Wolves and the Three-Day Gap Between Laban and Jacob's Flocks

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 30:36

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"Between himself and Jacob" (Genesis 30:36) — between his flock, which he placed in the hand of his sons, and those flocks which he placed in the hand of Jacob, a distance of three days, so that Jacob's flock would not again mix with the remaining flock of Laban. And from the moment that Jacob left them, immediately wolves came and took many of them.

Themes

Divine ProvidencePatriarchsJacobAnimalsProtection

Biblical References

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Midrash AggadahIsaac Reaches to Touch Jacob and Angels Steady His Trembling ArmsListen, and hear how a single word nearly undid Jacob. When the blind Isaac reached out to bless, he heard his son say that the LORD his God had sped the hunt tMidrash AggadahWhy Jacob Sent Joseph From the Valley of Hebron"Go now, see the welfare of your brothers," said the father, and the words landed like a stone in a well. The sages read them beside another seeing: "And Aaron Midrash AggadahIsaac's Trembling Greater Than the Altar When Esau ReturnsWhen Esau came in from the field bearing his savory dish, Isaac trembled — and the sages measured that trembling. Rabbi Hama bar Hanina taught that it was greatMidrash AggadahWhy Jacob Went Out Twice and the Angel Freed Esau's GameThe verse stammers: "as Jacob was scarce gone out, gone out." Why does Scripture double the word? Rabbi Aibu hears in it a held breath. Jacob seemed to leave hiMidrash AggadahJacob's Answer to Isaac and the Ram of the AkedahWhen Isaac, blind and old, marveled at how swiftly the savory dish had been brought, he asked his son, "How is it that you found it so quickly, my son?" The ansBook of JubileesJacob — Shechem Among the FathersThe Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text not included in the Hebrew Bible but considered scripture by some, certainly thinks so. It gives us a slightly diff