Meanwhile, Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban's flock. Jacob took branches from white poplar trees, freshly cut almond trees, and some other trees, stripped off their bark to make white streaks, and uncovered the white part inside the branches.

Then he placed the branches that he had stripped bare in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He placed the branches in front of the flock, and they went into heat as they came to drink.

Whenever the more vigorous of the flock came into heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the flock to make them mate by the branches.

A river flows from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides, becoming four branches.

When the flocks mated in front of the branches, they would bear offspring that were striped, speckled, or spotted.

But he didn't put the branches in front of any of the feeble members of the flock. As a result, the feeble ones belonged to Laban, but the stronger ones belonged to Jacob.

On the vine were three branches that budded. Blossoms shot out, and clusters grew up that produced ripe grapes.

Then Joseph told him, "This is what your dream means: The three branches are three days.

"Joseph is descended from a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine planted near springs of water. His branches climb over walls.