Genesis 29:31-30:14

New International Version - UK

Jacob’s children

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,^[a] for she said, ‘It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.’

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.’ So she named him Simeon.^[b]

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ So he was named Levi.^[c]

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, ‘This time I will praise the Lord.’ So she named him Judah.^[d] Then she stopped having children.

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I’ll die!’

² Jacob became angry with her and said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?’

³ Then she said, ‘Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.’

⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, ⁵ and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, ‘God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.’ Because of this she named him Dan.^[e]

⁷ Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, ‘I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.’ So she named him Naphtali.^[f]

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

¹² Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, ‘How happy I am! The women will call me happy.’ So she named him Asher.^[i]

¹⁴ During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, ‘Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.’