Genesis 29
Legacy Standard Bible
Jacob’s Love for Rachel
29 Then Jacob [a]took up his journey and came to the land of (A)the sons of the east. 2 And he looked, and behold, (B)a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they gave water to the flocks to drink. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3 And all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and give water to the sheep to drink and return the stone back to its place on the mouth of the well.
4 And Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from (C)Haran.” 5 Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the (D)son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” 6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is (E)Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” 7 And he said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Give water to the sheep to drink, and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we give water to the sheep to drink.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now it happened, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and gave water to the flock of Laban his mother’s brother to drink. 11 Then Jacob (F)kissed Rachel and lifted his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was a [b](G)relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and (H)she ran and told her father.
13 So it happened that when (I)Laban heard the report of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and he (J)embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he recounted to Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “Surely you are (K)my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him one month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my [c]relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall (L)your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was (M)beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance. 18 Now Jacob (N)loved Rachel, so he said, “(O)I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his sight but a few days (P)because of his love for her.
Laban Deceives Jacob
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may (Q)go in to her.” 22 And Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now it happened in the evening that he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. 24 Laban also gave his servant-woman Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a servant-woman. 25 Now it happened in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “(R)What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you (S)deceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not [d]the practice in our place to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfill the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which (T)you shall serve with me for another seven years.” 28 And Jacob did so and fulfilled her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his servant-woman Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her servant-woman. 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed (U)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with [e]Laban for (V)another seven years.
31 And Yahweh saw that Leah was [f]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son and named him [g]Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has [h](W)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “(X)Because Yahweh has [i]heard that I am [j]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be [k]joined to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named (Y)Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will [l]praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him [m](Z)Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
Footnotes
- Genesis 29:1 Lit lifted up his feet
- Genesis 29:12 Lit brother
- Genesis 29:15 Lit brother
- Genesis 29:26 Lit done thus in
- Genesis 29:30 Lit him
- Genesis 29:31 Lit hated
- Genesis 29:32 Lit see, a son
- Genesis 29:32 Lit looked upon
- Genesis 29:33 Heb shama, related to Simeon
- Genesis 29:33 Lit hated
- Genesis 29:34 Heb lavah, related to Levi
- Genesis 29:35 Heb jadah, related to Judah
- Genesis 29:35 Heb Jehudah
Genesis 29
New Living Translation
Jacob Arrives at Paddan-Aram
29 Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east. 2 He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.
3 It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?”
“We are from Haran,” they answered.
5 “Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked.
“Yes, we do,” they replied.
6 “Is he doing well?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”
7 Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight—too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?”
8 “We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.”
9 Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd. 10 And because Rachel was his cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. 12 He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.
13 As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story, 14 Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, 15 Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes,[a] but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. 18 Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”
19 “Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” 20 So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
21 Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”
22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. 23 But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)
25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”
26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.”
28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.
Jacob’s Many Children
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,[b] for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”
33 She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon,[c] for she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.”
34 Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi,[d] for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”
35 Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah,[e] for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children.
Footnotes
- 29:17 Or Leah had dull eyes, or Leah had soft eyes. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 29:32 Reuben means “Look, a son!” It also sounds like the Hebrew for “He has seen my misery.”
- 29:33 Simeon probably means “one who hears.”
- 29:34 Levi sounds like a Hebrew term that means “being attached” or “feeling affection for.”
- 29:35 Judah is related to the Hebrew term for “praise.”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
