Genesis 27-29
New American Standard Bible
Jacob’s Deception
27 Now it came about, when Isaac was old and (A)his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his (B)older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 2 Then [a](C)Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and (D)hunt game for me; 4 and prepare a delicious meal for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that (E)my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, 6 (F)Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare a delicious meal for me, so that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 So now, my son, (G)listen to [b]me [c]as I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and [d]bring me two choice [e]young goats from there, so that I may prepare them as a delicious meal for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, my brother Esau is a (H)hairy man and I am a smooth man. 12 (I)Perhaps my father will touch me, then I will be like a [f]deceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only (J)obey my voice, and go, get the goats for me.” 14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a delicious meal such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the [g]best (K)garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 And she put the skins of the [h]young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She also gave the delicious meal and the bread which she had made [i]to her son Jacob.
18 Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. (L)Come now, sit and eat of my game, so that [j](M)you may bless me.” 20 Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “(N)Because the Lord your God made it [k]come to me.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, so that (O)I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, and he touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were (P)hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25 So he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that [l](Q)I may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he (R)blessed him and said,
“See, (S)the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field (T)which the Lord has blessed;
28 Now may (U)God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the (V)fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
29 (W)May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
(X)Be master of your brothers,
(Y)And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
(Z)Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”
The Stolen Blessing
30 Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, that his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also made a delicious meal, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “(AA)Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that [m](AB)you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “(AC)Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, (AD)your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac [n]trembled violently, and said, “(AE)Who then was he who hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate from all of it before you came, and blessed him? (AF)Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, (AG)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, me as well, my father!” 35 And he said, “(AH)Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Then Esau said, “[o]Is he not rightly named (AI)[p]Jacob, for he has betrayed me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him (AJ)your master, and I have given to him all his relatives [q]as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. 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, me as well, my father.” So Esau raised his voice and (AK)wept.
39 Then (AL)his father Isaac answered and said to him,
“Behold, [r](AM)away from the [s]fertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,
And [t]away from the dew of heaven from above.
40 And by your sword you shall live,
And (AN)you shall serve your brother;
But it shall come about (AO)when you become restless,
That you will [u]break his yoke from your neck.”
41 So Esau (AP)held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said [v]to himself, “(AQ)The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent word and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43 Now then, my son, (AR)obey my voice, and arise, [w]flee to (AS)Haran, to my brother (AT)Laban! 44 Stay with him (AU)a few days, until your brother’s fury [x]subsides, 45 until your brother’s anger [y]against you subsides and he forgets (AV)what you did to him. Then I will send word and get you from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”
46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of [z]living because of (AW)the daughters of Heth; (AX)if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth like these from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Jacob Is Sent Away
28 So Isaac called Jacob and (AY)blessed him and commanded him, [aa]saying to him, “(AZ)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of (BA)Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May [ab](BB)God Almighty (BC)bless you and (BD)make you fruitful and (BE)multiply you, so that you may become a (BF)multitude of peoples. 4 May He also give you the (BG)blessing of Abraham, to you and to your [ac]descendants with you, so that you may (BH)possess the land where you (BI)live as a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then (BJ)Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, saying, “(BK)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So Esau saw that (BL)the daughters of Canaan displeased [ad]his father Isaac; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and [ae]married, (BM)besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
Jacob’s Dream
10 Then Jacob departed from (BN)Beersheba and went toward (BO)Haran. 11 And he [af]happened upon a [ag](BP)particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And (BQ)he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, (BR)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, (BS)the Lord was standing [ah]above it and said, “I am the Lord, (BT)the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give (BU)to you and to (BV)your [ai]descendants. 14 Your [aj]descendants will also be like (BW)the dust of the earth, and you will [ak]spread out (BX)to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and (BY)in you and in your [al]descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (BZ)I am with you and (CA)will keep you wherever you go, and (CB)will bring you back to this land; for (CC)I will not leave you until I have done what I have [am]promised you.” 16 Then Jacob (CD)awoke from his sleep and said, “(CE)The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “(CF)How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took (CG)the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place [an](CH)Bethel; but [ao]previously the name of the city had been (CI)Luz. 20 Jacob also (CJ)made a vow, saying, “(CK)If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [ap]take, and give me [aq](CL)food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and (CM)I return to my father’s house in [ar]safety, (CN)then the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, (CO)will be God’s house, and (CP)of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”
Jacob Meets Rachel
29 Then Jacob [as]set out on his journey, and went to the land of (CQ)the [at]people of the east. 2 He looked, and [au]saw (CR)a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, because they watered the flocks from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from (CS)Haran.” 5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban the (CT)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 his daughter (CU)Rachel coming with the sheep.” 7 Then he said, “Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, 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 water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob (CV)kissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a (CW)relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and (CX)she ran and told her father.
13 So when (CY)Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and (CZ)embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, “You certainly are (DA)my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall (DB)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 (DC)beautiful in figure and appearance. 18 Now Jacob (DD)loved Rachel, so he said, “(DE)I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 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 seemed to him like only a few days (DF)because of his love for her.
Laban’s Treachery
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my [av]time is completed, that I may (DG)have relations with her.” 22 So Laban gathered all the people of the place and held a feast. 23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her. 24 Laban also gave his female slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a slave. 25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “(DH)What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you (DI)deceived me?” 26 But Laban said, “It is not [aw]the practice in our place to [ax]marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which (DJ)you shall serve with me, for another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Laban also gave his female slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. 30 So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed (DK)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with [ay]Laban for (DL)another seven years.
31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was [az]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. 32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him [ba]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has [bb](DM)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “(DN)Because the Lord has [bc]heard that I am [bd]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become [be]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named (DO)Levi. 35 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will [bf]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him [bg](DP)Judah. Then she stopped having children.
Notas al pie
- Genesis 27:2 Lit he
- Genesis 27:8 Lit my voice
- Genesis 27:8 Lit according to what
- Genesis 27:9 Lit take
- Genesis 27:9 Lit kids of goats
- Genesis 27:12 Lit mocker
- Genesis 27:15 Lit desirable; or choice
- Genesis 27:16 Lit kids of the goats
- Genesis 27:17 Lit into the hand of
- Genesis 27:19 Lit your soul
- Genesis 27:20 Lit meet me
- Genesis 27:25 Lit my soul
- Genesis 27:31 Lit your soul
- Genesis 27:33 Lit trembled with a very great trembling
- Genesis 27:36 Or Was he then named Jacob that he has
- Genesis 27:36 Fr Heb verb meaning to seize someone by the heel, and so to betray
- Genesis 27:37 Lit for
- Genesis 27:39 Or of
- Genesis 27:39 Lit fatness
- Genesis 27:39 Or of
- Genesis 27:40 Lit tear off
- Genesis 27:41 Lit in his heart
- Genesis 27:43 Lit flee for yourself
- Genesis 27:44 Lit turns away
- Genesis 27:45 Lit turns away from you
- Genesis 27:46 Lit my life
- Genesis 28:1 Lit and said to
- Genesis 28:3 Heb El Shaddai
- Genesis 28:4 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:8 Lit in the eyes of his
- Genesis 28:9 Lit took for his wife
- Genesis 28:11 Lit lighted on
- Genesis 28:11 Lit the place
- Genesis 28:13 Or beside him
- Genesis 28:13 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:14 Lit break through
- Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:15 Lit spoken to
- Genesis 28:19 I.e., the house of God
- Genesis 28:19 Lit at the first
- Genesis 28:20 Lit go
- Genesis 28:20 Lit bread
- Genesis 28:21 Lit peace
- Genesis 29:1 Lit lifted up his feet
- Genesis 29:1 Lit sons
- Genesis 29:2 Lit behold
- Genesis 29:21 Lit days are
- Genesis 29:26 Lit done thus in
- Genesis 29:26 Lit give
- Genesis 29:30 Lit him
- Genesis 29:31 Lit hated
- Genesis 29:32 I.e., see, a son
- Genesis 29:32 Lit looked at
- 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 27-29
New Living Translation
Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing
27 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.”
“Yes, Father?” Esau replied.
2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”
5 But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. 10 Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”
11 “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. 12 What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”
13 But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!”
14 So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. 16 She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. 17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread.
18 So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.
“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”
19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”
20 Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” Jacob replied.
25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. 26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.”
27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed!
28 “From the dew of heaven
and the richness of the earth,
may God always give you abundant harvests of grain
and bountiful new wine.
29 May many nations become your servants,
and may they bow down to you.
May you be the master over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
All who curse you will be cursed,
and all who bless you will be blessed.”
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. 31 Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.”
32 But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.”
33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.
35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.”
36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice.[a] First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”
37 Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?”
38 Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept.
39 Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him,
“You will live away from the richness of the earth,
and away from the dew of the heaven above.
40 You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you decide to break free,
you will shake his yoke from your neck.”
Jacob Flees to Paddan-Aram
41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”
42 But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him, “Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43 So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran. 44 Stay there with him until your brother cools off. 45 When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick and tired of these local Hittite women! I would rather die than see Jacob marry one of them.”
28 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 3 May God Almighty[b] bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants[c] the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.
6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”
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,[d] 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,[e] 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,[f] 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,[g] 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,[h] for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children.
Notas al pie
- 27:36 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.”
- 28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai.
- 28:4 Hebrew seed; also in 28:13, 14.
- 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.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.
