Genesis 29-32

New American Standard Bible 1995

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Then Jacob ^[a]went on his journey, and came to the land of ^(A)the sons of the east. ² He looked, and ^[b]saw ^(B)a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and 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 ^(C)Haran.” ⁵ 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 He said, “Behold, 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 Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. ¹¹ Then Jacob ^(F)kissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept. ¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was a ^[c](G)relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and ^(H)she ran and told her father.

¹³ So when ^(I)Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and ^(J)embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things. ¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Surely you are ^(K)my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my ^[d]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 of form and ^[e]face. ¹⁸ Now Jacob ^(N)loved Rachel, so he said, “^(O)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 but a few days ^(P)because of his love for her.

Laban’s Treachery

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my ^[f]time is completed, that I may ^(Q)go in to her.” ²² Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. ²³ Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her. ²⁴ Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. ²⁵ So it came about 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 ^[g]the practice in our place to ^[h]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 ^(T)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 maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid. ³⁰ So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed ^(U)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with ^[i]Laban for ^(V)another seven years.

³¹ Now the Lord saw that Leah was ^[j]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah conceived and bore a son and named him ^[k]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has ^[l](W)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “^(X)Because the Lord has ^[m]heard that I am ^[n]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. ³⁴ She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become ^[o]attached 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 ^[p]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him ^[q](Z)Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

The Sons of Jacob

30 Now when Rachel saw that ^(AA)she bore Jacob no children, ^[r]she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “^(AB)Give me children, or else I die.” ² Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has ^(AC)withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” ³ She said, “^(AD)Here is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may ^(AE)bear on my knees, that ^[s](AF)through her I too may have children.” ⁴ So ^(AG)she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has ^[t](AH)vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him ^[u]Dan. ⁷ Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ So Rachel said, “With ^[v]mighty wrestlings I have ^[w]wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “^[x]How fortunate!” So she named him ^[y]Gad. ¹² Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “^[z]Happy am I! For women ^(AI)will call me happy.” So she named him ^[aa]Asher.

¹⁴ Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found ^(AJ)mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁵ But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. ¹⁷ God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has given me my ^[ab]wages because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. ¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband ^[ac]will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. ²¹ Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then ^(AK)God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and ^(AL)opened her womb. ²³ So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has ^(AM)taken away my reproach.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph, saying, “^(AN)May the Lord ^[ad]give me another son.”

Jacob Prospers

²⁵ Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “^(AO)Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children ^(AP)for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have ^[ae]rendered you.” ²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If now ^[af]it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined ^(AQ)that the Lord has blessed me on your account.” ²⁸ He ^[ag]continued, “^(AR)Name me your wages, and I will give it.” ²⁹ But he said to him, “^(AS)You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have ^[ah]fared with me. ³⁰ For you had little before ^[ai]I came and it has ^[aj]increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you ^[ak]wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” ³¹ So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: ³² let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every ^(AT)speckled and spotted sheep and every black ^[al]one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. ³³ So my ^[am]honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my ^[an]wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.” ³⁴ Laban said, “^[ao]Good, let it be according to your word.” ³⁵ So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the ^[ap]care of his sons. ³⁶ And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Then Jacob ^[aq]took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was ^[ar]in the rods. ³⁸ He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they ^[as]mated when they came to drink. ³⁹ So the flocks ^[at]mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. ⁴⁰ Jacob separated the lambs, and ^[au]made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. ⁴¹ Moreover, whenever the ^[av]stronger of the flock ^[aw]were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might ^[ax]mate by the rods; ⁴² but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the ^[ay]stronger Jacob’s. ⁴³ So ^(AU)the man ^[az]became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan

31 Now ^[ba]Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this ^[bb]wealth.” ² Jacob saw the ^[bc]attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly. ³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, “^(AV)Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and ^(AW)I will be with you.” ⁴ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, ⁵ and said to them, “^(AX)I see your father’s ^[bd]attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but ^(AY)the God of my father has been with me. ^6 (AZ)You know that I have served your father with all my strength. ⁷ Yet your father has ^(BA)cheated me and ^(BB)changed my wages ten times; however, ^(BC)God did not allow him to hurt me. ⁸ If ^(BD)he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped. ⁹ Thus God has ^(BE)taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. ¹⁰ And it came about at the time when the flock were ^[be]mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were ^[bf]mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. ¹¹ Then ^(BF)the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are ^[bg]mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for ^(BG)I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am ^(BH)the God of Bethel, where you ^(BI)anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, ^[bh]leave this land, and ^(BJ)return to the land of your birth.’” ¹⁴ Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house? ¹⁵ Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For ^(BK)he has sold us, and has also ^[bi]entirely consumed ^[bj]our purchase price. ¹⁶ Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels; ¹⁸ and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, ^(BL)to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. ¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the ^[bk](BM)household idols that were her father’s. ²⁰ And Jacob ^[bl]deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. ²¹ So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of ^(BN)Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

²² When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, ²³ then he took his ^[bm]kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. ^24 (BO)God came to Laban the Aramean in a ^(BP)dream of the night and said to him, “^[bn](BQ)Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

²⁵ Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his ^[bo]kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done ^[bp]by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee secretly and ^[bq]deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with ^(BR)timbrel and with ^(BS)lyre; ²⁸ and did not allow me ^(BT)to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly. ²⁹ It is in ^[br]my power to do you harm, but ^(BU)the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘^[bs](BV)Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’ ³⁰ Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal ^(BW)my gods?” ³¹ Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. ^32 (BX)The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our ^[bt]kinsmen ^[bu]point out what is yours ^[bv]among my belongings and take it for yourself.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the ^[bw]household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them. ³⁵ She said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot ^(BY)rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the ^[bx](BZ)household idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? ³⁷ Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my ^[by]kinsmen and your ^[bz]kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. ³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. ³⁹ That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ Thus I was: by day the ^[ca]heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ These twenty years I have been in your house; ^(CA)I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you ^(CB)changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If ^(CC)the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. ^(CD)God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He ^(CE)rendered judgment last night.”

The Covenant of Mizpah

⁴³ Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and ^(CF)the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴ So now come, let us ^(CG)make a covenant, ^[cb]you and I, and ^(CH)let it be a witness between ^[cc]you and me.” ⁴⁵ Then Jacob took ^(CI)a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ Jacob said to his ^[cd]kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. ⁴⁷ Now Laban ^(CJ)called it ^[ce]Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it ^[cf]Galeed. ⁴⁸ Laban said, “^(CK)This heap is a witness between ^[cg]you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed, ⁴⁹ and ^[ch](CL)Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between ^[ci]you and me when we are ^[cj]absent one from the other. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us, see, ^(CM)God is witness between ^[ck]you and me.” ⁵¹ Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between ^[cl]you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. ^53 (CN)The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, ^(CO)judge between us.” So Jacob swore by ^(CP)the fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob ^(CQ)offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his ^[cm]kinsmen to ^[cn]the meal; and they ate ^[co]the meal and spent the night on the mountain. ^55 [cp]Early in the morning Laban arose, and ^(CR)kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Jacob’s Fear of Esau

32 Now as Jacob went on his way, ^(CS)the angels of God met him. ² Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s ^[cq]camp.” So he named that place ^[cr](CT)Mahanaim.

³ Then Jacob ^(CU)sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of ^(CV)Seir, the ^[cs]country of ^(CW)Edom. ⁴ He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and ^(CX)stayed until now; ^5 (CY)I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, ^(CZ)that I may find favor in your sight.”’”

⁶ The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore ^(DA)he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷ Then Jacob was ^(DB)greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies; ⁸ for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and ^[ct]attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”

⁹ Jacob said, “O ^(DC)God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘^(DD)Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will ^[cu]prosper you,’ ^10 [cv]I am unworthy ^(DE)of all the lovingkindness and of all the ^[cw]faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. ^11 (DF)Deliver me, I pray, ^(DG)from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and ^[cx]attack me and the ^(DH)mothers with the children. ¹² For You said, ‘^(DI)I will surely ^[cy]prosper you and ^(DJ)make your ^[cz]descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”

¹³ So he spent the night there. Then he ^[da]selected from what ^[db]he had with him a ^(DK)present for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.” ¹⁷ He commanded the ^[dc]one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’ ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’” ¹⁹ Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰ and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹ So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.

²² Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the ^(DL)Jabbok. ²³ He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.

Jacob Wrestles

²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone, and a man ^(DM)wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵ When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “^(DN)I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ^28 (DO)He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but ^[dd]Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” ²⁹ Then ^(DP)Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob named the place ^[de]Peniel, for he said, “^(DQ)I have seen God face to face, yet my ^[df]life has been preserved.” ³¹ Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over ^(DR)Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. ³² Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.