Genesis 30:37

Summary

Genesis 30:37 describes Jacob selecting fresh branches from three types of trees — poplar, almond, and plane — and peeling strips of bark from them so that the white wood underneath was exposed in a striped pattern.

Key words

• yikkach ("he took", H3947) — qal narrative verb (with vav-consecutive) opening the action; the following lo ("for himself", H9033 suffix) marks Jacob as acting on his own behalf.
• maqqal ("branch of", H4731) — masculine singular construct noun, linking directly to livneh ("poplar", H3839): "branch of poplar," the first item in a list of three woods.
• lach ("freshly cut / green", H3892) — adjective modifying the poplar branch, specifying it was taken while still moist/green, relevant to the peeling process.
• yefatzel ("he stripped", H6478) — piel narrative verb; the piel stem intensifies the action, denoting a repeated or thorough peeling rather than a single simple cut.
• machsof ("peeling of", H4286) — masculine singular construct noun paired with ha-lavan ("the white [wood]", H3836), forming the phrase "the exposing/peeling of the white," describing the visual result of the stripping.

What the text says

The verse is built on two narrative verbs joined by the vav-consecutive chain typical of Hebrew storytelling: wayyiqqach ("and he took") and wayefatzel ("and he stripped"). The first verb introduces the object taken — a construct chain maqqal livneh ("branch of poplar") modified by lach ("freshly cut"), followed by two more tree names, luz ("almond", H3869) and ermon ("plane tree", H6196), joined by simple conjunctions rather than repeated construct forms. This suggests one composite action of gathering branches from three species.

The second verb, yefatzel, uses the piel stem, which in Hebrew grammar often marks intensive or repetitive action — here, a thorough, repeated peeling rather than a single stroke. The result is described through another construct phrase, machsof ha-lavan ("the peeling of the white [wood]"), followed by the relative clause asher al ha-maqlot ("which was on the branches", H0834A + H5921A), specifying that the white wood revealed was that which lay under the bark of the branches themselves. The feminine plural petzalot levanot ("white strips", H6479 + H3836) names the visible pattern left behind — narrow pale strips against the branch surface.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders livneh as στυρακίνην ("of storax"), differing from the Vulgate's populeas ("poplar") and the Hebrew term for poplar. The LXX also adds an evaluative clause, "τὸ λευκὸν... ποικίλον" ("the white... variegated"), not paralleled word-for-word in the Hebrew's simpler construct phrase machsof ha-lavan. The Vulgate expands the verse with an explanatory clause about parts of the branches "remaining green" (viridia permanserunt), an addition not present in the Hebrew text itself.