Genesis 30:27 Commentary and Bible Study

Laban is concerned about Jacob’s request to leave. He knows that he has prospered much as a result of Jacob’s expert handling of his livestock, but there is no reason why Jacob should stay any longer, given the terms they have agreed in the past, for Jacob has now completed his fourteen years of service for his two wives: seven for Leah, and seven for Rachel. Laban has no legitimate hold over him anymore. He has been considering the effect of Jacob’s diligent and honest service on his estate, and has come to the conclusion that the Lord has blessed him on account of Jacob. Laban is an idolater, and this expression looks like a concession to Jacob’s faith. The words in the KJV – ‘I have learned by experience’ – translate a word which is said to refer to knowledge obtained by divination, as if he had consulted his gods to find this out, but Aalders observes, that ‘the word can have a broader meaning, such as “take notice” or “to deduce from certain facts”’ and that ‘divination usually was used to predict the future rather than to form a conclusion regarding events of the past, as was the case here.’Laban therefore asks what Jacob requires as new wages for this third contract between them: ‘Appoint me thy wages.’ This sounds very amenable, putting the decision about what he should be paid entirely in Jacob’s hands. Jacob does not answer at first, but emphasises how much Laban has gained from Jacob’s labour and the Lord’s blessing on Laban because Jacob is with him. Laban’s flocks and herds were relatively small when Jacob first came. Laban had no well of his own, and Rachel had charge of his fairly limited flock. It is time that he left and built up his own flocks, he says again, for he really wants to go home. Laban does not deny any of this, but again asks what he can give Jacob to induce him to continue working for him. Jacob finally answers that Laban can allow him to build up his own flocks by separating out animals from Laban’s livestock which have certain features, and this will be his payment. We learn from Genesis 31:10-13 that this idea originated in a dream that God had given him, which was God’s assurance to him that the Lord would not allow Laban to cheat him indefinitely. Aalders says, ‘It should be noted that sheep in that area were usually white in colour and speckled and spotted ones were exceptions to the general rule. Likewise goats were generally of a solid dark colour and those with white stripes or spots were unusual.’ If Laban agrees to this, Jacob will serve him for a further period. It reads as if Jacob is to separate out the spotted and speckled animals just once, but the subsequent narrative makes clear that both men understood that this would be done repeatedly and that Jacob would have the right to keep any similarly marked animals found in the future. These markings would be an easy matter for both men to agree on, and Laban could not complain at Jacob keeping the speckled and spotted. The way this is expressed, it is obvious that the contention is sharp between them, despite Laban’s phoney reasonableness – ‘shall be counted stolen with me.’God is working in Jacob’s heart to sanctify him. Jacob has himself been a supplanter in the past, but he is a changed man since God found him at Bethel. The Lord’s guidance has led him to encounter a man, Laban, who is very much like he once was, but Jacob is not to respond in kind anymore. There is no evidence that Jacob is anything other than completely honest in all his dealings with Laban. He is the one who is taken advantage of and he has to learn to bear some of it without sinking to Laban’s level. He has fulfilled his years for his two wives. Now however God is going to protect him in a special way and thwart Laban’s scheming.