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Jacob’s Children

31 When Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Then Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because Yahweh has noticed my misery, that I am unloved. Now my husband will love me.” 33 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, “It is because Yahweh has heard that I am unloved that he gave me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, for I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, she called his name Levi. 35 And she conceived again and gave birth to a son. And she said, “This time I will praise Yahweh.” Therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased bearing children.

Jacob’s Children

30 When Rachel saw that she could not bear children to Jacob, Rachel envied her sister. And she said to Jacob, “Give me children—if not, I will die!” And Jacob became angry[a] with Rachel. And he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Then she said, “Here is my servant girl Bilhah; go in to her that she may bear children as my surrogate.[b] Then I will even have children[c] by her.” Then she gave him Bilhah, her female servant, as a wife, and Jacob went in to her And Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. And Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob. And Rachel said, “I have struggled a mighty struggle with my sister and have prevailed.” And she called his name Naphtali. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Zilpah, the female slave of Leah, bore a son to Jacob. 11 Then Leah said, “Good fortune!” And she called his name Gad. 12 And Zilpah, Leah’s female servant, bore a second son to Jacob. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.

14 And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 And she said to her, “Is your taking my husband such a small thing that you will also take the mandrakes of my son?” Then Rachel said, “Then he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him. And she said, “Come in to me, for I have hired[d] you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my wage since I gave my servant girl to my husband.” And she called his name Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift. This time my husband will acknowledge me, because I bore him six sons.” And she called his name Zebulun. 21 And afterward she gave birth to a daughter. And she called her name Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel and listened to her, and God opened her womb. 23 And she conceived and gave birth to a son. And she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “Yahweh has added to me another son.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 30:2 Literally “became hot of nose”
  2. Genesis 30:3 Literally “upon my knees”
  3. Genesis 30:3 Literally “be built up”
  4. Genesis 30:16 Literally “I have fully paid for”

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