What Does Genesis 30:38 Mean?

He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they mated when they came to drink, the flocks mated in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. The placement of the sticks at the watering troughs combined the mating location with the visual stimulus Jacob was using. The watering troughs were natural gathering points where animals came regularly; placing the sticks there ensured maximum exposure of the breeding pairs to the visual stimulus.

The result: "the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted." The offspring that are Jacob's wages by agreement are being produced in higher numbers than the random genetic distribution of the parent stock would predict. Whether this is because Jacob was selectively pairing the animals most likely to produce these offspring (verses 40-42 suggest this was also part of his strategy) or because of divine intervention (Genesis 31:10-12) or both, the outcome serves Jacob's wage interests.

Jacob's management of the breeding location and conditions is not theft; it is expertise applied to fair terms. The agreement gave him all abnormal offspring regardless of how many there were. By managing the breeding conditions to produce more, he is maximizing the return on a legitimately agreed-upon wage arrangement. The boundary between shrewd management and deception is drawn by the terms of the agreement, and Jacob's actions fell within those terms.