Genesis 24-30

Christian Standard Bible

A Wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now old, getting on in years,^[a](A) and the Lord had blessed him in everything. ² Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,^{(B) 3} and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,^{(C) 4} but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?”

⁶ Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven,^(D) who took me from my father’s house and from my native land,^(E) who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’^[b](F)—he will send his angel before you,^(G) and you can take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me,^(H) but don’t let my son go back there.” ⁹ So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ The servant took ten of his master’s camels, and with all kinds of his master’s goods in hand, he went to Aram-naharaim, to Nahor’s town. ¹¹ At evening, the time when women went out to draw water, he made the camels kneel beside a well outside the town.

¹² “Lord, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “make this happen for me today,^(I) and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ I am standing here^(J) at the spring where the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also’—let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah—daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah,^(K) the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor—coming with a jug on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the girl was very beautiful,^(L) a virgin—no man had been intimate with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jug.”

¹⁸ She replied, “Drink, my lord.” She quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink.”^{[c] 20} She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and hurried to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels ²¹ while the man silently watched her to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey a success.

²² As the camels finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing ten shekels of gold. ²³ “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”

²⁴ She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ She also said to him, “We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to spend the night.”

²⁶ Then the man knelt low, worshiped the Lord,^{(M) 27} and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his kindness and faithfulness from my master.^(N) As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,^(O) and Laban ran out to the man at the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he had heard his sister Rebekah’s words—“The man said this to me!”—he went to the man. He was standing there by the camels at the spring.

³¹ Laban said, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord.^(P) Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” ³² So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded.^(Q) Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was brought to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.

³³ A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”

So Laban said, “Please speak.”

³⁴ “I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. ³⁵ “The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master in her^[d] old age,^(R) and he has given him everything he owns.^{(S) 37} My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live ³⁸ but will go to my father’s family and to my clan to take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me?’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘The Lord before whom I have walked^(T) will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s family. ⁴¹ Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you—you will be free from my oath.’

⁴² “Today when I came to the spring, I prayed: Lord, God of my master Abraham, if only you will make my journey successful! ⁴³ I am standing here at a spring. Let the young woman^[e] who comes out to draw water, and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jug,’ ⁴⁴ and who responds to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels also’—let her be the woman the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.

⁴⁵ “Before I had finished praying silently,^(U) there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please let me have a drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose^(V) and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸ Then I knelt low, worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master,^(W) tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”^[f]

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.^{[g](X) 51} Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground before the Lord. ⁵³ Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.

When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me to my master.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us for about ten days. Then she^[h] can go.”

⁵⁶ But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”

⁵⁷ So they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her opinion.”^[i]

⁵⁸ They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

She replied, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her,^[j](Y) and Abraham’s servant and his men.

⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her female servants got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi,^[l](AB) for he was living in the Negev region. ⁶³ In the early evening Isaac went out to walk^[m] in the field, and looking up he saw camels coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”

The servant answered, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.

⁶⁷ And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death.^(AC)

Abraham’s Other Wife and Sons

25 Abraham had taken^[n] another wife, whose name was Keturah,^{(AD) 2} and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ And Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. ⁵ Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.^{(AE) 6} But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, and while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.^(AF)

Abraham’s Death

⁷ This is the length of Abraham’s life:^[o] 175 years. ⁸ He took his last breath and died at a good old age,^(AG) old and contented,^[p] and he was gathered to his people.^{(AH) 9} His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah^(AI) near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hethite. ¹⁰ This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hethites.^(AJ) Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. ¹¹ After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.^(AK)

Ishmael’s Family Records

¹² These are the family records^(AL) of Abraham’s son Ishmael,^(AM) whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. ¹³ These are the names of Ishmael’s sons; their names according to the family records are Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are Ishmael’s sons, and these are their names by their settlements and encampments: twelve leaders^[q](AN) of their clans.^{[r] 17} This is the length^[s] of Ishmael’s life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people. ¹⁸ And they^[t] settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur.^[u] He^[v] stayed near^[w] all his relatives.^(AO)

The Birth of Jacob and Esau

¹⁹ These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac.^{(AP) 20} Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah^(AQ) daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram^(AR) and sister of Laban the Aramean.^{(AS) 21} Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless.^(AT) The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.^{(AU) 22} But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” ^[x] So she went to inquire of the Lord.^{(AV) 23} And the Lord said to her:

²⁴ When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first one came out red-looking,^[y] covered with hair^[z] like a fur coat, and they named him Esau.^{(AY) 26} After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand.^(AZ) So he was named Jacob.^[aa](BA) Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman,^[ab] but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.^{[ac] 28} Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.^(BB)

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.^[ad]

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

³² “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.^(BC)

The Promise Reaffirmed to Isaac

26 There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time.^(BD) And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.^{(BE) 2} The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about; ³ stay in this land as an alien, and I will be with you and bless you.^(BF) For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring,^(BG) and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.^{(BH) 4} I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed^[ae] by your offspring,^{(BI) 5} because Abraham listened to me and kept my mandate, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions.”^{(BJ) 6} So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Isaac’s Deception

⁷ When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,”^(BK) for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking,^(BL) “The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman.”^{(BM) 8} When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see^[af] Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

⁹ Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

¹⁰ Then Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.”^{(BN) 11} So Abimelech warned all the people, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.”

Conflicts over Wells

¹² Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped^[ag] a hundred times what was sown. The Lord blessed him,^{(BO) 13} and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy. ¹⁴ He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him. ¹⁵ Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham,^(BP) filling them with dirt. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us.”^[ah]

¹⁷ So Isaac left there, camped in the Gerar Valley, and lived there. ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them. ¹⁹ Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of spring^[ai] water there. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek^[aj] because they argued with him.^{(BQ) 21} Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also, so he named it Sitnah.^{[ak] 22} He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth^[al] and said, “For now the Lord has made space for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

The Lord Appears to Isaac

²³ From there he went up to Beer-sheba, ²⁴ and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.^(BR) Do not be afraid, for I am with you.^(BS) I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.”

²⁵ So he built an altar there,^(BT) called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. Isaac’s servants also dug a well there.^(BU)

Covenant with Abimelech

²⁶ Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.^{(BV) 27} Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you.”

²⁸ They replied, “We have clearly seen how the Lord has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties—between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you: ²⁹ You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.”^(BW)

³⁰ So he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other.^[am](BX) Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. ³² On that same day Isaac’s servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!” ^{(BY) 33} He called it Sheba.^[an] Therefore the name of the city is still Beer-sheba^[ao](BZ) today.

Esau’s Wives

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hethite.^{(CA) 35} They made life bitter^[ap] for Isaac and Rebekah.^(CB)

The Stolen Blessing

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see,^(CC) he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

² He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death. ³ So now take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me.^{(CD) 4} Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”^(CE)

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ ⁸ Now, my son, listen to me and do what I tell you. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father—the kind he loves. ¹⁰ Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”

¹¹ Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.^{(CF) 12} Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.”

¹³ His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”

¹⁴ So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. ¹⁶ She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

¹⁸ When he came to his father, he said, “My father.”

And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”

He replied, “Because the Lord your God made it happen for me.”

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?”

²² So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. ²⁴ Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”

And he replied, “I am.”

²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled^[aq] his clothes, he blessed him and said:

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from his hunting. ³¹ He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

³² But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”

³³ Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!”

³⁴ When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” ^(CL)

³⁵ But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶ So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob?^[ar](CM) For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ But Isaac answered Esau, “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.^[as]

³⁹ His father Isaac answered him,

Esau’s Anger

⁴¹ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. ⁴³ So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, ⁴⁴ and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides— ⁴⁵ until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hethite girls.^(CN) If Jacob marries someone from around here,^[au] like these Hethite girls, what good is my life?” ^(CO)

Jacob’s Departure

28 So Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl. ² Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ³ May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you^(CP) so that you become an assembly of peoples.^{(CQ) 4} May God give you and your offspring the blessing of Abraham^(CR) so that you may possess the land where you live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”^{(CS) 5} So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶ Esau noticed that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to get a wife there. When he blessed him, Isaac commanded Jacob, “Do not marry a Canaanite girl.” ⁷ And Jacob listened to his father and mother and went to Paddan-aram. ⁸ Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,^{(CT) 9} so Esau went to Ishmael and married, in addition to his other wives, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. She was the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob at Bethel

¹⁰ Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ He reached a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He took one of the stones from the place, put it there at his head, and lay down in that place. ¹² And he dreamed:^(CU) A stairway was set on the ground with its top reaching the sky, and God’s angels were going up and down on it.^{(CV) 13} The Lord was standing there beside him,^[av] saying, “I am the Lord,^(CW) the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth,^(CX) and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.^{(CY) 15} Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land,^(CZ) for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”^{(DA) 17} He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it ¹⁹ and named the place Bethel,^[aw] though previously the city was named Luz.^{(DB) 20} Then Jacob made a vow:^(DC) “If God will be with me and watch over me during this journey I’m making, if he provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ and if I return safely to my father’s family,^(DD) then the Lord will be my God.^{(DE) 22} This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God’s house, and I will give to you a tenth of all that you give me.”^(DF)

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Jacob resumed his journey^[ax] and went to the eastern country.^{[ay](DG) 2} He looked and saw a well in a field. Three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it because the sheep were watered from this well. But a large stone covered the opening of the well. ³ The shepherds would roll the stone from the opening of the well and water the sheep when all the flocks^[az] were gathered there. Then they would return the stone to its place over the well’s opening.

⁴ Jacob asked the men at the well, “My brothers! Where are you from?”

“We’re from Haran,” they answered.

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

They answered, “We know him.”

⁶ “Is he well?” Jacob asked.

“Yes,” they said, “and here is his daughter Rachel, coming with his sheep.”

⁷ Then Jacob said, “Look, it is still broad daylight. It’s not time for the animals to be gathered. Water the flock, then go out and let them graze.”

⁸ But they replied, “We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we will water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ As soon as Jacob saw his uncle Laban’s daughter Rachel with his sheep,^[ba] he went up and rolled the stone from the opening and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept loudly.^{[bb] 12} He told Rachel that he was her father’s relative, Rebekah’s son. She ran and told her father.

Jacob Deceived

¹³ When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then he took him to his house, and Jacob told him all that had happened.

¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.”^[bc](DH)

After Jacob had stayed with him a month, ¹⁵ Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had tender eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he answered Laban, “I’ll work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”^(DI)

¹⁹ Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Since my time is complete, give me my wife, so I can sleep with^[bd] her.” ²² So Laban invited all the men of the place and sponsored a feast. ²³ That evening, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? Wasn’t it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban answered, “It is not the custom in our country to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.”

²⁸ And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. ³⁰ Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.^(DJ)

Jacob’s Sons

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected,^(DK) he opened her womb;^(DL) but Rachel was unable to conceive.^{(DM) 32} Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben,^[be] for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction;^(DN) surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.^[bf]

³⁴ She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.^[bg]

³⁵ And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah.^[bh](DO) Then Leah stopped having children.

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” ^(DP) she said to Jacob.

² Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God? He has withheld offspring^[bi] from you!”

³ Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me^[bj](DQ) so that through her I too can build a family.” ⁴ So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, he has heard me and given me a son,” so she named him Dan.^[bk]

⁷ Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,^[bl] I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.^[bm]

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” ^[bn] and she named him Gad.^[bo]

¹² When Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, ¹³ Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,”^(DR) so she named him Asher.^[bp]

¹⁴ Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.^(DS) When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well then,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar.^[bq]

¹⁹ Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ “God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.^{[br] 21} Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb.^{(DT) 23} She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”^{(DU) 24} She named him Joseph^[bs] and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.”^(DV)

Jacob’s Flocks Multiply

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go.^(DW) You know how hard I have worked for you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸ Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”^(DX)

²⁹ So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.^{(DY) 30} For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”

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

And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. ³² Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages. ³³ In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”

³⁴ “Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

³⁵ That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. ³⁶ He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷ Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. ³⁸ He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. ³⁹ The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young.^{(DZ) 40} Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked sheep and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.

⁴¹ Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. ⁴² As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. ⁴³ And the man became very rich.^[bt] He had many flocks, female and male slaves, and camels and donkeys.^(EA)