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)

Notas al pie

  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

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]

Notas al pie

  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