Comentario sobre Génesis 31:10

והנה העתדים BEHOLD THE RAMS — Although Laban had separated all these so that the sheep should not give birth to young marked similar to them, angels brought them from the flock which had been placed in charge of Laban’s sons to the flock in Jacob’s charge (Genesis Rabbah 73:10).

AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THE TIME THAT THE FLOCK CONCEIVED. This was after Laban changed his wages, and therefore the angel said to Jacob, For I have seen all that Laban does unto thee.¹⁸⁰Verse 12 here.

ויהי...העתודים, another word for he-goats, תישים.

והנה העתודים העולים על הצאן עקודים, נקודים וברודים. “and behold, the he-goats were ankle striped, dappled, and blotch-striped.” If the male possessed one of each of these skin patterns, the lamb born by the female which it had mounted would have the corresponding skin pattern. According to Nachmanides, whenever the Torah mentions the term עתודים, what are meant are the rams or billy-goats, the אילים, the fully grown, even outsize specimen. Other commentators understand the term עתודים as describing fat animals of their species The reason that they are mentioned separately is that although these animals are raised only for eventual slaughter to serve as meat, and not for siring lambs, the phenomenon of the lambs which they sired having the skin pattern favouring Yaakov was in evidence. According to Rashi, angels brought these animals from Lavan’s flock to Yaakov’s flocks in order to help him increase the proportion of appropriately skin-patterned animals. According to Nachmanides, the plain meaning is that appropriately skin patterned males had to be seen as mounting the females which would later on bear the young reflecting the father-animal’s genes. The word הנה, which Yaakov uses in describing his dream, is meant to show how vividly he experienced this in his dream.

The angels would bring them... Rashi is saying that the spotted males going upon the flock surely were not those males born [after the agreement, which rightfully belonged] to Yaakov. For if so, what is the verse coming to teach us? Perforce, they were Lavan’s flock. And [if you ask:] How did they get here? Rashi explains, “Although Lavan... the angels would bring them...”

(10-13) Obgleich Laban alle die buntfarbigen Böcke ausgesondert hatte und nur einfarbige da waren, so siehst du doch, dass Ich die Geburten nach den wechselnden Bestimmungen Labans gestalten lasse; denn ich habe sehr wohl gesehen, was Laban dir tut. Also nicht etwa, weil du hier nicht meinen Schutz auch ferner finden könntest, sondern weil ich האי בית אל, weil ich der Gott bin, dem eben ein בית auf Erden gebaut werden soll, der seine Stätte im Familienleben der Menschen finden will, wie du dies bei dem Denkstein erfahren, und dessen Verwirklichung du dort gelobt. Dieses Gelübde erwartet bereits seine Erfüllung. Ich habe das dir Verheißene bereits gelöst, jetzt ist es an dir. das deinerseits Gelobte zu erfüllen — צא מן הארץ הזאת, in diesem Lande, in Aram, kann dieses Familienleben wie Gott es will sich nicht entfalten, hier war es genug, dass Jakob einem Laban gegenüber materiell und geistig sittlich unversehrt geblieben und die harte Probe der Redlichkeit einem Schurken gegenüber glänzend bestanden.

וברודים, speckled, some of the animals he saw in the dream showed such skin patterns.

וברדים GRISLED — Explain it as the Targum renders it: פציחין open; old French faissie, checquered. There was a white stripe going right round the body, the spots of which it was composed being open and running from one end to the other. But I can bring no evidence from Scripture that this is the meaning.

AND, BEHOLD THE HE-GOATS WHICH WENT UP ON THE FLOCKS [WERE RINGSTRAKED, SPECKLED, AND GRIZZLED]. The meaning thereof is that it was shown to Jacob in a dream that the he-goats which mounted the flocks were all ringstraked, and afterwards they were all speckled, and still later they were all grizzled. And the angel told him that in view of the injustice which Laban does him by changing his wages, the future offspring will have the appearance which Jacob will need, and that henceforth Jacob should not make the sticks, for Whoso putteth his trust in the Eternal shall be set up on high.¹⁸¹Proverbs 29:25.

וברודים, a variant of the word טלואים; the reason why the Torah switched to this term is to tell us that the whiteness of the spots in questions is similar to that of hail stones, ברד.

A white strand encircled its body... I.e., one could run one’s hand along the white strand, for the black did not interrupt. The white strand stretched around its entire body.

AND, BEHOLD, ‘HA’ATUDIM’ WHICH WENT UP ON THE FLOCKS. He-goats and rams are called atudim for all the adults in the flocks are so called. This applies also to the mighty ones among men, as in: ‘atudei’ (the chief ones) of the earth.¹⁸²Isaiah 14:9.
And Rashi comments: “Although Laban had separated all these so that the sheep should not give birth to young marked similarly to them, angels brought them from the flock which had been placed in charge of Laban’s sons to the flock in Jacob’s charge.”
In line with the simple meaning of Scripture this was a vision assuring Jacob that the flocks would give birth to young similar to the marked rams and he-goats, and the proof of it is the word vehinei (and behold), for this expression is used with respect to all dreams, indicating that it is as if the action is in the presence of the dreamer. In Bereshith Rabbah,¹⁸³73:7. the Sages did not mention the angels [bringing the marked ones from the flocks of Laban], but it may be inferred by exegesis. Thus they said: “It is not written here olim (went up) but ha’olim (those that mounted),” [meaning those which actually mounted. Thus the dream only indicated the action of the atudim which came from Laban’s flocks and that they were ringstraked, speckled, etc. However, the fact that they came was not part of the dream. This really occurred since the angels brought them]. But the plain sense of the verse is as we have said.