Genesis 29:31–35:18

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 womb. ²³And she conceived, and bore a son, and said, God has taken away my reproach. ²⁴And she called his name Joseph; and said, Jehovah will add to me another son.

²⁵And it came to pass when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my place and to my country. ²⁶Give me my wives for whom I have served thee, and my children; that I may go away, for thou knowest my service which I have served thee. ²⁷And Laban said to him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes—I have discovered that Jehovah has blessed me for thy sake. ²⁸And he said, Appoint to me thy wages, and I will give it. ²⁹And he said to him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and what thy cattle has become with me. ³⁰For it was little that thou hadst before me, and it is increased to a multitude, and Jehovah has blessed thee from the time I came; and now, when shall I also provide for my house? ³¹And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me anything. If thou doest this for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: ³²I will pass through all thy flock to-day, to remove thence all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and that shall be my hire. ³³And my righteousness shall answer for me hereafter, when thou comest about my hire, before thy face: all that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, let that be stolen with me. ³⁴And Laban said, Well, let it be according to thy word. ³⁵And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the brown among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. ³⁶And he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob. And Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷And Jacob took fresh rods of white poplar, almond-tree, and maple; and peeled off white stripes in them, uncovering the white which was on the rods. ³⁸And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flock, in the troughs at the watering-places where the flock came to drink, and they were ardent when they came to drink. ³⁹And the flock was ardent before the rods; and the flock brought forth ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. ⁴⁰And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flock toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he made himself separate flocks, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. ⁴¹And it came to pass whensoever the strong cattle were ardent, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might become ardent among the rods; ⁴²but when the sheep were feeble, he put them not in; so the feeble were Laban’s, and the strong Jacob’s. ⁴³And the man increased very, very much, and had much cattle, and bondwomen, and bondmen, and camels, and asses.

Chapter 31

¹And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and of what was our father’s he has acquired all this glory. ²And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold, it was not toward him as previously. ³And Jehovah said to Jacob, Return into the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. ⁴And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the fields to his flock, ⁵and said to them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as previously; but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶And you know that with all my power I have served your father. ⁷And your father has mocked me, and has changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. ⁸If he said thus; The speckled shall be thy hire, then all the flocks bore speckled; and if he said thus: The ringstraked shall be thy hire, then all the flocks bore ringstraked. ⁹And God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. ¹⁰And it came to pass at the time of the ardour of the flocks, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams that leaped upon the flocks were ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. ¹¹And the Angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob! And I said, Here am I. ¹²And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see: all the rams that leap upon the flock are ringstraked, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban does to thee. ¹³I am the •God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, where thou vowedst a vow to me. Now arise, depart out of this land, and return to the land of thy kindred. ¹⁴And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵Are we not reckoned of him strangers? for he has sold us, and has even constantly devoured our money. ¹⁶For all the wealth that God has taken from our father is ours and our children’s; and now whatever God has said to thee do.

¹⁷And Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels, ¹⁸and carried away all his cattle, and all his property that he had acquired—the cattle of his possessions that he had acquired in Padan-Aram, to go to Isaac his father, into the land of Canaan. ¹⁹And Laban had gone to shear his sheep. And Rachel stole the teraphim that belonged to her father. ²⁰And Jacob deceived Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he fled. ²¹And he fled with all that he had; and he rose up and passed over the river, and set his face toward mount Gilead. ²²And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled. ²³And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey, and overtook him on mount Gilead. ²⁴And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

²⁵And Laban came up with Jacob; and Jacob had pitched his tent on the mountain; Laban also with his brethren pitched on mount Gilead. ²⁶And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast deceived me, and hast carried away my daughters as captives of war? ²⁷Why didst thou flee away covertly, and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have conducted thee with mirth and with songs, with tambour and with harp; ²⁸and hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now thou hast acted foolishly. ²⁹It would be in the power of my hand to do you hurt; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, Take care that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. ³⁰And now that thou must needs be gone, because thou greatly longedst after thy father’s house, why hast thou stolen my gods? ³¹And Jacob answered and said to Laban, I was afraid; for I said, Lest thou shouldest take by force thy daughters from me. ³²With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not live. Before our brethren discern what is thine with me,…