³¹When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected,^b he opened her womb;^c but Rachel was unable to conceive.^d ³²Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben,^A for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction;^e surely my husband will love me now.”

³³She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.^B

³⁴She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.^C

³⁵And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah.^D^f Then Leah stopped having children.

30When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!”^g she said to Jacob.

²Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God? He has withheld offspring^E from you!”

³Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me^F^h so that through her I too can build a family.” ⁴So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. ⁵Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, he has heard me and given me a son,” so she named him Dan.^G

⁷Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,^H I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.^I

⁹When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”^J and she named him Gad.^K

¹²When Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, ¹³Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,”ⁱ so she named him Asher.^L

¹⁴Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.^j When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well then,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

¹⁷God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar.^A

¹⁹Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰“God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.^B ²¹Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

²²Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb.^k ²³She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”^l ²⁴She named him Joseph^C and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.”^m

Read in Logos

Footnotes

A See, a Son; in , the name Reuben sounds like “has seen my affliction.”
BIn , the name Simeon sounds like “has heard.”
CIn , the name Levi sounds like “attached to.”
DIn , the name Judah sounds like “praise.”
E the fruit of the womb
F bear on my knees
GIn , the name Dan sounds like “has vindicated,” or “has judged.”
HOr “With mighty wrestlings
IIn , the name Naphtali sounds like “my wrestling.”
J tradition, , read “Good fortune has come!”
K Good Fortune
L Happy
AIn , the name Issachar sounds like “reward.”
BIn , the name Zebulun sounds like “honored.”
C He Adds

Cross references

b Gn 25:28; Dt 21:15–16; 22:13; 24:3; Lk 14:26; 16:13
c Gn 30:22
d Gn 11:30; 25:21; Jdg 13:2–3; 1Sm 2:5; Lk 1:36
e Gn 31:42; Ex 3:7; 4:31; Dt 26:7
f Gn 49:8; Mt 1:2
g 1Sm 1:5–6
h Gn 50:23
i Lk 1:48
j Sg 7:13
k Gn 29:31
l Is 4:1; Lk 1:25
m Gn 35:17