Genesis 29
1 And so Jacob, setting out, arrived in the eastern land.
Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
2 And he saw a well in a field, and also three flocks of sheep reclining near it. For the animals were watered from it, and its mouth was closed with a great stone.
There he [was surprised to] see a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying near the well. It was the well from which shepherds habitually got water for their sheep. There was a large stone covering the top of the well.
3 And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together, to roll away the stone. And when the flocks had been refreshed, they placed it over the mouth of the well again.
When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would work together to roll the stone away from the top of the well and get water for the sheep. When they finished doing that, they would put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.
4 And he said to the shepherds, “Brothers, where are you from?” And they answered. “From Haran.”
[On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
5 And questioning them, he said, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.”
He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, we know him.”
6 He said, “Is he well?” “He is very well,” they said. “And behold, his daughter Rachel approaches with his flock.”
Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
7 And Jacob said, “There is still much daylight remaining, and it is not time to return the flocks to the sheepfold. Give the sheep to drink first, and then lead them back to pasture.”
Jacob said, “Hey! The sun is still high in the sky. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered for nighttime. Give the sheep some water and then take them back to (graze/eat grass) in the pastures!”
8 They responded, “We cannot, until all the animals are gathered together and we remove the stone from the mouth of the well, so that we may water the flocks.”
They replied, “No, we cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered here and the stone is removed from the top of the well. After that, we will give water to the sheep.”
9 They were still speaking, and behold, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep; for she pastured the flock.
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She was the one who took care of her father’s sheep.
10 When Jacob had seen her, and he realized that she was his maternal first cousin, and that these were the sheep of his uncle Laban, he removed the stone which closed the well.
When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who was his mother’s brother, [Jacob was so excited that] he went over and [by himself] rolled away the stone that covered the top of the well, and he got water for his uncle’s sheep.
11 And having watered the flock, he kissed her. And lifting up his voice, he wept.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
12 And he revealed to her that he was a brother of her father, and the son of Rebekah. And so, hurrying, she announced it to her father.
Jacob told Rachel that he was one of her father’s relatives, the son of her aunt Rebekah. So she ran and told that to her father.
13 And when he had heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, had arrived, he ran to meet him. And embracing him, and kissing him heartily, he brought him into his house. But when he had heard the reasons for his journey,
As soon as Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, was there, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him [on the cheek]. Then he brought him to his home, and Jacob told him all that had happened to him.
14 he responded, “You are my bone and my flesh.” And after the days of one month were completed,
Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
15 he said to him: “Though you are my brother, will you serve me for nothing? Tell me what wages you would accept.”
Laban said to him “(You should not work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine!/Why should you work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine?) [RHQ] Tell me how much you want me to pay you.”
16 In truth, he had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah; and truly the younger was called Rachel.
Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
17 But while Leah was bleary-eyed, Rachel had an elegant appearance and was attractive to behold.
Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
18 And Jacob, loving her, said, “I will serve you for seven years, for your younger daughter Rachel.”
Jacob (was in love with/wanted very much to be married to) Rachel, and he said, “I will work for you for seven years. That will be my payment for your letting me marry your younger daughter, Rachel.”
19 Laban responded, “It is better that I give her to you than to another man; remain with me.”
Laban replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
20 Therefore, Jacob served for seven years for Rachel. And these seemed like only a few days, because of the greatness of love.
So Jacob worked for Laban for seven years to get Rachel, but to him it seemed like it was only a few days, because he loved her so much.
21 And he said to Laban, “Give my wife to me. For now the time has been fulfilled, so that I may go in to her.”
After the seven years were ended, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me marry Rachel now, because the time we agreed upon for me to work for you is ended, and I want to marry her. [EUP]”
22 And he, having called a great crowd of his friends to the feast, agreed to the marriage.
So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
23 And at night, he brought in his daughter Leah to him,
But that evening, instead of taking Rachel to Jacob, Laban took his older daughter, Leah, to him. But because it was already dark, he could not see that it was Leah and not Rachel, and he had sex [EUP] with her.
24 giving his daughter a handmaid named Zilpah. After Jacob had gone in to her, according to custom, when morning had arrived, he saw Leah.
(Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
25 And he said to his father-in-law, “What is it that you intended to do? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?”
The next morning, Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah who was with him! So he went to Laban [and told him] very angrily, “(What you have done to me is disgusting!/What is this that you have done to me?) [RHQ] I worked for you to get Rachel, did I not? So why did you deceive me?”
26 Laban responded, “It is not the practice in this place to give the younger in marriage first.
Laban replied, “In this land, it is not our custom to give a younger daughter to be married before we let someone marry our firstborn daughter.
27 Complete a week of days with this mating. And then I will give this one to you also, for the service that you will provide to me for another seven years.”
After we finish this week of celebration, we will let you marry the younger one also. But in return, you must pay for Rachel by working for me for another seven years.”
28 He agreed to his pleading. And after the week had passed, he took Rachel as a wife.
So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
29 To her, the father had given Bilhah as her servant.
Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/servant.
30 And, having at last obtained the marriage he desired, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and he served with him another seven years.
Jacob had sex [EUP] with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
31 But the Lord, seeing that he despised Leah, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren.
When Yahweh saw that Jacob did not love Leah [very much], he enabled her to become pregnant. But Rachel was not able to become pregnant.
32 Having conceived, she gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, saying: “The Lord saw my humiliation; now my husband will love me.”
Leah gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘Look, a son]!’ She said, “Yahweh has seen that I was miserable, and because of that he has given me a son. Now, surely my husband will love me for giving birth to a son for him.”
33 And again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “Because the Lord heard that I was treated with contempt, he has also given this one to me.” And she called his name Simeon.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Because Yahweh has heard that my husband doesn’t love me, he has given me this son, too.” So she named him Simeon, [which means ‘someone who hears’].
34 And she conceived a third time, and she gave birth to another son, and she said: “Now likewise my husband will unite with me, because I have borne him three sons.” And because of this, she called his name Levi.
Later she became pregnant again, and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now, finally, my husband will hold me close to him.” So she named him Levi, [which means ‘hold close’].
35 A fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “Only now will I confess to the Lord.” And for this reason, she called him Judah. And she ceased from child-bearing.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “(This time/Now) I will praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Judah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘praise’]. After that, she did not give birth to any more children [for several years].
