But that day Laban removed the he-goats that were striped: in verse 34 Laban agreed to let Jacob go through his herd and remove the spotted animals (verse 32). However, in verse 35 it is the cautious Laban who removes the multicolored animals. Even if he is removing them for Jacob, this does not represent the agreement. Therefore Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation But marks a contrast between what Laban agreed with Jacob and what he later did with his flocks. He-goats are male goats. Striped means having stripes of colors different from the general background color; this may also be said to be “streaked.”

She-goats that were speckled and spotted: again these female goats are the ones that have spots or specks of a different color from the background color of dark brown or black. They include goats that have any white on them. In Hebrew the word for white here is laban, which may be a play on Laban’s name.

Every lamb that was black: the word rendered lamb by Revised Standard Version translates the Hebrew word that refers to a sheep or goat as one of a flock. Good News Translation and others translate “black sheep.” We may also say, for example, “sheep with any black on them.”

And put them in charge of his sons: this is the first mention of Laban’s sons. We may translate this sentence “he told his sons to take care of them” or “he ordered his sons to look after them.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .