[1] When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her
sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I will die." [2]
Jacob`s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in God`s
place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?" [3] She said,
"Behold, my maid Bilhah. Go in to her, that she may bear on my knees, and I
also may obtain children by her." [4] She gave him Bilhah her handmaid as
wife, and Jacob went in to her. [5] Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son.
[6] Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has
given me a son." Therefore called she his name Dan. [7] Bilhah, Rachel`s
handmaid, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. [8] Rachel said,
"With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have
prevailed." She named him Naphtali. [9] When Leah saw that she had finished
bearing, she took Zilpah, her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
[10] Zilpah, Leah`s handmaid, bore Jacob a son. [11] Leah said, "How
fortunate!" She named him Gad. [12] Zilpah, Leah`s handmaid, bore Jacob a
second son. [13] Leah said, "Happy am I, for the daughters will call me
happy." She named him Asher. [14] Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest,
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."
[15] 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,
"Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son`s mandrakes." [16]
Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him,
and said, "You must come in to me; for I have surely hired you with my
son`s mandrakes." He lay with her that night. [17] God listened to
Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son. [18] Leah said, "God
has given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband." She named
him Issachar. [19] Leah conceived again, and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
[20] Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good dowry. Now my husband will
live with me, because I have borne him six sons." She named him Zebulun.
[21] Afterwards, she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah. [22] God
remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb. [23] She
conceived, bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach. [24] She
named him Joseph, saying, "May Yahweh add another son to me." [25] It
happened, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "Send me
away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country. [26] Give me my
wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go: for you
know my service with which I have served you." [27] Laban said to him, "If
now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have divined that
Yahweh has blessed me for your sake." [28] He said, "Appoint me your wages,
and I will give it." [29] He said to him, "You know how I have served you,
and how your cattle have fared with me. [30] For it was little which you
had before I came, and it has increased to a multitude. Yahweh has blessed
you wherever I turned. Now when will I provide for my own house also?" [31]
He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me
anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock
and keep it. [32] I will pass through all your flock today, removing from
there every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep,
and the spotted and speckled among the goats. This will be my hire. [33] So
my righteousness will answer for me hereafter, when you come concerning my
hire that is before you. Everyone that is not speckled and spotted among
the goats, and black among the sheep, that might be with me, will be
counted stolen." [34] Laban said, "Behold, I desire it to be according to
your word." [35] That day, he removed the male goats that were streaked and
spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one
that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them
into the hand of his sons. [36] He set three days` journey between himself
and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban`s flocks. [37] Jacob took to
himself rods of fresh poplar, almond, plane-tree, peeled white streaks in
them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. [38] He set the rods
which he had peeled opposite the flocks in the gutters in the
watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink. They conceived when they
came to drink. [39] The flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks
brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. [40] Jacob separated the
lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the
black in the flock of Laban: and he put his own droves apart, and didn`t
put them into Laban`s flock. [41] It happened, whenever the stronger of the
flock conceived, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in
the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods; [42] but when the
flock were feeble, he didn`t put them in. So the feebler were Laban`s, and
the stronger Jacob`s. [43] The man increased exceedingly, and had large
flocks, maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and donkeys.
