Genesis 29-30

GOD’S WORD Translation

Jacob’s Arrival in Haran

29 Jacob continued on his trip and came to the land in the east. ² He looked around, and out in a field he saw a well with a large stone over the opening. Three flocks of sheep were lying down near it, because the flocks were watered from that well. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled off the opening of the well so that the sheep could be watered. Then the stone would be put back in place over the opening of the well.

⁴ Jacob asked some people, “My friends, where are you from?”

“We’re from Haran,” they replied.

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

They answered, “We do.”

⁶ “How is he doing?” Jacob asked them.

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

⁷ “It’s still the middle of the day,” he said. “It isn’t time yet to gather the livestock. Water the sheep. Then let them graze.”

⁸ They replied, “We can’t until all the flocks are gathered. When the stone is rolled off the opening of the well, we can water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still talking to them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, because she was a shepherd. ¹⁰ Jacob saw Rachel, daughter of his uncle Laban, with his uncle Laban’s sheep. He came forward and rolled the stone off the opening of the well and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and sobbed loudly. ¹² When Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s nephew and that he was Rebekah’s son, she ran and told her father.

¹³ As soon as Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He hugged and kissed him and brought him into his home. Then Jacob told Laban all that had happened. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

Jacob Obtains Wives

Jacob stayed with him for a whole month. ¹⁵ Then Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative doesn’t mean that you should work for nothing. Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had attractive eyes,^[a] but Rachel had a beautiful figure and beautiful features. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. So he offered, “I’ll work seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹ Laban responded, “It’s better that I give her to you than to any other man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ Jacob worked seven years in return for Rachel, but the years seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her.

²¹ ⌞At the end of the seven years⌟ Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up; give me my wife! I want to sleep with her.” ²² So Laban invited all the people of that place and gave a wedding feast. ²³ In the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. Jacob slept with her. When morning came, he realized it was Leah.^{[b] 24} (Laban had given his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.)

²⁵ “What have you done to me?” Jacob asked Laban. “Didn’t I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me?”

²⁶ Laban answered, “It’s not our custom to give the younger daughter ⌞in marriage⌟ before the older one. ²⁷ Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you’ll have to work for me another seven years.”

²⁸ That’s what Jacob did. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. ²⁹ (Laban had given his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave.) ³⁰ Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

Leah and Rachel Compete for Jacob’s Love

³¹ When the Lord saw Leah was unloved, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel had none. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben [Here’s My Son], because she said, “Certainly, the Lord has seen my misery; now my husband will love me!” ³³ She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Certainly, the Lord has heard that I’m unloved, and he also has given me this son.” So she named him Simeon [Hearing]. ³⁴ She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I’ve given him three sons.” So she named him Levi [Attached]. ³⁵ She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah [Praise]. Then she stopped having children.

30 Rachel saw that she could not have children for Jacob, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

² Jacob became angry with Rachel and asked, “Can I take the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”

³ She said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her. She can have children for me, and I can build a family for myself through her.” ⁴ So she gave him her slave Bilhah as his wife, and Jacob slept with her. ⁵ Bilhah became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶ Rachel said, “Now God has judged in my favor. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son.” So she named him Dan [He Judges].

⁷ Rachel’s slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ⁸ Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle ^[c] with my sister, and I have won!” So she named him Naphtali [My Struggle].

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as his wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s slave Zilpah gave birth to a son for Jacob. ¹¹ Leah said, “I’ve been lucky!” So she called him Gad [Luck].

¹² Leah’s slave Zilpah gave birth to her second son for Jacob. ¹³ Leah said, “I’ve been blessed! Women will call me blessed.” So she named him Asher [Blessing].

¹⁴ During the wheat harvest Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrakes.^[d] He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ Leah replied, “Isn’t it enough that you took my husband? Are you also going to take my son’s mandrakes?”

Rachel said, “Very well, Jacob can go to bed with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ As Jacob was coming in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You are to sleep with me,” she said. “You are my reward for my son’s mandrakes.” So he went to bed with her that night. ¹⁷ God answered Leah’s prayer. She became pregnant and gave birth to her fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar [Reward].

¹⁹ She became pregnant again and gave birth to her sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰ Leah said, “God has presented me with a beautiful present. This time my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun [Honor].

²¹ Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel. God answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children. ²³ So she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph [May He Give Another] and said, “May the Lord give me another son.”

Jacob’s Flocks Prosper

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go home to my own country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for whom I’ve worked, and let me go. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

²⁷ Laban replied, “Listen to me. I’ve learned from the signs I’ve seen that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ So he offered, “Name your wages, and I’ll pay them.”

²⁹ Jacob responded, “You know how much work I’ve done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care. ³⁰ The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. The Lord has blessed you wherever I’ve been. When can I do something for my own family?”

³¹ Laban asked, “What should I give you?”

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob answered. “Instead, do something for me, then I’ll go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again. ³² Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. ³³ My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ Laban answered, “Agreed. We’ll do as you’ve said.” ³⁵ However, that same day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them. ³⁶ He traveled three days away from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Then Jacob took fresh-cut branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark on them in strips of white, uncovering the white which was on the branches. ³⁸ He placed the peeled branches in the troughs directly in front of the flocks, at the watering places where the flocks came to drink. When they were in heat and came to drink, ³⁹ they mated in front of the branches. Then they gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, or spotted.

⁴⁰ Jacob separated the rams from the flock and made the rest of the sheep face any that were striped or black in Laban’s flocks. So he made separate herds for himself and did not add them to Laban’s flocks. ⁴¹ Whenever the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob would lay the branches in the troughs in front of them so that they would mate by the branches. ⁴² But when the flocks in heat were weak, he didn’t lay down the branches. So the weaker ones belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. ⁴³ As a result, Jacob became very wealthy. He had large flocks, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.