Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 30:35

"And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstreaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons;" — Genesis 30:35 (ASV)

And he removed. — The question has been asked whether it was Jacob or Laban who made the division, and whether Jacob was to have all such sheep and goats as were already parti-colored, or only those that would be born afterwards. The authors of the Authorized Version evidently thought that Laban himself removed all speckled sheep and goats and kept them; however, the Hebrew does not support this view as strongly as their own translation suggests. For example, in Genesis 30:32, they insert “of such” in italics; the Hebrew distinctly says, And it shall be my hire: that is, every one speckled or spotted shall be mine, with the singular number being used throughout.

Next, in Genesis 30:33, they translate, in time to come: according to this, if the parti-colored sheep and goats at any time produced white or black lambs, as they generally would, such would revert to Laban. The Hebrew, however, says, My righteousness shall answer for me to-morrow. Jacob was to make the selection at once, but the next day Laban was to look over all those put aside, and if he found among them any white sheep, or black or brown goats, he was to regard them as stolen—that is, he could not only take them back but also require the usual fine or compensation.

And gave them into the hand of his sons. — It has been assumed that these were Laban’s sons, on the ground that Jacob’s sons were not old enough to undertake the charge; but as Reuben was twenty-six, this was not the case. Jacob’s flocks would have fared very poorly if they had been entrusted to Laban’s sons; nor, had his property been in their keeping, could he have escaped six years later without Laban immediately becoming aware of it.