Can anybody explain what Jacob is doing Genesis 30:37-41 with the rods? I don't understand it?

Question

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. 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. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, 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. And 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.

gabbie_alex_85 · Accepted Answer

I believe it was what God instructed him to do.  Just like with Moses and the staff (turned into a snake). God obviously spoke to Jacob and when Laban took the spotted/speckled flock and gave to his own sons instead of honoring the agreement made, God gave Jacob instructions on what to do in order to prosper.  Like a blessing.  Try reading the New Living Translation.  It is translated modernly.

chitty · Answer

Genesis 37-41

SWWIFL · Answer

I was curious about this a few weeks ago and found a study manual that explained this passage:

(7-19) Genesis 30:37–43. Did the Peeled Rods Influence the Conception of the Flocks of Jacob?
Jacob’s peeling of branches and placing them before the animals so that when they conceived they
would bear multicolored offspring seems to be a reflection of a common superstition that the  conception of offspring is influenced by what the mother experiences or sees at the time of conception. Nothing is known by modern science to explain any relationship between what Jacob did and what happened in the hereditary patterns of the animals. Perhaps something is missing from the text. Perhaps the Lord was just taking advantage of the virility of crossbred animals.
Divine intervention certainly played a part. In any event, Jacob’s herds grew and the Lord blessed him.
Also, Jacob’s separation of the flocks (v. 40) follows principles of good animal husbandry and would
have increased the likelihood of having multi-colored animals.

Becky · Answer

Sounds like an ancient fertility technique

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Can anybody explain what Jacob is doing Genesis 30:37-41 with the rods? I don't understand it?

4 Answers