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VaYetse

  
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 31:9
 31:10
 31:11
31:10 'During the breeding season, I suddenly had a vision. I saw that the bucks mounting the sheep were ringed, spotted and flecked.
Vayehi be'et yachem hatson va'esa eynay va'ere bachalom vehineh ha'atudim ha'olim al-hatson akudim nekudim uverudim.
31:11 'An angel called to me in God's name, 'Jacob!' - and I replied 'Yes.'
Vayomer elay mal'ach ha'Elohim bachalom Ya'akov va'omar hineni.


Commentary:

suddenly
  Literally, 'I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream.' The phrase, 'lifting eyes,' in general, is usually translated as raising eyes or looking up. This is very difficult here, since why would one look up to see a dream? Therefore, it seems to be an idiom denoting seeing with new concentration or in a new light (see Genesis 13:10, 18:2, 24,63, 22:4,13, 33:1, 43:29, etc.). If taken literally, the verse here would be interpreted, 'I lifted my eyes and saw a vision [in the sky].' The expression of 'lifting eyes' can also denote concentration, contemplation and meditation: 'I contemplated the scene and had a vision.' It is surprising that none of the commentaries discuss this. See Genesis 31:12.

vision
  Literally a dream.

An angel...
  See note on Genesis 16:10.





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