Genesis 29:31–30:24

Jacob’s Sons

³¹When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ^wHe opened her womb; ^xbut Rachel was unable to conceive. ^y32Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, ^zfor she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; ^asurely my husband will love me now.”

³³She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am unloved 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. ^deThen 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!” ^fshe said to Jacob.

²Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children ^gfrom you?”

³Then she said, “Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me ^hiso 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,” and she named him Dan. ^j

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

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!” ^mand she named him Gad. ⁿ

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

¹⁴Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field. ^qWhen 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,” Rachel said, “you can sleep with him 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. ^r

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. ^s21Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

²²Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb. ^t23She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my shame.” ^u24She named him Joseph: ^v“May the Lord add another son to me.” ^w