Genesis 29–30

29TH CHAPTER

Jacob’s Arrival in Haran

¹Jacob continued on his trip and came to the land in the east. ²He looked around, and out in a field he saw a well with a large stone over the opening. Three flocks of sheep were lying down near it, because the flocks were watered from that well. ³When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled off the opening of the well so that the sheep could be watered. Then the stone would be put back in place over the opening of the well. 

⁴Jacob asked some people, “My friends, where are you from?” 

“We’re from Haran,” they replied. 

⁵He asked them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?” 

They answered, “We do.” 

⁶“How is he doing?” Jacob asked them. 

“He’s fine,” they answered. “Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 

⁷“It’s still the middle of the day,” he said. “It isn’t time yet to gather the livestock. Water the sheep. Then let them graze.” 

⁸They replied, “We can’t until all the flocks are gathered. When the stone is rolled off the opening of the well, we can water the sheep.” 

⁹While he was still talking to them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, because she was a shepherd. ¹⁰Jacob saw Rachel, daughter of his uncle Laban, with his uncle Laban’s sheep. He came forward and rolled the stone off the opening of the well and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. ¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel and sobbed loudly. ¹²When Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s nephew and that he was Rebekah’s son, she ran and told her father. 

¹³As soon as Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He hugged and kissed him and brought him into his home. Then Jacob told Laban all that had happened. ¹⁴Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.” 

Jacob Obtains Wives

Jacob stayed with him for a whole month. ¹⁵Then Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative doesn’t mean that you should work for nothing. Tell me what your wages should be.” 

¹⁶Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah had attractive eyes,^abut Rachel had a beautiful figure and beautiful features. ¹⁸Jacob loved Rachel. So he offered, “I’ll work seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” 

¹⁹Laban responded, “It’s better that I give her to you than to any other man. Stay with me.” ²⁰Jacob worked seven years in return for Rachel, but the years seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her. 

²¹⸤At the end of the seven years⸥ Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up; give me my wife! I want to sleep with her.” ²²So Laban invited all the people of that place and gave a wedding feast. ²³In the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. Jacob slept with her. When morning came, he realized it was Leah.^b24(Laban had given his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.) 

²⁵“What have you done to me?” Jacob asked Laban. “Didn’t I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me?” 

²⁶Laban answered, “It’s not our custom to give the younger daughter ⸤in marriage⸥ before the older one. ²⁷Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you’ll have to work for me another seven years.” 

²⁸That’s what Jacob did. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. ²⁹(Laban had given his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave.) ³⁰Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. 

Leah and Rachel Compete for Jacob’s Love

³¹When the Lord saw Leah was unloved, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel had none. ³²Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben ^[Here’s My Son^[, because she said, “Certainly, the Lord has seen my misery; now my husband will love me!” ³³She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Certainly, the Lord has heard that I’m unloved, and he also has given me this son.” So she named him Simeon ^[Hearing^[. ³⁴She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I’ve given him three sons.” So she named him Levi ^[Attached^[. ³⁵She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah ^[Praise^[. Then she stopped having children. 

30TH CHAPTER

¹Rachel saw that she could not have children for Jacob, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” 

²Jacob became angry with Rachel and asked, “Can I take the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 

³She said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her. She can have children for me, and I can build a family for myself through her.” ⁴So she gave him her slave Bilhah as his wife, and Jacob slept with her. ⁵Bilhah became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶Rachel said, “Now God has judged in my favor. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son.” So she named him Dan ^[He Judges^[. 

⁷Rachel’s slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ⁸Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle^awith my sister, and I have won!” So she named him Naphtali ^[My Struggle^[. 

⁹When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as his wife. ¹⁰Leah’s slave Zilpah gave birth to a son for Jacob. ¹¹Leah said, “I’ve been lucky!” So she called him Gad ^[Luck^[. 

¹²Leah’s slave Zilpah gave birth to her second son for Jacob. ¹³Leah said, “I’ve been blessed! Women will call me blessed.” So she named him Asher ^[Blessing^[. 

¹⁴During the wheat harvest Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrakes.^bHe brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 

¹⁵Leah replied, “Isn’t it enough that you took my husband? Are you also going to take my son’s mandrakes?” 

Rachel said, “Very well, Jacob can go to bed with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 

¹⁶As Jacob was coming in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You are to sleep with me,” she said. “You are my reward for my son’s mandrakes.” So he went to bed with her that night. ¹⁷God answered Leah’s prayer. She became pregnant and gave birth to her fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar ^[Reward^[. 

¹⁹She became pregnant again and gave birth to her sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰Leah said, “God has presented me with a beautiful present. This time my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun ^[Honor^[. 

²¹Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. 

²²Then God remembered Rachel. God answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children. ²³So she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴She named him Joseph ^[May He Give Another^[ and said, “May the Lord give me another son.” 

Jacob’s Flocks Prosper

²⁵After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go home to my own country. ²⁶Give me my wives and my children for whom I’ve worked, and let me go. You know how much work I’ve done for you.” 

²⁷Laban replied, “Listen to me. I’ve learned from the signs I’ve seen that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸So he offered, “Name your wages, and I’ll pay them.” 

²⁹Jacob responded, “You know how much work I’ve done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care. ³⁰The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. The Lord has blessed you wherever I’ve been. When can I do something for my own family?” 

³¹Laban asked, “What should I give you?” 

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob answered. “Instead, do something for me, then I’ll go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again. ³²Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. ³³My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black will be considered stolen.” 

³⁴Laban answered, “Agreed. We’ll do as you’ve said.” ³⁵However, that same day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them. ³⁶He traveled three days away from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks. 

³⁷Then Jacob took fresh-cut branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark on them in strips of white, uncovering the white which was on the branches.³⁸He placed the peeled branches in the troughs directly in front of the flocks, at the watering places where the flocks came to drink. When they were in heat and came to drink, ³⁹they mated in front of the branches. Then they gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, or spotted. 

⁴⁰Jacob separated the rams from the flock and made the rest of the sheep face any that were striped or black in Laban’s flocks. So he made separate herds for himself and did not add them to Laban’s flocks. ⁴¹Whenever the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob would lay the branches in the troughs in front of them so that they would mate by the branches. ⁴²But when the flocks in heat were weak, he didn’t lay down the branches. So the weaker ones belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. ⁴³As a result, Jacob became very wealthy. He had large flocks, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.