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29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)[a] 30 Jacob[b] slept with[c] Rachel as well. He also loved Rachel more than Leah. Then he worked for Laban[d] for seven more years.

The Family of Jacob

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,[e] he enabled her to become pregnant[f] while Rachel remained childless.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:29 tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”
  2. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “came to” or “approached,” a euphemism for sexual relations. See note at v. 21.
  4. Genesis 29:30 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. Genesis 29:31 tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.
  6. Genesis 29:31 tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”