Genesis 30

1 Rachel realized that she was not becoming pregnant and giving birth to any children for Jacob. So she became jealous of her older sister, Leah, because Leah had given birth to four sons. She said to Jacob, “Enable me to become pregnant and give birth to children. If you do not do that, I [think I will]!”

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “(I am not God!/Am I God?) [RHQ] He is the one who has prevented you from becoming pregnant!”

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”

3 Then she said, “Look, here is my female slave, Bilhah. (Sleep with/Have sex with) [EUP] her, so that she may become pregnant and give birth to children for me. In that way it will be as though (I have children/her children are mine).”

Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”

4 So she gave him her slave, Bilhah, to be another wife for him, and Jacob had sex [EUP] with her.

So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,

5 She became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.

6 Rachel said, “God has (vindicated me/judged my case and has decided that what I have done is right). He has also heard my requests and has given me a son.” So she named him Dan, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘he judged’].

Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

7 Later, Rachel’s slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son for Jacob.

And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle to have children like my older sister, but truly I have a son.” So she named him Naphtali, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘struggle’].

Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.

9 When Leah realized that she was not becoming pregnant and giving birth to any more children, she took her female slave, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob to be another wife for him.

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

10 Zilpah soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob.

And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 Leah said, “I am truly fortunate!” So she named him Gad, [which means ‘fortunate’].

Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

12 Later Leah’s slave, Zilpah, gave birth to another son for Jacob.

When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,

13 Leah said, “Now I am very happy, and people will call me happy.” So she named him Asher, [which means ‘happy].’

Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14 When it was time to harvest wheat, Reuben went out into the fields and saw some (mandrakes/plants that women eat to help them to become pregnant). He brought some of them to his mother Leah. But Rachel saw them and said to Leah, “Please give me some of those plants that your son brought to you!”

Now during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But Leah said to her, “No! (It was bad that you stole my husband!/Is it not bad enough that you stole my husband?) [RHQ] Now (are you going to take my son’s mandrake plants?/You want to take my son’s mandrake plants also, [so that you can become pregnant]!)” [RHQ] So Rachel said, “All right, Jacob can sleep with you tonight, if you give me some of your son’s mandrake plants.” [So Leah (agreed/gave her some)].

But Leah replied, “Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son’s mandrakes as well?” “Very well,” said Rachel, “he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 When Jacob returned from the wheat fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You must sleep with me tonight, because I gave Rachel some of my son’s mandrakes [that enable women to become pregnant], to pay her for allowing us to do that.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

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 he slept with her that night.

17 God answered Leah’s prayers, and she became pregnant and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

18 Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband to be another wife for him.” So she named him Issachar, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘reward’].

Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

19 Leah became pregnant again and bore a sixth son for Jacob.

Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

20 Leah said, “God has given me a precious gift. (This time/Now) my husband will honor/respect me, because I have given birth to six sons for him.” So she named him Zebulon, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘accepted gift’].

“God has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun.

21 Later she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.

After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God thought about what Rachel wanted. He heard her prayers and enabled her to become pregnant.

Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,

23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has caused that no longer will I be ashamed [for not having children].”

and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.

24 She named him Joseph, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘may he give another’] and she said, ‘want Yahweh to give me another son.’

She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”

25 After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now allow me to quit working for you and let me return to my own land.

Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.

26 You know the work that I have done for you [for a long time to get my wives]. So let me take my wives and my children, and leave.”

Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you, that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.”

27 But Laban said to him, “If you are pleased with me, stay here, because I have found out by performing a magic ritual that Yahweh has blessed me because of what you have done for me.

But Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”

28 Tell me what you want me to pay you for continuing to work for me, and that is what I will pay you.”

And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

29 Jacob replied, “You know how I have worked for you, and you know that your livestock have increased greatly as I have taken care of them.

Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care.

30 You had only a few animals before I came here. But now you have very many, and Yahweh has caused them to increase greatly in number wherever I have taken them. But now I need to start taking care of the needs of my own family.”

Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?”

31 Laban replied, “What do you want me to give you?” Jacob replied, “I do not want you to pay me anything. But if you will do this one thing for me, I will continue to take care of your flocks and protect them.

“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.

32 Allow me to go and look at all of your flocks today and remove from them all the speckled sheep, all the spotted sheep, and every dark-colored lamb, all the goats that are speckled, and all the goats that are spotted, [and keep them for myself]. They will be my wages.

Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages.

33 In that way, in the future, you will be able to know whether I have been honest regarding what you have paid me. If any of my goats are neither speckled or spotted, or if any of my lambs are not dark-colored, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”

34 Laban agreed and said, “Okay, we will do as you have said.”

“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

35 But that same day Laban removed all the male goats that had black and white stripes on them or were spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, all the goats that were partly white, and all the dark-colored lambs. He separated them and told his sons to take care of them.

That very day Laban removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons.

36 Then he took these flocks and walked a distance of three days, in order that he could be that far from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Then Jacob cut some branches of (poplar, almond, and plane trees/three kinds of trees that had white wood). He peeled strips of bark from the branches, so that where the bark had been peeled off, the branches were light in color.

Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

38 Then he placed the peeled branches in the troughs where they put the water for the animals to drink, so that the branches would be in front of the flocks when they came to drink.

Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink,

39 The animals also mated in front of the branches, and eventually they gave birth to animals that were speckled, or to animals that were spotted, or to animals that had black and white stripes on them.

they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.

40 Furthermore, Jacob separated the female sheep in his flock from the other sheep and goats in Laban’s flock. And when his female sheep mated, he made them look toward the animals that belonged to Laban that had black and white stripes on them, and the dark-colored animals. He did that so that the female sheep would give birth to animals that were striped or dark-colored. By doing that, he made bigger flocks for himself, and he kept them separate from Laban’s flocks.

Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban’s animals.

41 In addition, whenever the stronger female sheep were ready to mate, Jacob put some of those peeled branches in the troughs in front of them, so that they would mate in front of the branches.

Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches.

42 But when weak animals were ready to mate, he did not put the branches in their troughs. So the weak ones became part of Laban’s flock, and the strong ones became part of Jacob’s flock.

But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

43 As a result, Jacob became very rich. He owned many large flocks of sheep and goats, and many male and female slaves, and many camels and donkeys.

Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.