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

Leah’s Children

31 Later, the Lord noticed that Leah was being neglected,[a] so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless. 32 Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben,[b] because she was saying, “The Lord had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me.”

33 Later, she conceived again, bore a son, and declared, “Because the Lord heard that I’m neglected, he gave me this one, too.” So she named him Simeon.[c]

34 Later, she conceived again and said, “This time my husband will become attached to me, now that I’ve borne him three sons.” So he named him Levi.[d]

35 Then she conceived yet again, bore a son, and said, “This time I’ll praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.[e]

Then she stopped bearing children.

Rachel’s Children by Bilhah

30 Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, “If you don’t give me sons, I’m going to die!”

That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, “Can I take God’s place, who has not allowed you to conceive?”[f]

Rachel[g] responded, “Here’s my handmaid Bilhah. Go have sex with her. She can bear children[h] on my knees so I can have children through her.”

So Rachel[i] gave Jacob[j] her woman servant Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob had sex with her. Bilhah conceived and bore a son for Jacob. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore, she named him Dan.[k]

Rachel’s servant conceived again and bore a second son for Jacob, so Rachel said, “I’ve been through a mighty struggle with my sister and won.” She named him Naphtali.[l]

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her woman servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore a son to Jacob, 11 and Leah exclaimed, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.[m]

12 Later, Leah’s servant Zilpah bore a second son for Jacob. 13 She said, “How happy I am, because women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.[n]

Jacob and the Mandrakes

14 Some time later, during the wheat harvest season, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes[o] in the field and brought them back for his mother Leah. Then Rachel[p] told Leah, “Please give me your son’s mandrakes.”

15 In response, Leah asked her, “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes!”

But Rachel replied, “Very well, let’s let Jacob sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went to meet him and told him, “You’re having sex with me tonight. I traded my son’s mandrakes for you!” So he slept with her that night.

17 God heard what Leah had said, so she conceived and bore a fifth son for Jacob. 18 Then Leah said, “God has paid me for giving my servant to my husband as his wife.” So she named him Issachar.[q]

19 Later, Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son for Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. This time my husband will exalt me, because I’ve borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.[r]

21 After that, Leah conceived, bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.

Rachel’s Son Joseph is Born

22 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, 23 so she conceived, bore a son, and remarked, “God has removed my shame.” 24 Because she had been asking, “May God give me another son,” she named him Joseph.[s]

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:31 Lit. hated
  2. Genesis 29:32 The Heb. name Reuben means See, a son
  3. Genesis 29:33 The Heb. name Simeon means heard
  4. Genesis 29:34 The Heb. name Levi means joined
  5. Genesis 29:35 The Heb. name Judah means praise
  6. Genesis 30:2 Lit. has withheld from you fruit of the womb
  7. Genesis 30:3 Lit. She
  8. Genesis 30:3 Lit. them
  9. Genesis 30:4 Lit. she
  10. Genesis 30:4 Lit. him
  11. Genesis 30:6 The Heb. name Dan means judge
  12. Genesis 30:8 The Heb. name Naphtali means my struggle
  13. Genesis 30:11 The Heb. name Gad means lucky
  14. Genesis 30:13 The Heb. name Asher means happy
  15. Genesis 30:14 I.e. a plant native to Canaan thought to facilitate procreation
  16. Genesis 30:14 Lit. she
  17. Genesis 30:18 The Heb. name Issachar means wages
  18. Genesis 30:20 The Heb. name Zebulun means exalted
  19. Genesis 30:24 The Heb. name Joseph means added