בראשית 29
| וישא יעקב רגליו וילך ארצה בני קדם | 1 |
Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
| וירא והנה באר בשדה והנה שם שלשה עדרי צאן רבצים עליה--כי מן הבאר ההוא ישקו העדרים והאבן גדלה על פי הבאר | 2 |
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.
| ונאספו שמה כל העדרים וגללו את האבן מעל פי הבאר והשקו את הצאן והשיבו את האבן על פי הבאר למקמה | 3 |
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.
| ויאמר להם יעקב אחי מאין אתם ויאמרו מחרן אנחנו | 4 |
[On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
| ויאמר להם הידעתם את לבן בן נחור ויאמרו ידענו | 5 |
He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, we know him.”
| ויאמר להם השלום לו ויאמרו שלום--והנה רחל בתו באה עם הצאן | 6 |
Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
| ויאמר הן עוד היום גדול--לא עת האסף המקנה השקו הצאן ולכו רעו | 7 |
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!”
| ויאמרו לא נוכל עד אשר יאספו כל העדרים וגללו את האבן מעל פי הבאר והשקינו הצאן | 8 |
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.”
| עודנו מדבר עמם ורחל באה עם הצאן אשר לאביה--כי רעה הוא | 9 |
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.
| ויהי כאשר ראה יעקב את רחל בת לבן אחי אמו ואת צאן לבן אחי אמו ויגש יעקב ויגל את האבן מעל פי הבאר וישק את צאן לבן אחי אמו | 10 |
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.
| וישק יעקב לרחל וישא את קלו ויבך | 11 |
Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
| ויגד יעקב לרחל כי אחי אביה הוא וכי בן רבקה הוא ותרץ ותגד לאביה | 12 |
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.
| ויהי כשמע לבן את שמע יעקב בן אחתו וירץ לקראתו ויחבק לו וינשק לו ויביאהו אל ביתו ויספר ללבן את כל הדברים האלה | 13 |
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.
| ויאמר לו לבן אך עצמי ובשרי אתה וישב עמו חדש ימים | 14 |
Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
| ויאמר לבן ליעקב הכי אחי אתה ועבדתני חנם הגידה לי מה משכרתך | 15 |
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.”
| וללבן שתי בנות שם הגדלה לאה ושם הקטנה רחל | 16 |
Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
| ועיני לאה רכות ורחל היתה יפת תאר ויפת מראה | 17 |
Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
| ויאהב יעקב את רחל ויאמר אעבדך שבע שנים ברחל בתך הקטנה | 18 |
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.”
| ויאמר לבן טוב תתי אתה לך מתתי אתה לאיש אחר שבה עמדי | 19 |
Laban replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
| ויעבד יעקב ברחל שבע שנים ויהיו בעיניו כימים אחדים באהבתו אתה | 20 |
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.
| ויאמר יעקב אל לבן הבה את אשתי כי מלאו ימי ואבואה אליה | 21 |
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]”
| ויאסף לבן את כל אנשי המקום ויעש משתה | 22 |
So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
| ויהי בערב--ויקח את לאה בתו ויבא אתה אליו ויבא אליה | 23 |
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.
| ויתן לבן לה את זלפה שפחתו--ללאה בתו שפחה | 24 |
(Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
| ויהי בבקר והנה הוא לאה ויאמר אל לבן מה זאת עשית לי--הלא ברחל עבדתי עמך ולמה רמיתני | 25 |
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?”
| ויאמר לבן לא יעשה כן במקומנו--לתת הצעירה לפני הבכירה | 26 |
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.
| מלא שבע זאת ונתנה לך גם את זאת בעבדה אשר תעבד עמדי עוד שבע שנים אחרות | 27 |
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.”
| ויעש יעקב כן וימלא שבע זאת ויתן לו את רחל בתו לו לאשה | 28 |
So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
| ויתן לבן לרחל בתו את בלהה שפחתו--לה לשפחה | 29 |
Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/servant.
| ויבא גם אל רחל ויאהב גם את רחל מלאה ויעבד עמו עוד שבע שנים אחרות | 30 |
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.
| וירא יהוה כי שנואה לאה ויפתח את רחמה ורחל עקרה | 31 |
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.
| ותהר לאה ותלד בן ותקרא שמו ראובן כי אמרה כי ראה יהוה בעניי--כי עתה יאהבני אישי | 32 |
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.”
| ותהר עוד ותלד בן ותאמר כי שמע יהוה כי שנואה אנכי ויתן לי גם את זה ותקרא שמו שמעון | 33 |
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’].
| ותהר עוד ותלד בן ותאמר עתה הפעם ילוה אישי אלי כי ילדתי לו שלשה בנים על כן קרא שמו לוי | 34 |
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’].
| ותהר עוד ותלד בן ותאמר הפעם אודה את יהוה--על כן קראה שמו יהודה ותעמד מלדת | 35 |
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].
