Genesis 29–30

¹And Jacob lifteth up his feet, and goeth towards the land of the sons of the east; ²and he looketh, and lo, a well in the field, and lo, there three droves of a flock crouching by it, for from that well they water the droves, and the great stone is on the mouth of the well. ³(When thither have all the droves been gathered, and they have rolled the stone from off the mouth of the well, and have watered the flock, then they have turned back the stone on the mouth of the well to its place.) ⁴And Jacob saith to them, ‘My brethren, from whence are ye?’ and they say, ‘We are from Haran.’ ⁵And he saith to them, ‘Have ye known Laban, son of Nahor?’ and they say, ‘We have known.’ ⁶And he saith to them, ‘Hath he peace?’ and they say, ‘Peace; and lo, Rachel his daughter is coming with the flock.’ ⁷And he saith, ‘Lo, the day is still great, it is not time for the cattle to be gathered; water ye the flock, and go, delight yourselves.’ ⁸And they say, ‘We are not able, till that all the droves be gathered together, and they have rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and we have watered the flock.’

⁹He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel hath come with the flock which her father hath, for she is shepherdess; ¹⁰and it cometh to pass when Jacob hath seen Rachel, daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the flock of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob cometh nigh and rolleth the stone from off the mouth of the well, and watereth the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. ¹¹And Jacob kisseth Rachel, and lifteth up his voice, and weepeth, ¹²and Jacob declareth to Rachel that he is her father’s brother, and that he is Rebekah’s son, and she runneth and declareth to her father. ¹³And it cometh to pass, when Laban heareth the report of Jacob his sister’s son, that he runneth to meet him, and embraceth him, and kisseth him, and bringeth him in unto his house; and he recounteth to Laban all these things, ¹⁴and Laban saith to him, ‘Only my bone and my flesh art thou;’ and he dwelleth with him a month of days.

¹⁵And Laban saith to Jacob, ‘Is it because thou art my brother that thou hast served me for nought? declare to me what is thy hire.’ ¹⁶And Laban hath two daughters, the name of the elder is Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel, ¹⁷and the eyes of Leah are tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance. ¹⁸And Jacob loveth Rachel, and saith, ‘I serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter:’ ¹⁹and Laban saith, ‘It is better for me to give her to thee than to give her to another man; dwell with me;’ ²⁰and Jacob serveth for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her. ²¹And Jacob saith unto Laban, ‘Give up my wife, for my days have been fulfilled, and I go in unto her;’ ²²and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet. ²³And it cometh to pass in the evening, that he taketh Leah, his daughter, and bringeth her in unto him, and he goeth in unto her; ²⁴and Laban giveth to her Zilpah, his maid-servant, to Leah his daughter, a maid-servant. ²⁵And it cometh to pass in the morning, that lo, it is Leah; and he saith unto Laban, ‘What is this thou hast done to me? for Rachel have I not served with thee? and why hast thou deceived me?’ ²⁶And Laban saith, ‘It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the first-born; ²⁷fulfil the week of this one, and we give to thee also this one, for the service which thou dost serve with me yet seven other years.’ ²⁸And Jacob doth so, and fulfilleth the week of this one, and he giveth to him Rachel his daughter, to him for a wife; ²⁹and Laban giveth to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maid-servant, for a maid-servant to her. ³⁰And he goeth in also unto Rachel, and he also loveth Rachel more than Leah; and he serveth with him yet seven other years.

³¹And Jehovah seeth that Leah is the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel is barren; ³²and Leah conceiveth, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Reuben, for she said, ‘Because Jehovah hath looked on mine affliction; because now doth my husband love me.’ ³³And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, ‘Because Jehovah hath heard that I am the hated one, He also giveth to me even this one;’ and she calleth his name Simeon. ³⁴And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, ‘Now is the time, my husband is joined unto me, because I have born to him three sons,’ therefore hath one called his name Levi. ³⁵And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith this time, ‘I praise Jehovah;’ therefore hath she called his name Judah; and she ceaseth from bearing.

Chapter 30

¹And Rachel seeth that she hath not borne to Jacob, and Rachel is envious of her sister, and saith unto Jacob, ‘Give me sons, and if there is none—I die.’ ²And Jacob’s anger burneth against Rachel, and he saith, ‘Am I in stead of God who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?’ ³And she saith, ‘Lo, my handmaid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she doth bear on my knees, and I am built up, even I, from her;’ ⁴and she giveth to him Bilhah her maid-servant for a wife, and Jacob goeth in unto her; ⁵and Bilhah conceiveth, and beareth to Jacob a son, ⁶and Rachel saith, ‘God hath decided for me, and also hath hearkened to my voice, and giveth to me a son;’ therefore hath she called his name Dan. ⁷And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid-servant, conceiveth again, and beareth a second son to Jacob, ⁸and Rachel saith, ‘With wrestlings of God I have wrestled with my sister, yea, I have prevailed;’ and she calleth his name Napthali. ⁹And Leah seeth that she hath ceased from bearing, and she taketh Zilpah her maid-servant, and giveth her to Jacob for a wife; ¹⁰and Zilpah, Leah’s maid-servant, beareth to Jacob a son, ¹¹and Leah saith, ‘A troop is coming;’ and she calleth his name Gad. ¹²And Zilpah, Leah’s maid-servant, beareth a second son to Jacob, ¹³and Leah saith, ‘Because of my happiness, for daughters have pronounced me happy;’ and she calleth his name Asher.

¹⁴And Reuben goeth in the days of wheat-harvest, and findeth love-apples in the field, and bringeth them in unto Leah, his mother, and Rachel saith unto Leah, ‘Give to me, I pray thee, of the love-apples of thy son.’ ¹⁵And she saith to her, ‘Is thy taking my husband a little thing, that thou hast taken also the love-apples of my son?’ and Rachel saith, ‘Therefore doth he lie with thee to-night, for thy son’s love-apples.’ ¹⁶And Jacob cometh in from the field at evening; and Leah goeth to meet him, and saith, ‘Unto me dost thou come in, for hiring I have hired thee with my son’s love-apples;’ and he lieth with her during that night. ¹⁷And God hearkeneth unto Leah, and she conceiveth, and beareth to Jacob a son, a fifth, ¹⁸and Leah saith, ‘God hath given my hire, because I have given my maid-servant to my husband;’ and she calleth his name Issachar. ¹⁹And conceive again doth Leah, and she beareth a sixth son to Jacob, ²⁰and Leah saith, ‘God hath endowed me—a good dowry; this time doth my husband dwell with me, for I have borne to him six sons;’ and she calleth his name Zebulun; ²¹and afterwards hath she born a daughter, and calleth her name Dinah. ²²And God remembereth Rachel, and God hearkeneth unto her, and openeth her womb, ²³and she conceiveth and beareth a son, and saith, ‘God hath gathered up my reproach;’ ²⁴and she calleth his name Joseph, saying, ‘Jehovah is adding to me another son.’

²⁵And it cometh to pass, when Rachel hath borne Joseph, that Jacob saith unto Laban, ‘Send me away, and I go unto my place, and to my land; ²⁶give up my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and I go; for thou—thou hast known my service which I have served thee.’ ²⁷And Laban saith unto him, ‘If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes—I have observed diligently that Jehovah doth bless me for thy sake.’ ²⁸He saith also, ‘Define thy hire to me, and I give.’ ²⁹And he saith unto him, ‘Thou—thou hast known that which I have served thee in, and that which thy substance was with me; ³⁰for it is little which thou hast had at my appearance, and it breaketh forth into a multitude, and Jehovah blesseth thee at my coming; and now, when do I make, I also, for mine own house?’ ³¹And he saith, ‘What do I give to thee?’ And Jacob saith, ‘Thou dost not give me anything; if thou do for me this thing, I turn back; I have delight; thy flock I watch; ³²I pass through all thy flock to-day to turn aside from thence every sheep speckled and spotted, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and speckled and spotted among the goats—and it hath been my hire; ³³and my righteousness hath answered for me in the day to come, when it cometh in for my hire before thy face;—every one which is not speckled and spotted among my goats, and brown among my lambs—it is stolen with me.’ ³⁴And Laban saith, ‘Lo, O that it were according to thy word;’ ³⁵and he turneth aside during that day the ring-streaked and the spotted he-goats, and all the speckled and the spotted she-goats, every one that hath white in it, and every brown one among the lambs, and he giveth into the hand of his sons, ³⁶and setteth a journey of three days between himself and Jacob; and Jacob is feeding the rest of the flock of Laban.

³⁷And Jacob taketh to himself a rod of fresh poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut, and doth peel in them white peelings, making bare the white that is on the rods, ³⁸and setteth up the rods which he hath peeled in the gutters in the watering troughs (when the flock cometh in to drink), over-against the flock, that they may conceive in their coming in to drink; ³⁹and the flocks conceive at the rods, and the flock beareth ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted ones. ⁴⁰And the lambs hath Jacob parted, and he putteth the face of the flock towards the ring-streaked, also all the brown in the flock of Laban, and he setteth his own droves by themselves, and hath not set them near Laban’s flock. ⁴¹And it hath come to pass whenever the strong ones of the flock conceive, that Jacob…