31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was [a]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. 32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him [b]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has [c](A)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “(B)Because the Lord 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 gave birth to a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become [f]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named (C)Levi. 35 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will [g]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him [h](D)Judah. Then she stopped having children.

The Sons of Jacob

30 Now when Rachel saw that (E)she had not borne Jacob any children, [i]she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “(F)Give me children, or else I am going to 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?” Then she said, “(H)Here is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may (I)give birth [j]on my knees, so that [k](J)by her I too may obtain a child.” So (K)she gave him her slave Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has [l](L)vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him [m]Dan. And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. So Rachel said, “With [n]mighty wrestling I have [o]wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

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

14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found (N)mandrake fruits 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 sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must have relations with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. 17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my [t]reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; finally my husband [u]will acknowledge me as his wife, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she gave birth to 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 gave birth to a son, and said, “God has (Q)taken away my disgrace.” 24 And she named him Joseph, saying, “(R)May the Lord [v]give me another son.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:31 Lit hated
  2. Genesis 29:32 I.e., see, a son
  3. Genesis 29:32 Lit looked at
  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 I.e., Prob. referring to a ritual of adoption
  11. Genesis 30:3 Lit from her I too may be built
  12. Genesis 30:6 Lit judged
  13. Genesis 30:6 I.e., He judged
  14. Genesis 30:8 Lit wrestlings of God
  15. Genesis 30:8 Heb niphtal, related to Naphtali
  16. Genesis 30:11 Lit With fortune! Some ancient versions Fortune has come
  17. Genesis 30:11 I.e., Fortune
  18. Genesis 30:13 Lit With my happiness!
  19. Genesis 30:13 I.e., happy
  20. Genesis 30:18 Heb sachar, related to Issachar
  21. Genesis 30:20 Heb zabal, related to Zebulun
  22. Genesis 30:24 Lit add to me; Heb Joseph

Jacob's Children

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was (A)hated, (B)he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,[a] for she said, “Because the Lord (C)has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.[b] 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be (D)attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.[c] 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name (E)Judah.[d] Then she ceased bearing.

30 When Rachel saw that (F)she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, (G)who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my servant (H)Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth (I)on my behalf,[e] that even I may have children[f] through her.” So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has (J)judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.[g] Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings[h] I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name (K)Naphtali.[i]

When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and (L)gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, (M)“Good fortune has come!” so she called his name (N)Gad.[j] 12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women (O)have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.[k]

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found (P)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 that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have 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 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.[l]

19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name (Q)Zebulun.[m] 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God (R)remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and (S)opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away (T)my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph,[n] saying, (U)“May the Lord add to me another son!”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:32 Reuben means See, a son
  2. Genesis 29:33 Simeon sounds like the Hebrew for heard
  3. Genesis 29:34 Levi sounds like the Hebrew for attached
  4. Genesis 29:35 Judah sounds like the Hebrew for praise
  5. Genesis 30:3 Hebrew on my knees
  6. Genesis 30:3 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children
  7. Genesis 30:6 Dan sounds like the Hebrew for judged
  8. Genesis 30:8 Hebrew With wrestlings of God
  9. Genesis 30:8 Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew for wrestling
  10. Genesis 30:11 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for good fortune
  11. Genesis 30:13 Asher sounds like the Hebrew for happy
  12. Genesis 30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for wages, or hire
  13. Genesis 30:20 Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew for honor
  14. Genesis 30:24 Joseph means May he add, and sounds like the Hebrew for taken away