Lexical Summary patsal: To strip, to separate, to divide Original Word: פָצַל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance pill A primitive root; to peel -- pill. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to peel NASB Translation peeled (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs [מָּצַל] verb Pi`el peel (Late Hebrew Pi`el split, divide; so Arabic  , Jewish-Aramaic (Talmud) מְּצַל, Syriac  ; akin to בצל q. v.); — Perfect3masculine singular מִּצֵּל Genesis 30:38 (object rods); Imperfect3masculine singular וַיְפַצֵּל Genesis 30:37 (c.accusative of congnate meaning with verb). Topical Lexicon Biblical Setting The verb appears exclusively in the account of Jacob’s flock-management strategy (Genesis 30:37, 38), where he “peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches” (Genesis 30:37). By placing the stripped rods at the watering troughs, Jacob sought to influence the outcome of the breeding season and thus increase the number of streaked and speckled animals promised him as wages. Cultural and Agricultural Insights Ancient husbandry commonly attributed sympathetic influence to visual stimuli placed before mating livestock. While modern genetics would assign no direct causation, the text portrays Jacob employing a method he had observed while still depending ultimately on divine providence. The action underscores Israelite awareness of practical means and God’s mysterious cooperation with human initiative. The verb therefore signals skilled, deliberate labor rather than magical manipulation. Divine Providence and Covenant Faithfulness Immediately after the narrative of the peeled rods, Jacob testifies: “God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me” (Genesis 31:9). Scripture thus attributes the remarkable increase not to peeled branches alone but to the Lord who remembers His covenant (Genesis 28:13-15). The rare verb forms part of the larger pattern in Genesis in which apparently mundane acts—sowing seed, digging wells, or in this case stripping bark—become conduits for covenant blessing. Ethical and Ministerial Lessons 1. Diligent Labor: Jacob’s painstaking preparation of the branches exemplifies responsible stewardship. Believers are encouraged likewise to combine prayerful dependence with practical effort (James 2:17). Intertextual Connections • Stripping or peeling as imagery occurs elsewhere in Scripture to signify removal of covering or revelation of inner reality (Isaiah 30:14; Ezekiel 26:16). Jacob’s action prefigures the principle that what is hidden is brought to light, a theme echoed in 1 Corinthians 4:5. Conclusion Though the verb surfaces only twice, its placement at a turning point in Jacob’s life highlights God’s sovereignty working through ordinary human craft. The peeled rods become a tangible sign of divine overruling, reminding readers that faithful toil, exercised within God’s moral boundaries, is an instrument through which He accomplishes covenant purposes and blesses His people. Forms and Transliterations וַיְפַצֵּ֤ל ויפצל פִּצֵּ֔ל פצל piṣ·ṣêl piṣṣêl pitzTzel vayfatzTzel way·p̄aṣ·ṣêl wayp̄aṣṣêlLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 30:37 HEB: וְל֣וּז וְעֶרְמ֑וֹן וַיְפַצֵּ֤ל בָּהֵן֙ פְּצָל֣וֹת NAS: and plane trees, and peeled white KJV: and chesnut tree; and pilled white INT: and almond and plane and peeled stripes white Genesis 30:38 2 Occurrences |
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