Genesis 32:15

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 32:15 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals.
Genesis 32:15 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 32

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
15thirty milch camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Thirty milch camels with their colts, etc.] Milch camels were in great esteem in the eastern countries; their milk being, as Aristotle f1533 and Pliny f1534 say, the sweetest of all milk: forty kine and ten bulls; one bull to ten cows; the same proportion as in the goats and rams: twenty she asses and ten foals; and supposing thirty colts belonging to the camels; the present consisted of five hundred and eighty head of cattle: a large number to spare out of his flocks and herds, that he had acquired in six years’ time; and showed a generous disposition as well as prudence, to part with so much in order to secure the rest.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Jacob Wrestles in Prayer 3. מחנים machănāyı̂m, Machanaim, “two camps.” 22. יבק yaboq, Jabboq; related: בקק bāqaq “gush or gurgle out” or אבק 'ābaq in niphal, “wrestle.” Now Wady Zurka. 29. ישׂראל yı̂śrā'ēl, Jisrael, “prince of God.” 31. פניאל penı̂y'ēl = פנוּאל penû'ēl, Peniel, Penuel, “face of God.” After twenty years spent in Aram, Jacob now returns to Kenann. As his departure was marked by a great moment in his spiritual life, so he is now approaching to a crisis in his life of no less significance Genesis 32:1-3 Jacob has a vision of the heavenly host. This passage, recording Laban’s farewell and departure, closes the connection of Jacob with Haran and all its toils of…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification