Genesis 30:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it:

NIV: What shall I give you?' he asked. 'Don't give me anything,' Jacob replied. 'But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them:

NASB: So he said, 'What shall I give you?' And Jacob said, 'You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:

CSB: Laban asked, "What should I give you? "And Jacob said, "You don't need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock.

NLT: What wages do you want?' Laban asked again. Jacob replied, 'Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks.

KJV: And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

NKJV: So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks:

Laban is ready to hear Jacob's offer. He knows he has grown rich because of the Lord's blessing on his son-in-law. He doesn't want Jacob to return to his own people, as Jacob has asked to do. In that era, since Jacob was a servant of Laban, his entire family would have been considered part of Laban's property, as well. In order to leave, without being accused of theft, he needs Laban to agree with their departure.

Instead of insisting on leaving right away, Jacob has come up with a plan to gain some wealth for himself. He is aware that Laban is a tough—and deceptive (Genesis 29:18–30)—negotiator. He is also counting on the fact that the Lord will continue to bless him abundantly.

Laban asks again: What do you want from me? Jacob surprises him with a tricky answer of his own: Don't give me anything right now. Instead, Jacob will ask for a specific cut of the future profits in the following verses. Laban, predictably, will respond by trying to cheat Jacob.

Genesis 30:25-43 describes Jacob's struggle to convince Laban to allow him to return to his own people with his wives and children, even though the 14 years of Jacob's contracted service have ended. Laban asks Jacob to name new wages to continue to work for him. Laban knows he has grown wealthy due to the Lord's blessing on Jacob. Jacob asks to own all the new off-color sheep and goats that will be born to Laban's flock. Laban agrees and quickly tries to cheat Jacob. Nevertheless, the Lord blesses Jacob's unusual breeding practices, causing so many off-color animals to be born in the flock that Jacob becomes a wealthy man in his own right. Soon he will leave Laban behind for good.

God alone gives children. He causes babies to be born. He even determines what color baby sheep and goats will be. Genesis 30 describes the urgent desire of Rachel and Leah to have sons for Jacob and how God hears and grants their prayers in His own time. In addition, God blesses Jacob's unusual breeding practices with Laban's flocks to finally allow Jacob to overcome his father-in-law's schemes to keep Jacob under his service.

In the previous chapter, Laban tricked Jacob both into marrying Leah along with Rachel and into working for him as a servant for a total of fourteen years. God blessed unloved Leah by allowing her to bear four sons to Jacob. As this chapter opens, Rachel remains barren while Leah and both of their servant women continue to bear sons. Finally God answers Rachel's prayer, allowing her to bear Joseph. His contract completed, Jacob demands Laban send him away to his own people. Laban refuses, asking Jacob to set new terms for his service. Jacob's deal, along with the Lord's blessing and his unusual breeding practices with the flocks, results in Jacob becoming a wealthy man in his own right. This wealth and power will enable him to finally break free and return home.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.