- Feb 4, 2006
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I wanted to post this as a new thread before it gets lost in the thread where I originally posted it. I hope you find it interesting.
The spotted and ringstraked offspring were the offspring of rams that carried and passed on that characteristic. The peeled rods had nothing to do with their coloration and there is nothing in the story that indicates this.
The exposed white of the poplar rods may have been a visual breeding stimulus for the does much like it is for some species of deer. Deer, sheep, and goats are distantly related. The more visual rubs (saplings with bark peeled almost all the way around) of the whitetail deer are called 'signpost rubs' and indicated the presence of breeding bucks to the females in the area.
It is well known that while the presence of breeding males doesn't always cause the females to come into heat it serves to 'organize' the breeding cycle for maximum effectiveness. In the case of goats their odiferous presence actually does bring the females into heat. So Jacob's peeled rods may have indicated to the female sheep and goats that the watering areas were the place to breed, not the cause. The introduction of strong-smelling breeding males would have brought them into heat. Jacob did this to ensure maximum breeding effectiveness so he could quickly build his own flocks. The story further reveals that the rams that were used that may have appeared one-colored actually carried the multi-colored qualities that Jacob sought.
Poplar 'rods' peeled by deer to help organize the breeding cycle.
Male deer and male goats have some similiar breeding behaviors, notably that of urinating on themselves to attract females. The goat pees in his beard while the deer urinates on his hind legs as an enhancement to the musky secretions from his 'tarsal' glands located on the inside of his hocks.
The 'rubs' or peeling of the bark from saplings during the deer breeding season might have been shown to Jacob by his brother Esau, who hunted deer in the area (his father Isaac loved the 'venison' he brought home from the field). Jacob may have used the technique in hopes of enhancing the breeding cycle of the sheep and goats without actually knowing if it would work. My guess is that he was using every trick in the book to become successful.
Another thought. The reason Jacob placed several peeled rods in front of the cattle instead of just one may lie in another habit of male deer regarding these rubs. They will often rub many saplings in a small area of the woods. These are called 'cluster rubs' and probably indicate a 'loafing area' frequented by the buck, but not necessarily a 'breeding' area.
Esau may also have revealed this to Jacob, who may have thought,"Hey, if one peeled poplar is good, two (or two dozen) is twice as good."
The spotted and ringstraked offspring were the offspring of rams that carried and passed on that characteristic. The peeled rods had nothing to do with their coloration and there is nothing in the story that indicates this.
The exposed white of the poplar rods may have been a visual breeding stimulus for the does much like it is for some species of deer. Deer, sheep, and goats are distantly related. The more visual rubs (saplings with bark peeled almost all the way around) of the whitetail deer are called 'signpost rubs' and indicated the presence of breeding bucks to the females in the area.
It is well known that while the presence of breeding males doesn't always cause the females to come into heat it serves to 'organize' the breeding cycle for maximum effectiveness. In the case of goats their odiferous presence actually does bring the females into heat. So Jacob's peeled rods may have indicated to the female sheep and goats that the watering areas were the place to breed, not the cause. The introduction of strong-smelling breeding males would have brought them into heat. Jacob did this to ensure maximum breeding effectiveness so he could quickly build his own flocks. The story further reveals that the rams that were used that may have appeared one-colored actually carried the multi-colored qualities that Jacob sought.
Poplar 'rods' peeled by deer to help organize the breeding cycle.
Male deer and male goats have some similiar breeding behaviors, notably that of urinating on themselves to attract females. The goat pees in his beard while the deer urinates on his hind legs as an enhancement to the musky secretions from his 'tarsal' glands located on the inside of his hocks.
The 'rubs' or peeling of the bark from saplings during the deer breeding season might have been shown to Jacob by his brother Esau, who hunted deer in the area (his father Isaac loved the 'venison' he brought home from the field). Jacob may have used the technique in hopes of enhancing the breeding cycle of the sheep and goats without actually knowing if it would work. My guess is that he was using every trick in the book to become successful.
Another thought. The reason Jacob placed several peeled rods in front of the cattle instead of just one may lie in another habit of male deer regarding these rubs. They will often rub many saplings in a small area of the woods. These are called 'cluster rubs' and probably indicate a 'loafing area' frequented by the buck, but not necessarily a 'breeding' area.
Esau may also have revealed this to Jacob, who may have thought,"Hey, if one peeled poplar is good, two (or two dozen) is twice as good."
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