Genesis 30:33

Gen 30:33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that [is] not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

Ver. 33. So shall my righteousness, &c.] A good conscience fears no judge; no, not God himself, in some particulars. {as Psa 7:3-4} That which Jacob did here was of God. {Gen 31:10} It was also a plain bargain between them, and Laban was handled in his kind. Besides, the means Jacob used was not fraudulent, but natural; not depending on man’s skill, but God’s blessing: and all to recover out of the wretch’s hands that which was but due to him for his hard service, and for his wives’ dowry.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

God shall testify for my righteous dealing by rewarding my labors.

Or, counted theft.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

33. So shall my righteousness answer for me. Literally it is, “My righteousness shall answer in me.” But the particle בי (bi) signifies to me or for me The sense, however, is clear, that Jacob does not expect success, except through his faith and integrity. Respecting the next clause, interpreters differ. For some read, “When thou shalt come to my reward.” But others, translating in the third person, explain it of righteousness, which shall come to the reward, or to the remunerating of Jacob. Although either sense will suit the passage, I rather refer it to righteousness; because it is immediately added, “before thee.” For it would be an improper form of expression, “Thou wilt come before thine own eyes to my reward.” It now sufficiently appears what Jacob meant. For he declares that he hoped for a testimony of his faith and uprightness from the Lord, in the happy result of his labors, as if he had said, “The Lord who is the best judge and vindicator of my righteousness, will indeed show with what sincerity and faithfulness I have hitherto conducted myself.” And though the Lord often permits sinners to be enriched by wicked arts, and suffers them to acquire abundant gain by seizing the goods of others as their own: this proves no exception to the rule, that his blessing is the ordinary attendant on good faith and equity. Wherefore, Jacob justly gave this token of his fidelity, that he committed the success of his labors to the Lord, in order that his integrity might hence be made manifest. The sense of the words is now clear, “My righteousness shall openly testify for me, because it will voluntarily come to remunerate me; and that so obviously, that it shall not he hidden even from thee.” A tacit reproof is couched in this language, intimating that Laban should feel how unjustly he had withheld the wages of the holy man, and that God would shortly show, by the result, how wickedly he had dissembled respecting his own obligation to him. For there is an antithesis to be understood between the future and the past time, when he says, “Tomorrow (or in time to come) it will answer for me,” since indeed, yesterday and the day before, he could extort no justice from Laban.

Every one that is not speckled and spotted. Jacob binds himself to the crime and punishment of theft, if he should take away any unspotted sheep from the flock: as if he would say, “Shouldst thou find with me anything unspotted, I am willing to be charged as a thief; because I require nothing to be given to me but the spotted lambs.” Some expound the words otherwise, “Whatsoever thou shalt find deficient in thy flock, require of me, as if I had stolen it;” but this appears to me a forced interpretation.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

33. my righteousness] i.e. my uprightness, honesty, and straightness of dealing.

answer for me] i.e. “testify with regard to me”; or, better, as in 1Sa_12:3, 2Sa_1:16, “witness against me.”

every one that is not] Jacob promises that, when Laban visits his flocks, if he shall find among them any quite black goats or white sheep, he is at liberty to regard them as having been stolen by Jacob. He might at once seize them.

The compact was all in Laban’s favour; but neither of the men trusts the other.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar,.... Of the white poplar tree, called green, not from the colour, but from the moisture, being such as were cut off of the tree:

and of the hazel and chestnut tree; the former some take to be the almond tree, as Saadiah Gaon, and others; and the latter to be the plantain or plane tree, so Ainsworth, and others:

and pilled white strakes in them; took off the bark of them in some places, and left it on in others, which made white strakes:

and made the white appear which was in the rods; that part of the rods which was stripped of the bark appeared white; and it appeared the whiter for the bark that was left on in other parts; and both made the rods to appear to have various colours, which was the design of Jacob in pilling them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Of theft, if they be found in my possession. I am so well convinced that God will reward my justice, that, even contrary to what might naturally be expected, he will enable me to have plenty of spotted sheep and goats, though their mothers be all of one colour. It is not certain, that Jacob agreed to have the flocks parted till the end of the year. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

When the cattle shall, contrary to their natural and usual course, bring forth young ones of a contrary colour to their own, it will hereby be evident that this is the work of God, who hereby pleads my righteous cause against a cruel and unjust master. Or thus, When thou shall accuse me of doing thee injury, I shall have this manifest and undeniable evidence of my righteousness or innocency, that I have no cattle but of that colour which is by agreement appropriated to me.

When it shall come for my hire before thy face. When it, i.e. my righteousness, shall come to, or upon my reward, i.e. when my righteousness shall appear in the very colour of that cattle which is allotted to me for my reward or hire;

before thy face, i.e. thou being present and diligently observing whether I have any cattle of another colour. But the Hebrew word tabo is also of the second person, and so the sense seems to be this, When thou shalt come upon my hire or reward, to wit, to observe and see whether I have any other cattle than what belongs to me. And so these words come in by way of parenthesis; and the following words, before my face, are to be joined to the former words, thus, so shall righteousness answer for me in time to come (when thou shalt come upon my hire) before thy face. This I prefer before the other, because the phrase of coming upon his hire seems more properly to agree to a person than to his righteousness.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. My righteousness — My uprightness in the whole business.

In time to come — Hebrews, in the day of to-morrow; meaning, any and every to-morrow. From that day forward there would be no dispute over rights in the cattle, for the colour would decide.

When it shall come — Rather, when thou shalt come (תבוא,) upon my wages before thee; that is, when thou comest to inspect my wages or share in the flock.

Stolen with me — That is, Laban will be welcome to look upon all the white sheep and black or brown goats which he finds with Jacob as stolen, and claim them for himself.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So shall my righteousness (literally, and my righteousness) answer for me (or bear testimony in my behalf) in time to come, literally, in the day, tomorrow; meaning in the future (Gesenius) rather than the day following (Delitzsch)when it shall come for my hire before thy face. Either,

(1) for it (my righteousness) shall come, concerning my wages, before thy face, sc. for consideration (Calvin); or,

(2) when thou shalt come to my reward, connecting "before thy face" with the previous clause (Chaldee, Rosenm Ainsworth, Lange); or,

(3) when thou shalt come to my wages before thee (Murphy), or to inspect it (Kalisch). Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me and therefore to be delivered up to thee.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

My integrity will testify for me later on

The word "integrity" means "honesty." This speaks about integrity as if it were a person who could testify for or against another person. AT: "And later you will know if I have been honest with you or not" (See: Personification)

Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, if any are found with me, will be considered to be stolen

This can be stated in active form. AT: "If you find any goats without spots or any sheep that are not black, you can consider them stolen" (See: Active or Passive)

Let it be according to your word

"Let it be as you say" or "We will do what you have said"

translationWords

testimony

goat

ewe

word

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

'וענתה בי וגו AND MY RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL ANSWER FOR ME etc. — Should you suspect me of taking any animals that are yours my righteousness will answer for me, — for my righteousness will come and bear witness before thee as to my hire that you will find in my herd only speckled and spotted ones. Whatever, however, you find amongst them (amongst the animals) that is not speckled or spotted or brownish it will be certain that I have stolen it from your flocks and that it is in my possession by way of theft.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

My righteousness … when it comes before you. Or, “When my righteousness shall go to show my wage, it will testify before you” — i.e., Hashem will reveal what Yaakov deserves for his faithful service by altering the coloration of the lambs.

Sforno on the Tanakh — English translation: “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וענתה בי צדקתי, this will prove that I dealt fairly with you, and will continue to deal fairly with you. My righteousness will be proved by the fact that animals with such skin patterns will be born though their mother animals or their fathers did not possess these skin patterns, so that I did not benefit by genetic factors contributed by your animals. Not only had Lavan removed all animals with traces of such skin patterns from the flocks entrusted to Yaakov for tending, but even animals which had displayed such skin patterns only on their legs had been removed by him, not to speak of animals which had displayed such spots on other parts of their bodies.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.