Genesis 28–31

28So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. He commanded him, “Don’t get married to a woman from Canaan. ²Go at once to Paddan Aram. Go to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Find a wife for yourself there. Take her from among the daughters of your mother’s brother Laban.

³“May the Mighty God bless you. May he give you children. May he increase your numbers until you become a community of nations. ⁴May he give you and your children after you the blessing he gave to Abraham. Then you can take over the land where you now live as an outsider. It’s the land God gave to Abraham.”

⁵Isaac sent Jacob on his way. Jacob went to Paddan Aram. He went to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah. And Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶Esau found out that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram. Isaac wanted him to get a wife from there. Esau heard that when Isaac blessed Jacob, he commanded him, “Don’t get married to a woman from Canaan.” ⁷Esau also learned that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.

⁸Then Esau realized how much his father Isaac disliked the women of Canaan. ⁹So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael. Esau added her to the wives he already had.

Jacob Has a Dream at Bethel

¹⁰Jacob left Beersheba and started out for Haran. ¹¹He reached a certain place and stopped for the night. The sun had already set. He took one of the stones there and placed it under his head. Then he lay down to sleep.

¹²In a dream he saw a stairway standing on the earth. Its top reached to heaven. The angels of God were going up and coming down on it.

¹³The Lord stood above the stairway. He said, “I am the Lord. I am the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your children after you the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴They will be like the dust of the earth that can’t be counted. They will spread out to the west and to the east. They will spread out to the north and to the south. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you and your children after you.

¹⁵“I am with you. I will watch over you everywhere you go. And I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶Jacob woke up from his sleep. Then he thought, “The Lord is certainly in this place. And I didn’t even know it.”

¹⁷Jacob was afraid. He said, “How holy this place is! This must be the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head. He set it up as a pillar. And he poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹He named that place Bethel. But the city used to be called Luz.

²⁰Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “May God be with me. May he watch over me on this journey I’m taking. May he give me food to eat and clothes to wear. ²¹May he do as he has promised so that I can return safely to my father’s home. Then you, Lord, will be my God. ²²This stone I’ve set up as a pillar will be God’s house. And I’ll give you a tenth of everything you give me.”

Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram

29Then Jacob continued on his journey. He came to the land where the eastern tribes lived.

²There he saw a well in the field. Three flocks of sheep were lying near it. The flocks were given water from the well. The stone over the opening of the well was large. ³All of the flocks would gather there. The shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s opening. They would give water to the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the opening of the well.

⁴Jacob asked the shepherds, “My friends, where are you from?”

“We’re from Haran,” they replied.

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

“Yes, we know him,” they answered.

⁶Then Jacob asked them, “How is he?”

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

⁷“Look,” he said, “the sun is still high in the sky. It’s not time for the flocks to be brought together. Give water to the sheep and take them back to the grasslands.”

⁸“We can’t,” they replied. “We have to wait until all of the flocks are brought together. The stone has to be rolled away from the opening of the well. Then we’ll give water to the sheep.”

⁹He was still talking with them when Rachel came with her father’s sheep. It was her job to take care of the flock. ¹⁰Rachel was the daughter of Laban. He was the brother of Jacob’s mother.

When Jacob saw Rachel with Laban’s sheep, he went over to the well. He rolled the stone away from the opening. He gave water to his uncle’s sheep.

¹¹Jacob kissed Rachel. Then he began to sob loudly. ¹²He had told Rachel he was a relative of her father. He had also said he was Rebekah’s son. Rachel ran and told her father what Jacob had said.

¹³As soon as Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he hurried to meet him. Laban hugged Jacob and kissed him. Then he brought him to his home. There Jacob told him everything. ¹⁴Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

Jacob Gets Married to Leah and Rachel

Jacob stayed with Laban for a whole month. ¹⁵Then Laban said to him, “You are one of my relatives. But is that any reason for you to work for me for nothing? Tell me what your pay 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 weak eyes. But Rachel was beautiful. She had a nice figure.

¹⁸Jacob was in love with Rachel. He said to Laban, “I’ll work for you for seven years to get your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹Laban said, “It’s better for me to give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.”

²⁰So Jacob worked for seven years to get Rachel. But they seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her so much.

²¹Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. I’ve completed my time. I want to make love to her.”

²²So Laban brought all of the people of the place together and had a big dinner prepared. ²³But when evening came, he gave his daughter Leah to Jacob. And Jacob made love to her. ²⁴Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter as her servant.

²⁵When Jacob woke up the next morning, there was Leah next to him! So he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? I worked for you to get Rachel, didn’t I? Why did you trick me?”

²⁶Laban replied, “It isn’t our practice here to give the younger daughter to be married before the older one. ²⁷Complete this daughter’s wedding week. Then we’ll give you the younger one also. But you will have to work for another seven years.”

²⁸So Jacob did it. He completed the week with Leah. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her servant. ³⁰Jacob made love to Rachel also. He loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And he worked for Laban for another seven years.

Jacob Becomes the Father of Many Children

³¹The Lord saw that Jacob didn’t love Leah as much as he loved Rachel. So he let Leah have children. But Rachel wasn’t able to have children. ³²Leah became pregnant. She had a son. She named him Reuben. She said, “The Lord has seen me suffer. Certainly my husband will love me now.”

³³She became pregnant again. She had a son. Then she said, “The Lord heard that Jacob doesn’t love me very much. That’s why the Lord gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.

³⁴She became pregnant again. She had a son. Then she said, “Now at last my husband will want me. I have had three sons by him.” So the boy was named Levi.

³⁵She became pregnant again. She had a son. Then she said, “This time I’ll praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.

30Rachel saw that she couldn’t have any children by Jacob. So she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

²Jacob became angry with her. He said, “Do you think I’m God? He’s the one who has kept you from having children.”

³Then she said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Make love to her so that she can have children for me. Then I too can have a family through her.”

⁴So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob made love to her. ⁵And Bilhah became pregnant. She had a son by him. ⁶Then Rachel said, “God has stood up for my rights. He has listened to my prayer and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

⁷Rachel’s servant Bilhah became pregnant again. She had a second son by Jacob. ⁸Then Rachel said, “I’ve had a great struggle with my sister. Now I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali.

⁹Leah saw that she had stopped having children. So she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰Leah’s servant Zilpah had a son by Jacob. ¹¹Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.

¹²Leah’s servant Zilpah had a second son by Jacob. ¹³Then Leah said, “I’m so happy! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

¹⁴While the wheat harvest was being gathered, Reuben went out into the fields. He found some mandrake plants. He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵But Leah said to her, “Isn’t it enough that you took my husband away? Are you going to take my son’s mandrakes too?”

Rachel said, “All right. Jacob can make love to you tonight if you give me your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶Jacob came in from the fields that evening. Leah went out to meet him. “You have to sleep with me tonight,” she said. “I’ve bought you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he made love to her that night.

¹⁷God listened to Leah. She became pregnant and had a fifth son by Jacob. ¹⁸Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me because I gave my female servant to my husband.” So she named the boy Issachar.

¹⁹Leah became pregnant again. She had a sixth son by Jacob. ²⁰Then Leah said, “God has given me a priceless gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor. I’ve had six sons by him.” So she named the boy Zebulun.

²¹Some time later she had a daughter. She…