Jacob’s Sons

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected,(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 neglected 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 the place of God? He has withheld offspring[e] from you!”

Then she said, “Here is my maid 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,” so 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 then,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you 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 she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”(K) 24 She named him Joseph[o] and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.”(L)

Footnotes

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

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.(A) 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben,[a] for she said, “Because the Lord has looked on my affliction, surely now my husband will love me.”(B) 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 named him Simeon.[b] 34 Again she conceived and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons”; therefore he was named Levi.[c](C) 35 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord,” therefore she named him Judah;[d] then she ceased bearing.(D)

30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister, and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”(E) Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”(F) Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her.”(G) So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.(H) And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me and has also heard my voice and given me a son”; therefore she named him Dan.[e](I) Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed,” so she named him Naphtali.[f](J)

When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.(K) 10 Then Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune!” So she named him Gad.[g] 12 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For the women will call me happy,” so she named him Asher.[h](L)

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found 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.”(M) 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 for your son’s mandrakes.”(N) 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 heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my hire because I gave my maid to my husband,” so she named him Issachar.[i] 19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons,” so she named him Zebulun.[j](O) 21 Afterwards she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God heeded her and opened her womb.(P) 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach,”(Q) 24 and she named him Joseph,[k] saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”(R)

Footnotes

  1. 29.32 That is, see, a son
  2. 29.33 In Heb Simeon resembles the verb for has heard
  3. 29.34 In Heb Levi resembles the verb for will be joined
  4. 29.35 In Heb Judah resembles the verb for I will praise
  5. 30.6 That is, he judged
  6. 30.8 In Heb Naphtali resembles the verb for I have wrestled
  7. 30.11 That is, fortune
  8. 30.13 That is, happy
  9. 30.18 In Heb Issachar resembles the word for my hire
  10. 30.20 In Heb Zebulun resembles the verb for honor
  11. 30.24 That is, he adds