Genesis 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. 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.
Jacob offered to take only the speckled and spotted goats and the brown sheep as his wages, so that any goat or sheep without those marks found in his possession would prove him a thief. His righteousness was his honesty and fairness in that bargain, to be proved and openly established afterward by the very appearance of the flock. The bargain shows that taking what belonged to another was already understood as theft and a heinous wrong, and that the prohibition of stealing was known and in force long before Sinai. It belongs to his scheming years of service under Laban in Padan-aram on his way from Syria to Palestine, when his overreaching was met with overreaching in return, yet God cared for him and prospered him with abundant flocks despite Laban's efforts to deprive him of his due.
Meaning and Setting
Jacob proposed that speckled and spotted goats and brown sheep would be his wages, and any goat that was not speckled or spotted, or sheep that was not brown, found in his possession would be counted as stolen from Laban. The future appearance of the flock would serve as evidence determining which animals counted as his wages under the agreement. His honesty in selecting only the animals matching that description would become evident later.
His righteousness means his honesty and fairness in the arrangement with Laban. That honest conduct would be proved and publicly established in the future by the animals counted as his wages. It points to his faithful labor and integrity in contrast to treating the animals designated as his wages as stolen.
The verse belongs to Jacob's sojourn with Laban his uncle and his dealings over his wages. It falls within the account of his departure from Syria for Palestine. It concerns his work in Padan-aram, where he received abundant flocks and herds, and his prosperity was one of the temporal blessings included in his birthright.
This part of his life shows his selfishness and unfaithfulness. It belongs within the checkered story of his selfish plotting and resulting suffering. It belongs to the account of his unsatisfactory experience and his materially driven dealings, showing the supplanter character expressed in his name.
The verse belongs to the history of Jacob's polygamous family. That history proves that polygamy brought very great unhappiness into every family where it entered. It was never anything but evil and wrong, even though it was allowed among God's ancient people through the whole Old Testament period.
Law Known Before Sinai
Jacob treated his honesty and fairness in the wage agreement with Laban as something that would be proved and publicly established in the future by the appearance of the animals counted as his hire. The test was that every goat that was not speckled and spotted and every sheep that was not brown, if found among his animals, would be counted as stolen from Laban. In this both men treated taking another person's property and keeping an animal outside the agreed hire as theft, showing a clear understanding that taking what was not rightfully owned was wrong.
In Jacob's time stealing was understood as a recognized wrong, for Jacob himself declared that any animal in his wages that did not match the agreed markings would be counted stolen. Keeping an animal outside the agreed hire in this way was deemed a heinous offense.
The arrangement is evidence that the principle and prohibition against stealing was known long before the law was given at Sinai. Jacob and Laban knew the law against stealing long before Sinai, and the law against stealing was already in force before Moses.
Providence and Application
This portion of Jacob's life belongs to his sojourn with Laban his uncle and his departure from Syria for Palestine, and it shows God's care for him despite his selfishness and unfaithfulness. It stands within his dealings over his wages as part of a checkered story of selfish plotting and resulting suffering. The setting illustrates retribution under God's providence, in that Jacob, who overreached others, in turn encountered overreaching, with God bringing retribution even when it seems slow.
God prospered Jacob in his flocks and herds for his hire despite Laban's efforts to deprive him of his right. While working for Laban in Padan-aram he received abundant flocks and herds through God's blessing, and that prosperity was one of the temporal blessings included in his birthright. His righteousness in the arrangement points to his faithful labor and integrity, in contrast to treating the animals designated as his wages as stolen. The varied colors of his cattle serve as a comparison for a group's lack of agreement in belief.