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]!”

And Rachel, seeing herself without children, envied her sister, and said to her husband: Give me children, otherwise I shall die.

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!”

And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?

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).”

But she said: I have here my servant Bala: go in unto her, that she may bear upon my knees, and I may have children by her.

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

And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,

5 She became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

When her husband had gone in unto her, conceived and bore 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’].

And Rachel said: The Lord hath judged for me, and hath heard my voice, giving me a son, and therefore she called his name Dan.

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

And again Bala conceived and bore another,

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’].

For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephtali.

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.

Lia, perceiving that she had left off bearing, gave Zelpha her handmaid to her husband.

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

And when she had conceived and brought forth a son,

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

She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.

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

Zelpha also bore another.

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

And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser.

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!”

And Ruben, going out in the time of the wheat harvest into the field, found mandrakes: which he brought to his mother Lia. And Rachel said: Give me part of thy 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)].

She answered: Dost thou think it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: He shall sleep with thee this night, for thy 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.

And when Jacob returned at even from the field, Lia went out to meet him, and said: Thou shalt come in unto me, because I have hired thee for my son’s mandrakes. And 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 heard her prayers: and she conceived and bore the fifth son,

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’].

And said: God hath given me a reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.

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

And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth son,

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’].

And said: God hath endowed me with a good dowry: this turn also my husband will be with me, because I have borne him six sons: and therefore she called his name Zabulon.

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

After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.

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

The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard 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 bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach.

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.’

And she called his name Joseph, saying: The Lord give me also 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.

And when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father in law: Send me away that I may return into my country, and to my land.

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 my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart: thou knowest the service that I have rendered thee.

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.

Laban said to him: Let me find favour in thy sight: I have learned by experience, that God hath blessed me for thy sake.

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

Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.

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.

But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands.

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.”

Thou hadst but little before I came to thee, and now thou art become rich: and the Lord hath blessed thee at my coming. It is reasonable therefore that I should now provide also for my own house.

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.

And Laban said: What shall I give thee? But he said: I require nothing: but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed, and keep thy sheep again.

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.

Go round through all thy flocks, and separate all the sheep of divers colours, and speckled: and all that is brown and spotted, and of divers colours, as well among the sheep, as among the goats, shall 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.”

And my justice shall answer for me tomorrow before thee when the time of the bargain shall come: and all that is not of divers colours, and spotted, and brown, as well among the sheep as among the goats, shall accuse me of theft.

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

And Laban said: I like well what thou demandest.

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.

And he separated the same day the she goats, and the sheep, and the he goats, and the rams of divers colours, and spotted: and all the flock of one colour, that is, of white and black fleece, he delivered into the hands 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.

And he set the space of three days’ journey betwixt himself and his son in law, who fed the rest of his flock.

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.

And Jacob took green rods of poplar, and of almond, and of plane trees, and pilled them in part: so when the bark was taken off, in the parts that were pilled, there appeared whiteness: but the parts that were whole remained green: and by this means the colour was divers.

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.

And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out: that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive.

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.

And it came to pass that in the very heat of coition, the sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers colours, and speckled.

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.

And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the rams: and all the white and the black were Laban’s: and the rest were Jacob’s, when the flocks were separated one from the other.

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.

So when the ewes went first to ram, Jacob put the rods in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams, and of the ewes, that they might conceive while they were looking upon them:

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 when the latter coming was, and the last conceiving, he did not put them. And those that were lateward, became Laban’s: and they of the first time, Jacob’s.

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.

And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many flocks, maid servants and men servants, camels and asses.