Genesis 30 · Verse 37

Genesis 30:37

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
Genesis 30:37, King James Version

Genesis 30:37 in other translations

BSBJacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.
WEBJacob took to himself rods of fresh poplar, almond, and plane tree, peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
ASVAnd Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane-tree; and peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
YLTAnd Jacob taketh to himself a rod of fresh poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut, and doth peel in them white peelings, making bare the white that is on the rods,
DARBYAnd Jacob took fresh rods of white poplar, almond-tree, and maple; and peeled off white stripes in them, uncovering the white which was on the rods.
BBEThen Jacob took young branches of trees, cutting off the skin so that the white wood was seen in bands.
WebsterAnd Jacob took to him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut-tree; and peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

What does Genesis 30:37 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
37. Jacob took rods, &c.--There are many varieties of the hazel, some of which are more erect than the common hazel, and it was probably one of these varieties Jacob employed. The styles are of a bright red color, when peeled; and along with them he took wands of other shrubs, which, when stripped of the bark, had white streaks. These, kept constantly before the eyes of the female at the time of gestation, his observation had taught him would have an influence, through the imagination, on the future offspring.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 37 Rods of green poplar - לבנה לח libneh lach. The libneh is generally understood to mean the white poplar; and the word lach, which is here joined to it, does not so much imply greenness of color as being fresh, in opposition to witheredness. Had they not been fresh - just cut off, he could not have pilled the bark from them. And of the hazel - לוז luz, the nut or filbert tree, translated by others the almond tree; which of the two is here intended is not known. And chestnut tree - ערמון armon, the plane tree, from ערם aram, he was naked. The plane tree is properly called by this name, because of the outer bark naturally peeling off, and leaving the tree bare in various places, having smooth places where it has fallen off. A portion of this bark the plane tree loses every year. The Septuagint translate it in the same way, πλατανος· and its name is supposed to be derived from πλατυς, broad, on account of its broad spreading branches, for which the plane tree is remarkable. So we find the Grecian army in Homer, Il. ii., ver. 307, sacrificing καλῃ ὑπο πλατανιστῳ, under a beautiful plane tree. Virgil, Geor. iv. 146, mentions, - ministrantem platanum potantibus umbras. The plane tree yielding the convivial shade. And Petronius Arbiter in Satyr.: - Nobilis aestivas platanus diffuderat umbras. "The noble plane had spread its summer shade." See more in Parkhurst. Such a tree would be peculiarly acceptable in hot countries, because of its shade. Pilled white streaks in them - Probably cutting the bark through in a spiral line, and taking it off in a certain breadth all round the rods, so that the rods would appear party-colored, the white of the wood showing itself where the bark was stripped off.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 30:25-43

The fourteen years being gone, Jacob was willing to depart without any provision, except God's promise. But he had in many ways a just claim on Laban's substance, and it was the will of God that he should be provided for from it. He referred his cause to God, rather than agree for stated wages with Laban, whose selfishness was very great. And it would appear that he acted honestly, when none but those of the colours…

Read the full comment on Genesis 30:25-43 →

Genesis 30:37 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּֽקַּֽח\־vai.yi.kach-and he tookH3947
ל֣וֹlofor <the> himself
יַעֲקֹ֗בya.'a.KoJacobH3290
מַקַּ֥לma.Kalbranch[es] ofH4731
לִבְנֶ֛הliv.NehpoplarH3839
לַ֖חlachfreshly cutH3892
וְל֣וּזve.Luzand almondH3869
וְעֶרְמ֑וֹןve.'er.Monand plane treeH6196
וַיְפַצֵּ֤לvay.fa.Tzeland he strippedH6478
בָּהֵן֙ba.Henon <the> them
פְּצָל֣וֹתpe.tza.LotstripsH6479
לְבָנ֔וֹתle.va.NotwhiteH3836
מַחְשֹׂף֙mach.Sof[the] peeling ofH4286
הַלָּבָ֔ןha.la.Vanthe white [wood]H3836
אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.SherwhichH834
עַל\־'al-[was] onH5921
הַמַּקְלֽוֹת\׃ha.mak.Lotthe branchesH4731

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 30:37

  • Ezekiel 31:8

    The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.

  • Genesis 31:9-13

    Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. 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. And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jacob.
31:9-13
green poplar.{Livneh} is the white poplar, so called from the whiteness of its leaves, bark, and wood, from {lavan} to be white.
hasel.Jerome, Hiller, Celsius, Dr. Shaw, Bochart, and other learned men, say, that {luz} is not the "hazel" but the almond-tree, as the word denotes both in Arabic and Syriac.
chestnut tree.The Heb. word {armon,} signifies "the plane-tree," so called from the bark naturally peeling off, and leaving the trunk naked, as its root {aram,} signifies.
Eze 31:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 30:36

    And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

  • Genesis 30:37

    And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

  • Genesis 30:38

    And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

Read all of Genesis 30

Genesis 30:37 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y tomóse Jacob varas de álamo verdes, y de avellano, y de castaño, y descortezó en ellas mondaduras blancas, descubriendo así lo blanco de las varas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		– Et Jacob prit des branches fraîches de peuplier blanc, de coudrier, et d’érable, et y pela des raies blanches, mettant à nu le blanc qui était aux branches.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Jakob nahm sich frische Stäbe von Weißpappel, Mandelbaum und Platane und schälte weiße Streifen daran, indem er das Weiße entblößte, das an den Stäben war.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Tollens ergo Jacob virgas populeas virides, et amygdalinas, et ex platanis, ex parte decorticavit eas: detractisque corticibus, in his, quæ spoliata fuerant, candor apparuit: illa vero quæ integra fuerant, viridia permanserunt: atque in hunc modum color effectus est varius.