Genesis 29 - 30
Jacob’s Love for Rachel
29Then Jacob 1took up his journey and came to the land of athe sons of the east. 2And he looked, and behold, aa well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they gave water to the flocks to drink. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3And all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and give water to the sheep to drink and return the stone back to its place on the mouth of the well.
4And Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from aHaran.” 5Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the ason of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is aRachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” 7And he said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Give water to the sheep to drink, and go, pasture them.” 8But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we give water to the sheep to drink.”
9While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10Now it happened, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and gave water to the flock of Laban his mother’s brother to drink. 11Then Jacob akissed Rachel and lifted his voice and wept. 12And Jacob told Rachel that he was a 1,arelative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and bshe ran and told her father.
13So it happened that when aLaban heard the report of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and he bembraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he recounted to Laban all these things. 14And Laban said to him, “Surely you are amy bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him one month.
15Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my 1relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall ayour wages be?” 16Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was abeautiful in form and beautiful in appearance. 18Now Jacob aloved Rachel, so he said, “bI will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his sight but a few days abecause of his love for her.
Laban Deceives Jacob
21Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may ago in to her.” 22And Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. 23Now it happened in the evening that he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. 24Laban also gave his servant-woman Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a servant-woman. 25Now it happened in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “aWhat is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you bdeceived me?” 26But Laban said, “It is not 1the practice in our place to give the younger before the firstborn. 27“Fulfill the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which ayou shall serve with me for another seven years.” 28And Jacob did so and fulfilled her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29Laban also gave his servant-woman Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her servant-woman. 30So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed ahe loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with 1Laban for banother seven years.
31And Yahweh saw that Leah was 1unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32So Leah conceived and bore a son and named him 1Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has 2,aseen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “aBecause Yahweh has 1heard that I am 2unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be 1joined to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named aLevi. 35And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will 1praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him 2,aJudah. Then she stopped bearing.
The Sons of Jacob
30Then Rachel saw that ashe bore Jacob no children, so 1she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “bGive me children, or else I die.” 2Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has awithheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3And she said, “aHere is my maidservant Bilhah, go in to her that she may bbear on my knees, that 1,cthrough her I too may obtain children.” 4So ashe gave him her servant-woman Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6Then Rachel said, “God has 1,arendered justice to me and has indeed listened to my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him 2Dan. 7And Rachel’s servant-woman Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8So Rachel said, “With 1mighty wrestlings I have 2wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.
9Then Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, so she took her servant-woman Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, “1How fortunate!” So she named him 2Gad. 12And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13Then Leah said, “1Happy am I! For women awill call me happy.” So she named him 2Asher.
14And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found amandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16Then Jacob came in from the field in the evening. And Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18And Leah said, “God has given me my 1wages because I gave my servant-woman to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19Then Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20And Leah said, “God has gifted me a good gift; this time my husband 1will honor me because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then aGod remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and bopened her womb. 23So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has ataken away my reproach.” 24And she named him Joseph, saying, “aMay Yahweh 1give me another son.”
Jacob Names His Wages
25Now it happened when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “aSend me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own land. 26“Give me my wives and my children afor whom I have served you, and let me go; for you yourself know my service which I have 1rendered you.” 27But Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, stay with me; I have interpreted an omen athat Yahweh has blessed me on your account.” 28And he continued to say, “aName me your wages, and I will give it.” 29But he said to him, “aYou yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have 1fared with me. 30“For you had little before 1I came, but it has aspread out to a multitude, and Yahweh has blessed you 2at every step of mine. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: 32let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every aspeckled and spotted sheep and every black 1one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. 33“So my righteousness will answer for me later, when you come concerning my 1wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.” 34And Laban said, “Behold, 1let it be according to your word.” 35So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the 1care of his sons. 36And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37Then Jacob 1took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and he peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was 2in the rods. 38And he set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the trough, that is, in the watering channels, where the flocks came to drink; and they 1mated when they came to drink. 39So the flocks 1mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40And Jacob separated the lambs, and he 1made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he set his own herds apart and did not set them with Laban’s flock. 41Now it would be that, whenever the 1stronger of the flock 2were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the trough, so that they might 3mate by the rods; 42but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the 1stronger Jacob’s. 43So athe man bspread out exceedingly and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.