What does Genesis 30:32 mean?

Jacob finally names his price in order to stay and continue working for Laban as the manager of his livestock (Genesis 30:25–28). Some commentators suggest that it would not be uncommon for a shepherd in this era to receive 20 percent of a flock as payment for his services. However, Jacob does not ask for a straight proportion of the flocks of sheep and goats as his own.

Instead, Jacob asks that any future black lambs or speckled and spotted sheep and goats be his payment. Apparently, most of the sheep in a flock were white all over, and most of the goats were entirely black. In essence, Jacob is asking for a seemingly small subset of the animals. As the following verses will reveal, Jacob believed he could produce a lot of these spotted and speckled animals with selective breeding (Genesis 30:37–39). Much later, Jacob will reveal his knowledge that God, not strange farming practices, is the real source of the animals' growth (Genesis 31:10–13).

Laban, ever greedy and unfair, will hatch his own plan to try to keep Jacob's take of the flock small.