John Chrysostom : "I call you to witness my labors," he is saying. "I mean, you know how I did my best with good grace and how, after taking charge of your poor creatures, I made them grow into a vast herd through my attention and vigilance." Then, to show his godly attitude, he added, "The Lord, you see, has blessed you in my coming. So isn't it high time for me to build a house of my own?" You yourself know that after my arrival grace from on high increased your prosperity. So now, since I too have made every effort on my part with good grace in discharge of my service and the grace of God has become manifest, it is only fair that I too should build a house for myself." Now, what is the meaning of "build a house for myself"? It means, to live now in freedom and to pay attention to a house of one's own. — HOMILIES ON Genesis 57.4 Augustine of Hippo : OBSERVE THE MEANING OF THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE. — Concerning the words of Jacob: the Lord has blessed you at my foot ; you must pay close attention and notice the meaning of the Scriptures, lest it seems as if it were augury being used, when in fact it was a normal expression. Thus, it is very important to highlight what he says: the Lord has blessed you at my foot , He wanted it to be understood "at my entrance", and Jacob gives thanks to God. [ — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 91 (tr. J. Litteral, draft) Augustine of Hippo : ON THE ENGINEERING OF JACOB TO VARY THE COLOR OF HERDS. — About what Jacob did, when he took off the bark of the branches, tearing out the green to make them look white, so that at the moment of conception, when the mothers would drink in the water of the canals, and would look upon the branches in this variety of colors, the flocks of the herds also became spotted. It is said that many facts of the same nature are produced in the animals. There is even a similar story of a woman, and a skillful physician of the highest antiquity, which is described in the books of Hippocrates * . The woman, therefore, having brought into the world a child of rare beauty, who had no resemblance either to its father or mother or to its family; the woman was under the suspicion of adultery, condemned to execution. But the physician whom we mentioned above decided to inquire by seeking counsel to see if there was not some similar picture of the child in the bedroom. A similar picture was found, and this woman was relieved of suspicion. Let us return to what Jacob did: It is not clear how useful it was, for the multiplication of spotted animals, the meeting of three branches of different trees; It was not important for this result that the spotted branches were made from one or more tree species, since the variety of colors was the only necessary condition. We must therefore see a prophecy and a figurative sense in this act that, without a doubt, Jacob did as a prophet: And that is why he should not be accused of deceit. One must believe indeed, that he did not behave in this way only according to a spiritual revelation. Now, in order not to violate justice, as other translators say it more clearly, he did not lay the branches when the sheep conceived a second time. This is what the Septuagint says in few words and with some obscurity: But he did not put them in whenever the cattle happened to bring forth (Gen. 30:42). This assertion must be understood in the sense that as soon as they had given birth for the first time, so that they do not think that they used to put them when they were going to give birth a second time, so that he did not take all the offspring, which would be an injustice. [ — QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 92 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)