Genesis 29:31-30:24

Legacy Standard Bible

³¹ And Yahweh saw that Leah was ^[a]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. ³² So Leah conceived and bore a son and named him ^[b]Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has ^[c](A)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “^(B)Because Yahweh has ^[d]heard that I am ^[e]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. ³⁴ And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be ^[f]joined to me because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named ^(C)Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will ^[g]praise Yahweh.” Therefore she named him ^[h](D)Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

The Sons of Jacob

30 Then Rachel saw that ^(E)she bore Jacob no children, so ^[i]she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “^(F)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 ^(G)withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” ³ And she said, “^(H)Here is my maidservant Bilhah, go in to her that she may ^(I)bear on my knees, that ^[j](J)through her I too may obtain children.” ⁴ So ^(K)she gave him her servant-woman Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has ^[k](L)rendered justice to me and has indeed listened to my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him ^[l]Dan. ⁷ And Rachel’s servant-woman Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ So Rachel said, “With ^[m]mighty wrestlings I have ^[n]wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

⁹ Then Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, so she took her servant-woman Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “^[o]How fortunate!” So she named him ^[p]Gad. ¹² And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “^[q]Happy am I! For women ^(M)will call me happy.” So she named him ^[r]Asher.

¹⁴ And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found ^(N)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 will lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob came in from the field in the evening. And 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 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ And Leah said, “God has given me my ^[s]wages because I gave my servant-woman to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. ¹⁹ Then Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. ²⁰ And Leah said, “God has gifted me a good gift; this time my husband ^[t]will honor 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 ^(O)God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and ^(P)opened her womb. ²³ So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has ^(Q)taken away my reproach.” ²⁴ And she named him Joseph, saying, “^(R)May Yahweh ^[u]give me another son.”