִּ֖יםne.ku.Dimspeckled וּבְרֻדִּֽים׃u./ve.ru.Dimand/ mottled

King James Version

And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 13:1 If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
Genesis 20:6 Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
Genesis 28:12 And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.
Genesis 30:39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
Genesis 31:24 But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
Numbers 12:6 He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.
1 Kings 3:5 One night at Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “Ask, and I will give it to you!”