Genesis 30:37

“And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, etc.] Of the white poplar tree, called green, not from the colour, but from the moisture, being such as were cut off of the tree: and of the hazel and chestnut tree; the former some take to be the almond tree, as Saadiah Gaon, and others; and the latter to be the plantain or plane tree, so Ainsworth, and others: and pilled white strakes in them; took off the bark of them in some places, and left it on in others, which made white strakes: and made the white appear which [was] in the rods; that part of the rods which was stripped of the bark appeared white; and it appeared the whiter for the bark that was left on in other parts; and both made the rods…”

“Jacob took rods, &c.--There are many varieties of the hazel, some of which are more erect than the common hazel, and it was probably one of these varieties Jacob employed. The styles are of a bright red color, when peeled; and along with them he took wands of other shrubs, which, when stripped of the bark, had white streaks. These, kept constantly before the eyes of the female at the time of gestation, his observation had taught him would have an influence, through the imagination, on the future offspring.”

“30:37-43 God blessed Jacob despite Laban’s duplicity. Not to be outwitted, Jacob used selective breeding to acquire a flock, following the traditional belief that peeled sticks influenced the kind of animal that would be born. The peeled branches seemingly made his animals produce streaked and spotted young; Jacob later acknowledged that God had prospered him (31:7-12). Jacob gained stronger animals for himself and weaker ones for Laban (30:41-42). 30:37 making white streaks: A clever wordplay captures the meaning of this whole section. When Jacob exposed the white (Hebrew laban) streaks of wood underneath, he played the “white” game (the Laban game) and won. As he outwitted Laban…”