Genesis 28–31

Chapter 28

¹And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. ²Arise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father, and take a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. ³And the Almighty •God bless thee, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest become a company of peoples. ⁴And may he give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, in order that thou mayest possess the land of thy sojourning, which God gave to Abraham! ⁵And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he went to Padan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

⁶And Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-Aram, to take a wife thence, blessing him, and giving him a charge saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; ⁷and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-Aram. ⁸And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the sight of Isaac his father. ⁹And Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

¹⁰And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went towards Haran. ¹¹And he lighted on a certain place, and lodged there, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of the place, and made it his pillow, and lay down in that place. ¹²And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to the heavens. And behold, angels of God ascended and descended upon it. ¹³And behold, Jehovah stood above it. And he said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. ¹⁴And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places to which thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done what I have spoken to thee of.

¹⁶And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew it not. ¹⁷And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. ¹⁸And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had made his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but the name of that city was Luz at the first. ²⁰And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me on this road that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on, ²¹and I come again to my father’s house in peace—then shall Jehovah be my God. ²²And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou wilt give me I will without fail give the tenth to thee.

Chapter 29

¹And Jacob continued his journey, and went into the land of the children of the east. ²And he looked, and behold, there was a well in the fields, and behold there, three flocks of sheep were lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks, and a great stone was at the mouth of the well. ³And when all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the mouth of the well in its place. ⁴And Jacob said to them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. ⁵And he said to them, Do ye know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We do know him. ⁶And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well; and behold, there comes Rachel his daughter with the sheep. ⁷And he said, Behold, it is yet high day; it is not time that the cattle should be gathered together; water the sheep, and go, feed them. ⁸And they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep.

⁹While he was still speaking to them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother. ¹¹And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. ¹²And Jacob told Rachel that he was a brother of her father, and that he was Rebecca’s son; and she ran and told her father. ¹³And it came to pass when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house; and he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴And Laban said to him, Thou art indeed my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him a month’s time.

¹⁵And Laban said to Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou serve me for nothing? tell me, what shall be thy wages? ¹⁶And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger, Rachel. ¹⁷And the eyes of Leah were tender; but Rachel was of beautiful form and beautiful countenance. ¹⁸And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. ¹⁹And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. ²⁰And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they were in his eyes as single days, because he loved her. ²¹And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her. ²²And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. ²³And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in to her. ²⁴And Laban gave to her Zilpah, his maidservant, to be maidservant to Leah his daughter. ²⁵And it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done to me? Have I not served thee for Rachel? Why then hast thou deceived me? ²⁶And Laban said, It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷Fulfil the week with this one: then we will give thee the other one also, for the service that thou shalt serve me yet seven other years. ²⁸And Jacob did so, and fulfilled the week with this one, and he gave him Rachel his daughter to be his wife. ²⁹And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, Bilhah, his maidservant, to be her maidservant. ³⁰And he went in also to Rachel; and he loved also Rachel more than Leah. And he served with him yet seven other years.

³¹And when Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. ³²And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and called his name Reuben; for she said, Because Jehovah has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me. ³³And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Because Jehovah has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this one also; and she called his name Simeon. ³⁴And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Now this time will my husband be united to me, for I have borne him three sons; therefore was his name called Levi. ³⁵And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, This time will I praise Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased to bear.

Chapter 30

¹And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. ²And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who has withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? ³And she said, Behold, there is my maid, Bilhah: go in to her, in order that she may bear on my knees, and I may also be built up by her. ⁴And she gave him Bilhah her maidservant as wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son. ⁶And Rachel said, God has done me justice, and has also heard my voice, and given me a son; therefore she called his name Dan. ⁷And Bilhah Rachel’s maidservant again conceived, and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸And Rachel said, Wrestlings of God have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali. ⁹And when Leah saw that she had ceased to bear, she took Zilpah her maidservant and gave her to Jacob as wife. ¹⁰And Zilpah Leah’s maidservant bore Jacob a son. ¹¹And Leah said, Fortunately! and she called his name Gad. ¹²And Zilpah Leah’s maidservant bore Jacob a second son. ¹³And Leah said, Happy am I; for the daughters will call me blessed! and she called his name Asher.

¹⁴And Reuben went out in the days of wheat-harvest, and found mandrakes in the fields; and he brought them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes. ¹⁵And she said to her, Is it too little that thou hast taken my husband, that thou wilt take my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes. ¹⁶And when Jacob came from the fields in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in to me, for indeed I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. ¹⁷And God hearkened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸And Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maidservant to my husband; and she called his name Issachar. ¹⁹And Leah again conceived, and bore Jacob a sixth son; ²⁰and Leah said, God has endowed me with a good dowry; this time will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons. And she called his name Zebulun. ²¹And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. ²²And God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her…