Genesis 29:16–30:25

29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters;30 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender,31 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.)32 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with33 Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man.34 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel.35 But they seemed like only a few days to him36 because his love for her was so great.37

29:21 Finally Jacob said38 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up.39 I want to have marital relations with her.”40 29:22 So Laban invited all the people41 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah42 to Jacob,43 and Jacob44 had marital relations with her.45 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)46

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah!47 So Jacob48 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me!49 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked50 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,”51 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage52 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week.53 Then we will give you the younger one54 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.”55

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said.56 When Jacob57 completed Leah’s bridal week,58 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.59 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)60 29:30 Jacob61 had marital relations62 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban63 for seven more years.64

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,65 he enabled her to become pregnant66 while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant67 and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,68 for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition.69 Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved,70 he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.71

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection,72 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi.73

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah.74 Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she1 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children2 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious3 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”4 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with5 her so that she can bear6 children7 for me8 and I can have a family through her.”9

30:4 So Rachel10 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with11 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant12 and gave Jacob a son.13 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer14 and given me a son.” That is why15 she named him Dan.16

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son.17 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.”18 So she named him Naphtali.19

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave20 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son.21 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!”22 So she named him Gad.23

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son.24 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am,25 for women26 will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.27

30:14 At the time28 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants29 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied,30 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,”31 Rachel said, “he may sleep32 with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep33 with me because I have paid for your services34 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations35 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention36 to Leah; she became pregnant37 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time.38 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward39 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.”40 So she named him Issachar.41

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time.42 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.43

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22 Then God took note of44 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant.45 30:23 She became pregnant46 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.”47 30:24 She named him Joseph,48 saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

30:25 After Rachel had given birth49 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send50 me on my way so that I can go51 home to my own country.52

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30	tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16–17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.
31	tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.
32	tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”
33	tn Heb “Jacob loved.”
34	tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”
35	tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”
36	sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.
37	tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
38	tn Heb “and Jacob said.”
39	tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”
40	tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).
41	tn Heb “men.”
42	tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.” sn His daughter Leah. Laban’s deception of Jacob by giving him the older daughter instead of the younger was God’s way of disciplining the deceiver who tricked his older brother. D. Kidner says this account is “the very embodiment of anti-climax, and this moment a miniature of man’s disillusion, experienced from Eden onwards” (Genesis [TOTC], 160). G. von Rad notes, “That Laban secretly gave the unloved Leah to the man in love was, to be sure, a monstrous blow, a masterpiece of shameless treachery … It was certainly a move by which he won for himself far and wide the coarsest laughter” (Genesis [OTL], 291).
43	tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
44	tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
45	tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
46	tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.
47	tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.
48	tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49	tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”
50	sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211–13.
51	tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’ ” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
52	tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
53	tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity. sn Bridal week. An ancient Hebrew marriage ceremony included an entire week of festivities (cf. Judg 14:12).
54	tn Heb “this other one.”
55	tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.” sn In exchange for seven more years of work. See C. H. Gordon, “The Story of Jacob and Laban in the Light of the Nuzi Tablets,” BASOR 66 (1937): 25–27; and J. Van Seters, “Jacob’s Marriages and Ancient Near Eastern Customs: A Reassessment,” HTR 62 (1969): 377–95.
56	tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
57	tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58	tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.
59	tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
60	tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
61	tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
62	tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.
63	tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
64	tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”
65	tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.
66	tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”
67	tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).
68	sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, ré’uven) means “look, a son.”
69	tn Heb “looked on my affliction.” sn Leah’s explanation of the name Reuben reflects a popular etymology, not an exact one. The name means literally “look, a son.” Playing on the Hebrew verb “look,” she observes that the Lord has “looked” with pity on her oppressed condition. See further S. R. Driver, Genesis, 273.
70	tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.
71	sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.
72	tn Heb “will be joined to me.”
73	sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.
74	sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yéhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151–85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216–18.
1	tn Heb “Rachel.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2	tn Heb “sons.”
3	tn Heb “and the anger of Jacob was hot.”
4	tn Heb “who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb.”
5	tn Heb “go in to.” The expression “go in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
6	tn After the imperative, the prefixed verbal form with the conjunction indicates the immediate purpose of the proposed activity.
7	tn The word “children” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8	tn Heb “upon my knees.” This is an idiomatic way of saying that Bilhah will be simply a surrogate mother. Rachel will adopt the child as her own.
9	tn Heb “and I will be built up, even I, from her.” The prefixed verbal form with the conjunction is subordinated to the preceding prefixed verbal form and gives the ultimate purpose for the proposed action. The idiom of “built up” here refers to having a family (see Gen 16:2, as well as Ruth 4:11 and BDB 125 s.v. בָנָה).
10	tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11	tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.
12	tn Or “Bilhah conceived” (also in v. 7).
13	tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a son.”
14	tn Heb “and also he has heard my voice.” The expression means that God responded positively to Rachel’s cry and granted her request.
15	tn Or “therefore.”
16	sn The name Dan means “he vindicated” or “he judged.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. The verb translated “vindicated” is from דִּין (din, “to judge, to vindicate”), the same verbal root from which the name is derived. Rachel sensed that God was righting the wrong.
17	tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”
18	tn Heb “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister, also I have prevailed.” The phrase “mighty struggle” reads literally “struggles of God.” The plural participle “struggles” reflects the ongoing nature of the struggle, while the divine name is used here idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the struggle. See J. Skinner, Genesis (ICC), 387.
19	sn The name Naphtali (נַפְתָּלִי, naftali) must mean something like “my struggle” in view of the statement Rachel made in the preceding clause. The name plays on this earlier statement, “[with] a mighty struggle I have struggled with my sister.”
20	tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”
21	tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore for Jacob a son.”
22	tc The statement in the Kethib (consonantal text) appears to mean literally “with good fortune,” if one takes the initial בְּ (bet) as a preposition indicating accompaniment. The Qere (marginal reading) means “good fortune has arrived.”
23	sn The name Gad (גָּד, gad) means “good fortune.” The name reflects Leah’s feeling that good fortune has come her way, as expressed in her statement recorded earlier in the verse.
24	tn Heb “and Zilpah, the servant of Leah, bore a second son for Jacob.”
25	tn The Hebrew statement apparently means “with my happiness.”
26	tn Heb “daughters.”
27	sn The name Asher (אָשֶׁר, ’asher) apparently means “happy one.” The name plays on the words used in the statement which appears earlier in the verse. Both the Hebrew noun and verb translated “happy” and “call me happy,” respectively, are derived from the same root as the name Asher.
28	tn Heb “during the days.”
29	sn Mandrake plants were popularly believed to be an aphrodisiac in the culture of the time.
30	tn Heb “and she said to her”; the referent of the pronoun “she” (Leah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31	tn Heb “therefore.”
32	tn Heb “lie down.” The expression “lie down with” in this context (here and in the following verse) refers to sexual intercourse. The imperfect verbal form has a permissive nuance here.
33	tn Heb “must come in to me.” The imperfect verbal form has an obligatory nuance here. She has acquired him for the night and feels he is obligated to have sexual relations with her.
34	tn Heb “I have surely hired.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verbal form for emphasis. The name Issachar (see v. 18) seems to be related to this expression.
35	tn This is the same Hebrew verb (שָׁכַב, shakhav) translated “sleep with” in v. 15. In direct discourse the more euphemistic “sleep with” was used, but here in the narrative “marital relations” reflects more clearly the emphasis on sexual intercourse.
36	tn Heb “listened to.”
37	tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 19).
38	tn Heb “and she bore for Jacob a fifth son,” i.e., this was the fifth son that Leah had given Jacob.
39	tn Heb “God has given my reward.”
40	tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9). sn Leah seems to regard the act of giving her servant Zilpah to her husband as a sacrifice, for which (she believes) God is now rewarding her with the birth of a son.
41	sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.
42	tn Heb “and she bore a sixth son for Jacob,” i.e., this was the sixth son that Leah had given Jacob.
43	sn The name Zebulun (זְבֻלוּן, zevulun) apparently means “honor.” The name plays on the verb used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew verb translated “will honor” and the name Zebulun derive from the same root.
44	tn Heb “remembered.”
45	tn Heb “and God listened to her and opened up her womb.” Since “God” is the subject of the previous clause, the noun has been replaced by the pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons
46	tn Or “conceived.”
47	tn Heb “my reproach.” A “reproach” is a cutting taunt or painful ridicule, but here it probably refers by metonymy to Rachel’s barren condition, which was considered shameful in this culture and was the reason why she was the object of taunting and ridicule.
48	sn The name Joseph (יוֹסֵף, yoseph) means “may he add.” The name expresses Rachel’s desire to have an additional son. In Hebrew the name sounds like the verb (אָסַף, ’asasf) translated “taken away” in the earlier statement made in v. 23. So the name, while reflecting Rachel’s hope, was also a reminder that God had removed her shame.
49	tn The perfect verbal form is translated as a past perfect because Rachel’s giving birth to Joseph preceded Jacob’s conversation with Laban.
50	tn The imperatival form here expresses a request. sn For Jacob to ask to leave would mean that seven more years had passed. Thus all Jacob’s children were born within the range of seven years of each other, with Joseph coming right at the end of the seven years.
51	tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
52	tn Heb “to my place and to my land.”

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