Genesis 30

1And when Rachel (ewe) saw that she bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) no children, Rachel (ewe) envied her sister; and said unto Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of), Give me children, or else I die.

2And Ya’akov’s (he who holds onto the heel of) anger was kindled against Rachel (ewe): and he said, [Am] I in God-Elōhīm’s [The Living Word - The Many Powered] stead, who has withheld from youi the fruit of the womb?

3And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah (troubled; timid), go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

4And she gave him Bilhah her female servant to wife: and Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) went in unto her.

5And Bilhah conceived, and bore Ya’akov a son.

6And Rachel (ewe) said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan (Judge).

7And Bilhah Rachel’s [ewe] maid conceived again, and bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) a second son.

8And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naftali (My Wrestling).

9When Le’ah (weary; grieved) saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah (a tickling; a sprinkle) her maid, and gave her Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) to wife.

10And Zilpah (a tickling; a sprinkle) Le’ah’s (weary; grieved) maid bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) a son.

11And Le’ah (weary; grieved) said, A troop comes: and she called his name Gad (troop; good fortune with much effort).

12And Zilpah, Leah’s maid bore Ya’akov a second son.

13And Le’ah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous): and she called his name Asher (happy).

14And Re’uven (behold a son) went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Le’ah (weary; grieved). Then Rachel (ewe) said to Le’ah (weary; grieved), Give me, I pray youi, of youri son’s mandrakes.

15And she said unto her, [Is it] a small matter that youi hast taken my husband? and would youi take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with youi to night for youri son’s mandrakes.

16And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) came out of the field in the evening, and Le’ah (weary; grieved) went out to meet him, and said, Youi must come in unto me; for surely I have hired youi with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

17And God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] listened unto Le’ah (weary; grieved), and she conceived, and bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) the fifth son.

18And Le’ah said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has given me my hire, because I have given my virgin to my husband: and she called his name Yissakhar (there is recompense).

19And Le’ah conceived again, and bore Ya’akov the sixth son.

20And Le’ah said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has endued me [with] a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Z’vulun (exalted; Glorious Dwelling Place).

21And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah (judgment).

22And God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] remembered Rachel (ewe), and God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] listened to her, and opened her womb.

23And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has taken away my reproach (disgrace; shame):

24And she called his name Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]); and said, The Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) shall add to me another son.

25And it came to pass, when Rachel (ewe) had born Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]), that Ya’akov said unto Lavan (to be white; white guy), Send me away, that I may go unto my own place, and to my country.

26Give [me] my wives and my children, for whom I have served youi, and let me go: for youi know my service which I have done youi.

27And Lavan said unto him, I pray youi, if I have found favour in youri eyes, [wait: for] I have learned by experience that the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) has Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) me for youri sake.

28And he said, Appoint me youri wages, and I will give [it].

29And he said unto him, Youi know how I have served youi, and how youri cattle was with me.

30For [it was] little which youi had before I [came], and it is [now] increased unto a multitude; and the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) has Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) youi since my coming: and now when shall I provide for my own house also?

31And he said, What shall I give youi? And Ya’akov said, Youi shall not give me anything: if youi will do this thing for me, I will again feed [and] keep youri flock:

32I will pass through all youri flock to day, removing from there all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and [of such] shall be my hire.

33So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before youri face: every one that [is] not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

34And Lavan (to be white; white guy) said, Behold, I would it might be according to youri word.

35And he removed that day the he goats that were marked with circular stripes and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, [and] every one that had [some] white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave [them] into the hand of his sons.

36And he set three days’ journey between himself and Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of): and Ya’akov fed the rest of Lavan’s flocks.

37And Ya’akov took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pealed white strakes in them, and made the white appear which [was] in the rods.

38And he set the rods which he had pealed before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle marked with circular stripes, speckled, and spotted.

40And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the marked with circular stripes, and all the brown in the flock of Lavan (to be white; white guy); and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Lavan’s cattle.

41And it came to pass, whenever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Ya’akov laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42But when the cattle were feeble, he put [them] not in: so the feebler were Lavan’s, and the stronger Ya’akov’s.

43And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys.

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Genesis 30

1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I’ll die!’

2Jacob became angry with her and said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?’

3Then she said, ‘Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.’

4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6Then Rachel said, ‘God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.’ Because of this she named him Dan.#30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated.

7Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Then Rachel said, ‘I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.’ So she named him Naphtali.#30:8 Naphtali means my struggle.

9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, ‘What good fortune!’#30:11 Or ‘A troop is coming!’ So she named him Gad.#30:11 Gad can mean good fortune or a troop.

12Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13Then Leah said, ‘How happy I am! The women will call me happy.’ So she named him Asher.#30:13 Asher means happy.

14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, ‘Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.’

15But she said to her, ‘Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?’

‘Very well,’ Rachel said, ‘he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.’

16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. ‘You must sleep with me,’ she said. ‘I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.’ So he slept with her that night.

17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, ‘God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.’ So she named him Issachar.#30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward.

19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, ‘God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honour, because I have borne him six sons.’ So she named him Zebulun.#30:20 Zebulun probably means honour.

21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, ‘God has taken away my disgrace.’ 24She named him Joseph,#30:24 Joseph means may he add. and said, ‘May the Lord add to me another son.’

Jacob’s flocks increase

25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me on my way so that I can go back to my own homeland. 26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.’

27But Laban said to him, ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.’ 28He added, ‘Name your wages, and I will pay them.’

29Jacob said to him, ‘You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?’

31‘What shall I give you?’ he asked.

‘Don’t give me anything,’ Jacob replied. ‘But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-coloured lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-coloured, will be considered stolen.’

34‘Agreed,’ said Laban. ‘Let it be as you have said.’ 35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-coloured lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-coloured animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so that they would mate near the branches, 42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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