The Bizarre Animal-Breeding Technique of Jacob (Gen. 30:37-39): Does It Work?

After 14 years of serving his father-in-law Laban and significantly increasing Laban’s wealth, Jacob requested all the speckled, striped, spotted, and black livestock as payment so that a clear distinction could be made between what was his and what was his father-in-law’s. Laban deceptively agreed, but then removed the speckled, striped, spotted, and black animals from the flocks that Jacob pastured. In response, Jacob devised an unusual breeding technique to increase his own flocks. “Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 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 bred when they came to drink, the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted...” (Gen. 30:37-39, 41 ESV).

Whether this was a local custom or Jacob’s innovation, it is not a scientifically proven method that works. But that’s not the point of the text. Jacob understood that God was the one working behind the scenes to make this happen (Gen. 31:9-12), so the sticks, perhaps a diversionary ploy to confound Laban, merely complemented what the Lord was doing rather than causing it to happen.

God had already promised to bless, protect, and prosper Jacob and his family (Gen. 28:13-15). Sometimes miraculously, sometimes providentially, the Lord kept his word. In spite of our sometimes ridiculous schemes, that’s the kind of God we serve. 

--Kevin Moore

 

Related Posts: How many times can Egyptian cows die?

 

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The Story of Young Jacob

     Jacob was one of at least seven children born into a relatively poor family. He was the second oldest, with a significant age gap between him and his older brother. Their father was a hard-working man who took good care of the family but apparently died when Jacob was just a young boy. Jacob and his brothers and sisters were now fatherless, and their widowed mother was left to care for the children on her own.¹

You Can’t Choose Your Family

     By default Jacob’s older brother was now the head of the house, with the responsibility of providing for, protecting, and caring for his mother and younger siblings. Under normal circumstances this would have been feasible, but there was a problem. The older brother wasn’t “normal.” He started hanging out with the wrong crowd and developed a questionable reputation. He also had extreme views about religion and politics, consistently going against the flow, rocking the boat, and making people uneasy and often angry.²

     This put a lot of pressure on young Jacob and his family, and they suspected that the older brother might be mentally unstable. He appeared to be trying to make a name for himself, more concerned about his own selfish agenda than about his loved ones and their needs. In fact, it got so bad that the people in their home community threatened his life and ran him out of town, which meant that Jacob and his mother and siblings had to go with him. Through no fault of his own, young Jacob was forced to leave his friends and the only home he had ever known. They ended up living far away in a tiny fishing village, where Jacob didn’t know anyone. His little world had been turned upside down, and it didn’t get any better.³

     The older brother seemed to be getting more radical, generating further controversy and conflict. When Jacob and his family confronted him, letting him know they didn’t accept his unorthodox views or support him in any way, it was to no avail. The family had to move yet again, this time to a big city, which was even more unsettling and traumatic.⁴ It was here that Jacob’s world came crashing down.

The Life-Changing Event

     Late one afternoon Jacob’s mother came home observably distraught, crying and heart-broken. She brought the tragic news that her oldest son had been violently murdered. Jacob had not only lost a brother, but now he was the oldest among his siblings, which meant that the responsibility of taking care of the family fell on his young shoulders. Since he was still not old enough, they ended up living with a friend of the older brother, who was known for his volatile disposition and bad temper.⁵ 

     While it never got any easier for Jacob, one day something extraordinary happened that changed his life and his perspective forever. He saw his brother – the one who had been killed – alive! How could this be? His own mother had watched him die. But Jacob saw him walking, living, and breathing! It finally occurred to him that his brother wasn’t a freak, a nut case, or as fanatical as so many had assumed. He was exactly who he professed to be all along. Though biologically related through their mother, they didn’t have the same father. As it turns out, Jacob’s older brother was none other than the Son of God!⁶

     From that day onward Jacob was a loyal disciple, and as he got older he became a prominent leader in the movement his brother had started. He married a believing wife and stayed in Jerusalem for the rest of his life, faithfully teaching and ministering around the region.⁷ He also produced an inspired manuscript that has been preserved in our New Testament, sandwiched between Hebrews and 1 Peter.

Jacob’s Writing

     The document, originally written in koinē Greek, begins with the author’s self-identification: Ἰάκωβος (Iakōbos) – the Graecized form of the name “Jacob.” This name, however, has been modified through the centuries. The Late Latin Iacomus was a variant form, which passed into Old French and then into English as “James.”⁸

     In the opening verse, Jacob identifies himself as “a bondservant [doulos] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Jas. 1:1 NKJV). While it would have been legitimate to call attention to the fact that he was a brother [adelphos] of the Lord Jesus Christ, apparently his spiritual relationship was more important to him than his physical connection. Jacob’s younger brother Judas also contributed an inspired manuscript to the New Testament, where he too humbly identifies himself as “a bondservant [doulos] of Jesus Christ ...” (Jude 1).⁹

     Jacob admonishes his readers: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (Jas. 1:2-3). Notice that he uses the term adelphoi (“brethren” = “brothers and sisters”) to address his reading audience. Seeing that Jacob was the younger brother of Jesus, and he regards his readership as brothers and sisters, in God’s family the Lord Jesus Christ is our older brother too (cf. Heb. 2:9-18).

     From his earliest years Jacob was all too familiar with the “various trials” that accompany living in an imperfect world, so from personal experience he offers a seasoned outlook. One can “count it all joy,” he insists, not because of the unpleasant circumstances but in view of the outcome. Life’s inevitable adversities that test our faith help to produce the perseverance [hupomonē] necessary to face the challenges of this world as dedicated bondservants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lessons from Young Jacob’s Life

1. Jesus loves all the children of the world, and Jacob appears to have been the first, even though he didn’t always appreciate it. While there are still many around the globe who don’t know about or care about the love Jesus has for them, this in no way diminishes the fact of his love. Surely everyone deserves a chance to hear about the love of Christ and an opportunity to respond (John 15:13; Mark 16:15).

2. Jacob had a hard life, full of uncertainty and fear. From his youth he was unsettled and displaced, acquainted with hardship and loss. Nevertheless, he eventually learned to “count it all joy” because these various trials produced in him the patient endurance he needed. He now invites us to share this godly perspective (Jas. 1:2-3, 12; 4:10; 5:7-11).

3. There was a period in young Jacob’s life when he was skeptical about his older brother, and at times antagonistic. Nagging doubts are understandable, as long as we remain open to the evidence God has provided through his creation and through his word. “Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7).

4. Jacob reached a point in his life that he couldn’t deny the evidence any longer, compelling him to acknowledge his brother as the Lord Jesus Christ. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:29b-31).  

5. While Jacob spent the rest of his life as the Lord’s faithful bondservant, think of all the opportunities he missed during his years of unbelief. The longer one puts off accepting and obeying and serving Christ, the more he/she misses out on what is truly worthwhile (2 Cor. 6:1-2).
     According to tradition, Jacob (a.k.a. James) was killed in the year 62 by hostile Jews who threw him off the pinnacle of the temple and then stoned him (Josephus, Ant. 20.9; Clement of Alexandria, Hist. Eccl. 2.23). “Therefore submit to God …. whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:7a, 14). 

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Matt. 1:24-25; 13:55-56; Mark 4:31; 6:3; cf. Luke 2:22-24.

     ² Matt. 9:10-11; 11:19; Mark 3:22; Luke 4:28; 6:11.

     ³ Mark 3:21, 31-35; Luke 4:29, 31; Matt. 4:13; John 2:12.

     ⁴ John 7:1-10; Luke 9:51; cf. Acts 1:14.

     ⁵ John 19:25-27; cf. Mark 3:17; Luke 9:54.

     ⁶ Matt. 1:18-25; 1 Cor. 15:3-7; Jas. 2:1; cf. Rom. 1:4.

     ⁷ Acts 1:14; 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; 1 Cor. 9:5; Gal. 1:19; 2:9.

     ⁸ See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed, s.v. “James.”

     ⁹ See The NT Epistle of Judas.

*Prepared for the Kaitoke NZ Christian Camp 6th June 2016.

Related Posts: The Son of Mary, The Epistle of Jacob 

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The Twelve Apostles (Part 10): James of Alphaeus

     The English name James is translated from Iakōbos, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew Ya`aqob or Ya`aqov (“Jacob”), meaning “heel-grabber” or “supplanter” (Gen. 25:26).¹ While multiple persons in the New Testament wear this name, the present study concerns James the son of Alphaeus. He is mentioned by name only in the four lists of the apostles and is always listed ninth (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). If he is the same as “James the Less,” he is identified three more times in the biblical record along with his mother Mary and brother Joses/Joseph (Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40; 16:1). The qualifier “the Less” [mikros]² may suggest that he was younger, or of smaller stature, or simply less prominent than Zebedee’s son James.

     While it is possible that James the son of Alphaeus was the brother of Matthew Levi the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14; cf. Matt. 9:9; 10:3), this is not certain since the name Alphaeus was fairly common. John Chrysostom (347-407) and Jerome (347-420) suggested that he was the Lord’s brother James, but this is highly unlikely. Not only is there a distinction made between the apostles and the siblings of Jesus (Acts 1:13-14), the Lord’s brothers did not believe in him as the Messiah even after the twelve had been chosen (John 6:67; 7:5).

     Little else is known about Alphaeus’ son James, but he would naturally be included in the narratives of the Gospels and Acts where the apostles are alluded to collectively.³ After about three years of apostolic training, he was among the eyewitnesses of the risen Lord, spending nearly six weeks with Christ prior to observing his ascension into heaven (Acts 1:2-11). He was present with his fellow-apostles on the Day of Pentecost as they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in various languages to a multitude of foreign Jews (2:1-11). He stood alongside Peter as the message of Christ was proclaimed (v. 14), as a result of which around 3,000 souls obeyed the gospel (v. 41).

     James continued teaching new converts and evangelizing the lost, confirming the word he preached with miraculous signs (Acts 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12-16, 42; 6:4). He was also involved in benevolence work (4:34-37) and conflict management (6:1-7; 15:6). The gospel successfully spread through the evangelistic efforts of James and his co-workers, leading to imprisonments, beatings, and ongoing persecutions (Acts 5:17-41; 8:1, 14; 9:1; 12:1). James eventually left Jerusalem to carry on his ministry elsewhere, taking along his believing wife (1 Cor. 9:5). He faced many more dangers and hardships as he dutifully proclaimed the good news of Jesus to a lost and dying world (1 Cor. 4:9-13).

     Through his devoted apostolic ministry, James played a critical role in laying the spiritual foundation upon which the church of Christ continues to stand (Eph. 2:19–3:5). According to tradition he went on to preach the gospel in Lower Egypt (Ostrakine), where he eventually died as a martyr by crucifixion.

     James the son of Alphaeus does not stand out as a prominent figure in the New Testament. He shared a very common name with others who were much more renowned than he (e.g. Acts 12:2, 17). Although the spotlight never shone on him as an individual, he was just as committed to the Lord’s cause as the other apostles among whom he diligently labored. Let us learn from James that unrecognized faithfulness in God’s service is infinitely more valuable than earthly acclaim.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ See The 12 Apostles (Part 4): James of Zebedee and The NT Epistle of Jacob. At least five men are mentioned in the New Testament by the name Iakōbos: (1) The Old Testament patriarch Jacob (Matt. 1:2, 8; 22:32; etc.); (2) James, son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of John (Matt. 4:21; 27:56; cf. Mark 27:56); (3) James, son of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18; etc.); (4) James, father of Judas (Luke 6:16); and (5) James, the Lord’s brother (Matt. 13:55; Gal. 1:19).

     ² Also rendered “minor,” “little,” “lesser,” “younger,” etc. In some traditions James the son of Zebedee is identified as “James the Greater.”

     ³ See Matthias: the Forgotten Apostle.

     ⁴ All scripture quotations are from the NKJV.

Related Posts: The 12 Apostles (Part 1)

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The New Testament Epistle of Jacob

     The book entitled "James" in our English Bibles begins with these words in the Greek New Testament: Iakōbos theou kai kuriou Iēsou Christou doulos, meaning, "Jacob, a slave of God and of [the] Lord Jesus Christ" (author’s own translation). The name Iakōbos is actually the Graecized form of "Jacob." Etymologically, the Old French, derived from the Late Latin Iacomus (a variant of Iacobus), gave to English speakers two alternatives: "James" and "Jacques." Heavily influenced by Norman French, the English preferred "James," the first recorded reference to which was the biblical "St. James" in 1148. After the thirteenth century, this name was more commonly used, particularly in northern England and Scotland, and it became a very popular moniker when King James VI of Scotland became King James I of Great Britain in 1603 (see The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.). 

     At least five men are mentioned in the New Testament by the name Iakōbos: (1) The Old Testament patriarch Jacob (Matthew 1:2, 8; 22:32; etc.); (2) James, the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of John (Matthew 4:21; 27:56; cf. Mark 27:56); (3) James, the son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; etc.); (4) James, the father of Judas (Luke 6:16); and (5) James, the Lord’s brother (Matthew 13:55; Galatians 1:19).
     In addition to at least two half-sisters, Jesus had no less than four half-brothers, one of whom was named Iakōbos (Matthew 13:55-56; Mark 6:3). This is the one most likely to have authored the New Testament document that bears his name, seeing that the author writes authoritatively as though he were already well known and respected among his readers. Despite his initial unbelief (John 7:5, 10), James was an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7) and was later counted among the believers in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14). He would have still been relatively young when he took part in the meeting where Matthias replaced Judas (Acts 1:15-25), though he eventually rose to prominence as a leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17; 15:13; Galatians 1:19; 2:9).
     Striking similarities have been noted between the Greek of James’ epistle and the speech of James recorded in Acts 15:13-21. The epistle harmonizes with what is known about the Lord’s brother from Luke (Acts 15:13-21; 21:17-25), from Paul (Galatians 1:19; 2:9, 10), and from Josephus (Ant. 20.9). Origen is among the earliest to mention the epistle as the work of this particular James, while also recognizing the writing as scripture (Ad Rom. 4.1; Hom. in Lev. 2.4; Hom. in Josh. 7.1). Eusebius claimed that in his day, despite a few dissenters, the epistle was generally attributed to James, the half-brother of Christ (Eccl. Hist. 3.25.3; 2.23.25).
     Not all critical scholars accept the epistle of James as having been written by a sibling of Jesus. Reasons given include the following. (1) No special relationship with Christ is alluded to in the letter. (2) The language, cultural background, and style of the document seem inconsistent with a conservative Jewish peasant from Galilee. (3) There are a number of parallels between James and other New Testament writings, particularly the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7, suggesting literary dependence. (4) Similarities of language with I Clement and the Shepherd of Hermas point to a period well beyond the lifetime of James.
     In response, consider the following. (1) No special relation to Christ is alluded to because James obviously considered his spiritual relationship with the Lord to be much more significant than his physical connection. (2) While the quality of Greek in James should not be exaggerated, first-century Palestinian Jews appear to have been much more proficient in the Greek language and culture than some have imagined (see A. T. Robertson, Grammar 26-29), and the potential role of an amanuensis cannot be discounted either. (3) Familiarity with the teachings of Jesus is not equivalent to dependence on a written account; both James and Matthew (as well as other New Testament writers) were well acquainted with the same body of material long before it was put into writing. (4) It is just as likely that the respective authors of I Clement and the Shepherd of Hermas were influenced by the language of James.
     The opening address and the heavy Jewish flavoring of the epistle (cf. 1:1; 2:2, 8-13, 21; 4:11) indicate that it was written to Jewish believers early in the history of the church, before the movement had completely developed beyond the general circle of Judaism (cf. Acts 8:1, 4; 11:19; see James and the Law of Moses). Paul’s statement about James "leading about" a believing spouse (1 Corinthians 9:5) does not imply long-distance or long-term journeys but could simply have reference to the ministry of James and his wife around the region of Judea (cf. Acts 9:31; 11:1). The biblical record shows James living in Jerusalem from at least the year 30 (Acts 1:14), with his continual presence noted there in the years ca. 36 (Galatians 1:19), 44 (Acts 12:17), 50 (Acts 15:13), and 57 (Acts 21:18). Porcius Festus died in the summer of 62 (Josephus, War 20.9.1), and James is reported to have died as a martyr in Jerusalem about the same time (Josephus, Ant. 20.8.9; Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.23.2, 20).
     "Be humble before [the] Lord, and he will exalt you" (James 4:10).
–Kevin L. Moore

Related Posts: Epistle of Judas, James and the Law of Moses