Jacob and the Flocks of Laban, and Jacob’s Departure from Laban

Thomas Dalziel

Date uncertain: 1863 –1880

Proof wood engraving cut by the Dalziel Brothers, printed on India paper

The double image: 9¾ x 7¼ inches at widest point

Illustration in Dalziels’ Bible Gallery, Plate 15

In the first image Dalziel shows Jacob carrying the stripped-down branches which, placed next to the water where the livestock mate, will supposedly produce striped or spotted offspring, and so increase Jacob’s wealth Genesis 30: 37–40. The second depicts Jacob’s fleeing with his wife and camels (31: 17–18). Both images are again efficient pieces of storytelling which demonstrate Dalziel’s capacity to represent sunlit exteriors and nocturnes – effects embodied in expertly executed engravings.