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

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