Genesis 30:1–21

The Sons of Jacob

¹Then Rachel saw that ^ashe bore Jacob no children, so ¹she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “^bGive me children, or else I die.”

²Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has ^awithheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

³And she said, “^aHere is my maidservant Bilhah, go in to her that she may ^bbear on my knees, that ^1cthrough her I too may obtain children.”

⁴So ^ashe gave him her servant-woman Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.

⁵And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

⁶Then Rachel said, “God has ^1arendered justice to me and has indeed listened to my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him ²Dan.

⁷And Rachel’s servant-woman Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

⁸So Rachel said, “With ¹mighty wrestlings I have ²wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

⁹Then Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, so she took her servant-woman Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

¹⁰And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

¹¹Then Leah said, “¹How fortunate!” So she named him ²Gad.

¹²And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

¹³Then Leah said, “¹Happy am I! For women ^awill call me happy.” So she named him ²Asher.

¹⁴And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found ^amandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶Then Jacob came in from the field in the evening. And Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night.

¹⁷And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

¹⁸And Leah said, “God has given me my ¹wages because I gave my servant-woman to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

¹⁹Then Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

²⁰And Leah said, “God has gifted me a good gift; this time my husband ¹will honor me because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

²¹Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.