Genesis 30
New Living Translation
30 When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”
3 Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me,[a] and through her I can have a family, too.” 4 So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6 Rachel named him Dan,[b] for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel named him Naphtali,[c] for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”
9 Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. 11 Leah named him Gad,[d] for she said, “How fortunate I am!” 12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah named him Asher,[e] for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”
14 One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?”
Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”
16 So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. 17 And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 She named him Issachar,[f] for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” 19 Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 She named him Zebulun,[g] for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” 21 Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24 And she named him Joseph,[h] for she said, “May the Lord add yet another son to my family.”
Jacob’s Wealth Increases
25 Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.”
27 “Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for[i] the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”
29 Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care. 30 You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The Lord has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?”
31 “What wages do you want?” Laban asked again.
Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. 32 Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. 33 In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”
34 “All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” 35 But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, 36 who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.
37 Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. 38 Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. 39 And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.
41 Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. 42 But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. 43 As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.
Footnotes
- 30:3 Hebrew bear children on my knees.
- 30:6 Dan means “he judged” or “he vindicated.”
- 30:8 Naphtali means “my struggle.”
- 30:11 Gad means “good fortune.”
- 30:13 Asher means “happy.”
- 30:18 Issachar sounds like a Hebrew term that means “reward.”
- 30:20 Zebulun probably means “honor.”
- 30:24 Joseph means “may he add.”
- 30:27 Or I have learned by divination that.
Genesis 30
International Standard Version
Rachel’s Children by Bilhah
30 Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, “If you don’t give me sons, I’m going to die!”
2 That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, “Can I take God’s place, who has not allowed you to conceive?”[a]
3 Rachel[b] responded, “Here’s my handmaid Bilhah. Go have sex with her. She can bear children[c] on my knees so I can have children through her.”
4 So Rachel[d] gave Jacob[e] her woman servant Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob had sex with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore a son for Jacob. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore, she named him Dan.[f]
7 Rachel’s servant conceived again and bore a second son for Jacob, 8 so Rachel said, “I’ve been through a mighty struggle with my sister and won.” She named him Naphtali.[g]
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her woman servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore a son to Jacob, 11 and Leah exclaimed, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.[h]
12 Later, Leah’s servant Zilpah bore a second son for Jacob. 13 She said, “How happy I am, because women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.[i]
Jacob and the Mandrakes
14 Some time later, during the wheat harvest season, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes[j] in the field and brought them back for his mother Leah. Then Rachel[k] told Leah, “Please give me your son’s mandrakes.”
15 In response, Leah asked her, “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes!”
But Rachel replied, “Very well, let’s let Jacob sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went to meet him and told him, “You’re having sex with me tonight. I traded my son’s mandrakes for you!” So he slept with her that night.
17 God heard what Leah had said, so she conceived and bore a fifth son for Jacob. 18 Then Leah said, “God has paid me for giving my servant to my husband as his wife.” So she named him Issachar.[l]
19 Later, Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son for Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. This time my husband will exalt me, because I’ve borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.[m]
21 After that, Leah conceived, bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.
Rachel’s Son Joseph is Born
22 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, 23 so she conceived, bore a son, and remarked, “God has removed my shame.” 24 Because she had been asking, “May God give me another son,” she named him Joseph.[n]
Jacob and Laban’s Livestock
25 After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob told Laban, “Send me off so that I can go back to my place and country. 26 Give me my wives and children for whom I’ve served you. Then I’ll leave, since you’re aware of my service to you.”
27 Then Laban responded, “If I’ve found favor in your sight, please stay with me, because I’ve learned through divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Name your wage, and I’ll give it to you.”
29 But Jacob replied to Laban, “You know how I’ve served you and how your cattle thrived under my care. 30 What you had previously was only a few head, but the herd has now multiplied, because the Lord has blessed you through my efforts.[o] But now, when am I going to be able to provide for my own household?”
31 “What do I have to give you?” Laban asked.
Jacob responded, “You don’t have to give me anything. Just do this for me: Let me tend your flock again and watch over it. 32 Let me walk among your flocks today and remove every speckled or spotted sheep, along with every black lamb, and let me do the same with the speckled and spotted goats. These will be my wages. 33 In the future, you’ll be able to verify my honesty because, when you come to check[p] what I’ve earned, if you find a goat that’s not speckled or spotted or a sheep that’s not black, then it will have been stolen by me.”
34 “Very well,” Laban replied. “We’ll do it the way you’ve asked.” 35 That very day, Laban[q] removed the male goats that were striped or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted—that is, every one that had white on them—and all the black lambs and placed them into the care[r] of his sons. 36 He sent them as far away from Jacob as a three days’ journey could take them.
Meanwhile, Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban’s flock. 37 Jacob took branches[s] from white poplar trees, freshly cut almond trees, and some other trees,[t] stripped off their bark to make white streaks, and uncovered the white part inside the branches. 38 Then he placed the branches that he had stripped bare in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He placed the branches in front of the flock, and they went into heat as they came to drink. 39 When the flocks mated in front of the branches, they would bear offspring[u] that were striped, speckled, or spotted.
40 Jacob kept the lambs separate, facing the striped and entirely black ones that belonged to Laban’s flock. He set his own herd by itself and would not let them be with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the more vigorous of the flock came into heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the flock to make them mate by the branches.
42 But he didn’t put the branches in front of any of the feeble members of the flock. As a result, the feeble ones belonged to Laban, but the stronger ones belonged to Jacob. 43 Therefore the man Jacob[v] prospered so much that he had large flocks, female and male servants, as well as camels and donkeys.
Footnotes
- Genesis 30:2 Lit. has withheld from you fruit of the womb
- Genesis 30:3 Lit. She
- Genesis 30:3 Lit. them
- Genesis 30:4 Lit. she
- Genesis 30:4 Lit. him
- Genesis 30:6 The Heb. name Dan means judge
- Genesis 30:8 The Heb. name Naphtali means my struggle
- Genesis 30:11 The Heb. name Gad means lucky
- Genesis 30:13 The Heb. name Asher means happy
- Genesis 30:14 I.e. a plant native to Canaan thought to facilitate procreation
- Genesis 30:14 Lit. she
- Genesis 30:18 The Heb. name Issachar means wages
- Genesis 30:20 The Heb. name Zebulun means exalted
- Genesis 30:24 The Heb. name Joseph means added
- Genesis 30:30 Lit. my foot
- Genesis 30:33 The Heb. lacks check
- Genesis 30:35 The Heb. lacks Laban
- Genesis 30:35 Lit. hand
- Genesis 30:37 Lit. took a rod
- Genesis 30:37 Or and plane trees; i.e. a species of trees that could readily be stripped of their bark
- Genesis 30:39 The Heb. lacks offspring
- Genesis 30:43 The Heb. lacks Jacob
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.
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