According to Legends of the Jews, that sign came with the birth of his son, Joseph. Jacob believed that Joseph's descendants would ultimately triumph over Esau's – his own brother, with whom he was not on the best of terms – and he declared, "Now I need not fear Esau or his legions!"
Around this time, Jacob received another nudge in the right direction. Rebekah, Jacob's mother, sent her nurse, Deborah, along with two of Isaac’s servants, urging him to return home. His fourteen years of service to Laban were up! So, Jacob approached Laban with a request: "Give me my wives and my children, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country, for my mother has sent messengers unto me, bidding me to return to my father's house."
Laban, ever the smooth talker, responded, "O that I might find favor in thine eyes! By a sign it was made known unto me that God blesseth me for thy sake." What Laban really cared about, as Ginzberg tells us, was the treasure he’d found the day Jacob arrived – he saw it as proof of Jacob's good influence. And, truthfully, Jacob had brought blessings to Laban's house. As the text indicates, a pestilence had ceased with Jacob's arrival, and Laban had sons born to him during Jacob's stay.
The deal they struck was that Jacob would receive the speckled and spotted goats, and the black sheep. Laban, thinking he was being clever, agreed. "Behold, I would it might be according to thy word," he said. But Laban, described in Legends of the Jews as an "arch-villain," suspected Jacob of trickery, projecting his own deceitful nature onto him.
Here's where it gets interesting. Laban, true to form, couldn’t keep his word. The Zohar tells us he changed their agreement no less than a hundred times! But even with Laban’s constant changes, he couldn’t thwart the divine plan. Despite a three-day separation between their flocks, angels, according to tradition, intervened to bring Laban's sheep to Jacob, and Jacob's flocks thrived.
Laban had given Jacob only the weak and sickly animals, but under Jacob's care, they produced offspring so exceptional that people paid top dollar for them. Jacob didn't even need to use tricks like peeling rods to influence the breeding; he simply spoke, and the flocks bore according to his desire. This wasn't just luck, though. The text emphasizes that every faithful laborer is rewarded by God in this world, regardless of what awaits them in the next. Jacob had arrived with nothing, and now, Ginzberg writes, he was leaving with herds numbering six hundred thousand!
Unsurprisingly, Laban and his sons grew envious. Their faces betrayed their resentment. Then, as we read, the Lord spoke to Jacob: "Thy father-in-law's countenance is not toward thee as beforetime, and yet thou tarriest with him? Do thou rather return unto the land of thy fathers, and there I will let My Shekinah rest upon thee, for I cannot permit the Shekinah to reside outside of the Holy Land." (The Shekinah, by the way, is the divine presence.)
So, Jacob acted swiftly. He sent Naphtali to summon Rachel and Leah to a secret meeting in the field. His wives agreed to return home. Jacob, without informing Laban, packed up his belongings and prepared to leave. Laban was away shearing his sheep, offering Jacob the perfect opportunity.
But there's one more twist: Rachel stole her father's teraphim (household idols). We learn that these weren't your average figurines. According to the text, they were made by killing a firstborn son, salting and anointing his head, and placing a tablet inscribed with "the Name" (presumably, a divine name) under his tongue. This head, placed in a house with lit candles, would then answer questions posed to it, all thanks to the power of the Name. Rachel hid the teraphim on her camel and they left.
What does this story tell us? It's a reminder that divine providence often works in mysterious ways. Jacob's journey was fraught with challenges, deceit, and envy. Yet, through it all, he remained faithful, and ultimately, he was rewarded. It makes you wonder: what "Laban" are we dealing with in our own lives, and what "homeland" are we striving to reach?