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 named her Dinah.

²²Then God listened to Rachel. He showed concern for her. He made it possible for her to have children. ²³She became pregnant. She had a son. She said, “God has taken my shame away.” ²⁴She continued, “May the Lord give me another son.” So she named him Joseph.

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