Jacob’s Family Grows

³¹ The Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. So the Lord made it possible for Leah to have children. But Rachel did not have any children. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,^[a] because she said, “The Lord has seen my troubles. Surely now my husband will love me.”

³³ Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon.^[b] She said, “The Lord has heard that I am not loved. So he gave me this son.”

³⁴ Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Levi.^[c] Leah said, “Now, surely my husband will be close to me. I have given him three sons.”

³⁵ Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named him Judah.^[d] Leah named him this because she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Then Leah stopped having children.

30 Rachel saw that she was not giving birth to children for Jacob. So she envied her sister Leah. Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

² Jacob became angry with her. He said, “Can I do what only God can do? He is the one who has kept you from having children.”

³ Then Rachel said, “Here is my slave girl Bilhah. Have physical relations with her so she can give birth to a child for me. Then I can have my own family through her.”

⁴ So Rachel gave Bilhah, her slave girl, to Jacob as a wife. And he had physical relations with her. ⁵ She became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. ⁶ Rachel said, “God has declared me innocent. He has listened to my prayer and has given me a son.” So Rachel named this son Dan.^[e]

⁷ Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. ⁸ Rachel said, “I have struggled hard with my sister. And I have won.” So she named that son Naphtali.^[f]

⁹ Leah saw that she had stopped having children. So she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Then Zilpah had a son. ¹¹ Leah said, “I am lucky.” So she named her son Gad.^{[g] 12} Zilpah gave birth to another son. ¹³ Leah said, “I am very happy! Now women will call me happy.” So she named that son Asher.^[h]

¹⁴ During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the field and found some mandrake^[i] plants. He brought them to his mother Leah. But Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ Leah answered, “You have already taken away my husband. Now you are trying to take away my son’s mandrakes.”

But Rachel answered, “If you will give me your son’s mandrakes, you may sleep with Jacob tonight.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field that night, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You will have intimate relations with me tonight. I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

¹⁷ Then God answered Leah’s prayer, and she became pregnant again. She gave birth to a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband.” So Leah named her son Issachar.^[j]

¹⁹ Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son. ²⁰ She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now surely Jacob will honor me, because I have given him six sons.” So Leah named the son Zebulun.^[k]

²¹ Later Leah gave birth to a daughter. She named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer. God made it possible for her to have children. ²³ She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has taken away my shame.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph.^[l] Rachel said, “I wish the Lord would give me another son.”

Rachel Dies Giving Birth

¹⁶ Jacob and his group left Bethel. Before they came to Ephrath, Rachel began giving birth to her baby. ¹⁷ But she was having much trouble with this birth. When Rachel’s nurse saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.” ¹⁸ Rachel gave birth to the son, but she died. As she lay dying, she named the boy Son of My Suffering. But Jacob called him Benjamin.^[a]

¹⁹ Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath, a district of Bethlehem. ²⁰ And Jacob set up a rock on her grave to honor her. That rock is still there today.