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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.” 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?” 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.” So (K)she gave him her servant-woman Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 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. And Rachel’s servant-woman Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. So Rachel said, “With [m]mighty wrestlings I have [n]wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

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.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:31 Lit hated
  2. Genesis 29:32 Lit see, a son
  3. Genesis 29:32 Lit looked upon
  4. Genesis 29:33 Heb shama, related to Simeon
  5. Genesis 29:33 Lit hated
  6. Genesis 29:34 Heb lavah, related to Levi
  7. Genesis 29:35 Heb jadah, related to Judah
  8. Genesis 29:35 Heb Jehudah
  9. Genesis 30:1 Lit Rachel
  10. Genesis 30:3 Lit from her I too may be built
  11. Genesis 30:6 Lit judged
  12. Genesis 30:6 He judged
  13. Genesis 30:8 Lit wrestlings of God
  14. Genesis 30:8 Heb niphtal, related to Naphtali
  15. Genesis 30:11 Lit With fortune!; some versions Fortune has come
  16. Genesis 30:11 Fortune
  17. Genesis 30:13 Lit With my happiness!
  18. Genesis 30:13 Happy
  19. Genesis 30:18 Heb sachar, related to Issachar
  20. Genesis 30:20 Heb zabal, related to Zebulun
  21. Genesis 30:24 Lit add to me; Heb Joseph

Jacob’s Sons

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,(A) He opened her womb;(B) but Rachel was unable to conceive.(C) 32 Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben,[a] for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction;(D) surely my husband will love me now.”

33 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am unloved and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.[b]

34 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi.[c]

35 And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah.[d](E) Then Leah stopped having children.

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!”(F) she said to Jacob.

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in God’s place, who has withheld children[e] from you?”

Then she said, “Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me[f](G) so that through her I too can build a family.” So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son,” and she named him Dan.[g]

Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,[h] I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.[i]

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”[j] and she named him Gad.[k]

12 When Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, 13 Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,”(H) so she named him Asher.[l]

14 Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.(I) When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well,” Rachel said, “you can sleep with him tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar.[m]

19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 “God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.[n] 21 Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb.(J) 23 She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my shame.”(K) 24 She named him Joseph:[o] “May the Lord add another son to me.”(L)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:32 = See, a Son; in Hb, the name Reuben sounds like “has seen my affliction.”
  2. Genesis 29:33 In Hb, the name Simeon sounds like “has heard.”
  3. Genesis 29:34 In Hb, the name Levi sounds like “attached to.”
  4. Genesis 29:35 In Hb, the name Judah sounds like “praise.”
  5. Genesis 30:2 Lit the fruit of the womb
  6. Genesis 30:3 Lit bear on my knees
  7. Genesis 30:6 In Hb, the name Dan sounds like “has vindicated,” or “has judged.”
  8. Genesis 30:8 Or With mighty wrestlings
  9. Genesis 30:8 In Hb, the name Naphtali sounds like “my wrestling.”
  10. Genesis 30:11 Alt Hb tradition, LXX, Vg read Good fortune has come
  11. Genesis 30:11 = Good Fortune
  12. Genesis 30:13 = Happy
  13. Genesis 30:18 In Hb, the name Issachar sounds like “reward.”
  14. Genesis 30:20 In Hb, the name Zebulun sounds like “honored.”
  15. Genesis 30:24 = He Adds