lethargic_man: "Happy the person that finds wisdom, and the person that gets understanding."—Prov. 3:13. Icon by Tamara Rigg (limmud)
[personal profile] lethargic_man

In Gen 30, Jacob and Laban are discussing what should be Jacob's wages, when Jacob has asked for permission to return to his native land:

[Laban] said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "Do not give me anything: If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flock. I will pass through all your flock today, removing from them all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: of such shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before your face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me."

Laban said, "Behold, I would it might be according to your word." So he removed that day the he goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. He then set three days' journey between himself and Jacob; and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

וַיֹּאמֶר מָה אֶתֶּן־לָךְ וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב לֹא־תִתֶּן־לִי מְאוּמָה אִם־תַּעֲשֶׂה־לִּי הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אָשׁוּבָה אֶרְעֶה צֹאנְךָ אֶשְׁמֹר׃ אֶעֱבֹר בְּכָל־צֹאנְךָ הַיּוֹם הָסֵר מִשָּׁם כָּל־שֶׂה נָקֹד וְטָלוּא וְכָל־שֶׂה־חוּם בַּכְּשָׂבִים וְטָלוּא וְנָקֹד בָּעִזִּים וְהָיָה שְׂכָרִי׃ וְעָנְתָה־בִּי צִדְקָתִי בְּיוֹם מָחָר כִּי־תָבוֹא עַל־שְׂכָרִי לְפָנֶיךָ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־אֵינֶנּוּ נָקֹד וְטָלוּא בָּעִזִּים וְחוּם בַּכְּשָׂבִים גָּנוּב הוּא אִתִּי׃

וַיֹּאמֶר לָבָן הֵן לוּ יְהִי כִדְבָרֶךָ׃ וַיָּסַר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אֶת־הַתְּיָשִׁים הָעֲקֻדִּים וְהַטְּלֻאִים וְאֵת כָּל־הָעִזִּים הַנְּקֻדּוֹת וְהַטְּלֻאֹת כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־לָבָן בּוֹ וְכָל־חוּם בַּכְּשָׂבִים וַיִּתֵּן בְּיַד־בָּנָיו׃ וַיָּשֶׂם דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין יַעֲקֹב וְיַעֲקֹב רֹעֶה אֶת־צֹאן לָבָן הַנּוֹתָרֹת׃

Jacob then sets out to tweak the result:
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. 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. The flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle streaked, speckled, and spotted. Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle. It came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. וַיִּקַּח־לוֹ יַעֲקֹב מַקַּל לִבְנֶה לַח וְלוּז וְעַרְמוֹן וַיְפַצֵּל בָּהֵן פְּצָלוֹת לְבָנוֹת מַחְשֹׂף הַלָּבָן אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַמַּקְלוֹת׃ וַיַּצֵּג אֶת־הַמַּקְלוֹת אֲשֶׁר פִּצֵּל בָּרְהָטִים בְּשִׁקְתוֹת הַמָּיִם אֲשֶׁר תָּבֹאןָ הַצֹּאן לִשְׁתּוֹת לְנֹכַח הַצֹּאן וַיֵּחַמְנָה בְּבֹאָן לִשְׁתּוֹת׃ וַיֶּחֱמוּ הַצֹּאן אֶל־הַמַּקְלוֹת וַתֵּלַדְןָ הַצֹּאן עֲקֻדִּים נְקֻדִּים וּטְלֻאִים׃ וְהַכְּשָׂבִים הִפְרִיד יַעֲקֹב וַיִּתֵּן פְּנֵי הַצֹּאן אֶל־עָקֹד וְכָל־חוּם בְּצֹאן לָבָן וַיָּשֶׁת־לוֹ עֲדָרִים לְבַדּוֹ וְלֹא שָׁתָם עַל־צֹאן לָבָן׃ וְהָיָה בְּכָל־יַחֵם הַצֹּאן הַמְקֻשָּׁרוֹת וְשָׂם יַעֲקֹב אֶת־הַמַּקְלוֹת לְעֵינֵי הַצֹּאן בָּרְהָטִים לְיַחְמֵנָּה בַּמַּקְלוֹת׃ וּבְהַעֲטִיף הַצֹּאן לֹא יָשִׂים וְהָיָה הָעֲטֻפִים לְלָבָן וְהַקְּשֻׁרִים לְיַעֲקֹב׃

In the Masoretic text, he does this off his own bat. The Samaritan text, however, adds an extra passage between the two quoted above (the translation is mine, and so slightly wobbly):

An angel of God said to Jacob in a dream, "Jacob!" Jacob said, "Here I am." It said, "Raise your eyes and see all the striped, speckled and spotted billy-goats which go up (?) on the flock. Because I saw all that Laban did to you. I am the God of Beth-El, to Whom you anointed a pillar there, and to Whom you swore a vow; and now get up from this land and return to the land of your father, and I will do you good." ויאמר מלאך אלהים אל יעקב בחלום ויאמר יעקב ויאמר הנני ויאמר שא נא עיניך וראה את כל העתודים העלים על הצאן עקודים נקודים וברודים כי ראיתי את כל אשר לבן עשה לך אנכי האל בית אל אשר משחת שם מצבה ואשר נדרת לי שם נדר ועתה קום צא מן הארץ הזאת ושוב אל ארץ אביך ואיטיב עמך׃

Jacob makes his escape, and Laban comes pursuing. When Laban confronts Jacob, the latter gives a long tirade avouching that he went beyond the letter of the law in managing the former's flocks, including (31:40):

Thus I was: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. הָיִיתִי בַיּוֹם אֲכָלַנִי חֹרֶב וְקֶרַח בַּלָּיְלָה וַתִּדַּד שְׁנָתִי מֵעֵינָי׃
In the Samaritan text, it's changed to create more of a parallelism:
Thus I was: in the day the winter consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. הָיִיתִי בַיּוֹם אֲכָלַנִי חֹרֶף וְקֶרַח בַּלָּיְלָה וַתִּדַּד שְׁנָתִי מֵעֵינָי׃
The two men build a cairn to cement their pact (vv. 47-49):
Laban called it Yəgar Sāhǎduthā: but Jacob called it Gal`éd. Laban said, "This heap is a witness between me and you this day." Therefore was the name of it called Galeed; And Miṣpāh; for he said, "The LORD watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another." וַיִּקְרָא־לוֹ לָבָן יְגַר שָׂהֲדוּתָא וְיַעֲקֹב קָרָא לוֹ גַּלְעֵד׃ וַיֹּאמֶר לָבָן הַגַּל הַזֶּה עֵד בֵּינִי וּבֵינְךָ הַיּוֹם עַל־כֵּן קָרָא־שְׁמוֹ גַּלְעֵד׃ וְהַמִּצְפָּה אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יִצֶף ה׳ בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ כִּי נִסָּתֵר אִישׁ מֵרֵעֵהוּ׃

Both the first two names mean "Heap of witness", the first in Aramaic, the second in Hebrew. This is more overt in the Samaritan text, where the Hebrew name is split into two words, גַּל עֵד, in this and the following verse. In the Samaritan text the third name, מִצְפָּה Miṣpāh (Lookout) is rendered instead מַצֵבָה Maṣévā (Pillar).

[Samaritan Torah] Samaritan Torah notes         Jewish learning notes index


Profile

lethargic_man: (Default)
Lethargic Man (anag.)

May 2025

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
181920212223 24
25262728293031

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 02:47 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios