Genesis 30

1When Rachel saw that she bore no children for Jacob, Rachel was jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me sons—if there are none, I’ll die!”

2But Jacob became furious with Rachel and said, “Am I, instead of God, the one who withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

3So she said, “Here’s my maid-servant Bilhah. Go to her and let her give birth on my knees, so that from her I may also build a family.”

4Then she gave her maid-servant Bilhah to him for a wife, and Jacob went to her.

5Bilhah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob.

6So Rachel said, “God has judged my cause and also heard my voice—and given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.

7Then Rachel’s female servant became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob.

8So Rachel said, “I’ve surely wrestled greatly with my sister — also I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali.

9Now Leah saw that she stopped having children, so she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10Then Zilpah, Leah’s female servant, gave birth to a son for Jacob.

11Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

12Then Zilpah, Leah’s female servant, gave birth to a second son for Jacob.

13Leah said, “How happy am I, for daughters have called me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14Now during the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and he brought them to his mother Leah. Then 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 my husband away? You’d also take away my son’s mandrakes?” So Rachel said, “That being so, let him lie with you tonight, in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16So when Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and she said, “You must come to me. For I’ve actually hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that very night.

17Moreover, God heard Leah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

18Leah said, “God gave me my reward because I gave my female servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

19Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.

20Leah said, “God has presented me a good gift. This time my husband will honor me for I’ve borne six sons for him.” So she named him Zebulun.

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

22Then God remembered Rachel and God listened to her and opened her womb.

23Then she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. So she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”

24She named him Joseph saying, “May Adonai add another son for me.”

Jacob Outwits Laban

25Now it was after Rachel gave birth to Joseph that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away so that I can go to my place and to my land.

26Give me my wives and my children for whom I’ve served you, and let me go. For you yourself know my labor—that I’ve served you.”

27But Laban said to him, “If I’ve found favor in your eyes—I’ve looked for good omens, and Adonai has blessed me because of you.”

28Moreover he said, “Name your own price and I’ll pay it.”

29Then he said to him, “You yourself know how I’ve served you and how your livestock fared with me.

30For you had very little before I came, and it has been busting at the seams in abundance. So Adonai blessed you with my every step. So now, when am I myself going to make something for my household also?”

31Then he said, “What can I pay you?” Jacob said, “You don’t need to pay me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will shepherd your flock again and watch it:

32let me pass through your flock today, removing every colorfully spotted lamb from there and every dark-colored lamb among the sheep as well as the colorfully spotted among the goats—and that will be my salary.

33So tomorrow my honesty will testify on my behalf when you come to check on my salary you agreed to. Every one that isn’t colorfully spotted among the goats or dark-colored among the sheep with me, it is stolen.”

34So Laban said, “All right! May it be according to your word.”

35On that day he removed the colorfully striped and colorful billy goats as well as all the colorfully spotted goats—everyone with white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he put them in the hand of his sons.

36Then he put a three-day’s journey between them and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding Laban’s remaining flocks.

37But Jacob took fresh white poplar, almond, and plane tree branches, peeled away white stripped sections on them, exposing the white of the branches.

38Then he set the branches he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs and watering channels where the flocks come to drink. Since they were in heat when they came to drink,

39the flocks mated near the branches, and the flocks gave birth to striped, spotted and colorful ones.

40Now Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped ones as well as all the dark-colored ones among Laban’s flocks. Then he set aside the herds for himself and did not put them with Laban’s flocks.

41Whenever the strong flocks mated, Jacob put the branches in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flocks, to have them mate near the branches.

42But when the flocks were sickly, he did not put the branches down—so the sickly ones became Laban’s and the stronger ones became Jacob’s.

43And the man grew exceedingly prosperous and had numerous flocks, along with female and male servants, camels and donkeys.

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Berĕshith (Genesis) 30

1And when Raḥĕl saw that she bore Ya‛aqoḇ no children, Raḥĕl envied her sister, and said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Give me children, or else I am going to die!”

2And Ya‛aqoḇ’s displeasure burned against Raḥĕl, and he said, “Am I in the place of Elohim, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

3And she said, “See, my female servant Bilhah; go in to her, and let her bear for me, and let me be built up from her as well.”

4So she gave him Bilhah her female servant as wife, and Ya‛aqoḇ went in to her.

5And Bilhah conceived and bore Ya‛aqoḇ a son.

6And Raḥĕl said, “Elohim has rightly ruled my case, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” So she called his name Dan.

7And Raḥĕl’s female servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Ya‛aqoḇ a second son.

8And Raḥĕl said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have overcome.” So she called his name Naphtali.

9And Lĕ’ah saw that she had ceased bearing, and she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Ya‛aqoḇ as wife.

10And Lĕ’ah’s female servant Zilpah bore Ya‛aqoḇ a son.

11And Lĕ’ah said, “Fortune comes!” So she called his name Gaḏ.#Heb. Gaḏ, meaning fortune.

12And Lĕ’ah’s female servant Zilpah bore Ya‛aqoḇ a second son.

13And Lĕ’ah said, “I am happy, for the daughters shall call me happy.” So she called his name Ashĕr.#Heb. - Ashĕr, meaning happy.

14And Re’uḇĕn went in the days of wheat harvest and found love-apples in the field, and brought them to his mother Lĕ’ah. And Raḥĕl said to Lĕ’ah, “Please give me some of your son’s love-apples.”

15But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s love-apples too?” And Raḥĕl said, “Therefore let him lie with you tonight for your son’s love-apples.”

16And when Ya‛aqoḇ came out of the field in the evening, Lĕ’ah went out to meet him and said, “Do come in to me, for indeed, I have hired you with my son’s love-apples.” And he lay with her that night.

17And Elohim listened to Lĕ’ah, and she conceived and bore Ya‛aqoḇ a fifth son.

18And Lĕ’ah said, “Elohim has given me my hire, because I have given my female servant to my husband.” So she called his name Yissasḵar.

19And Lĕ’ah conceived again and bore Ya‛aqoḇ a sixth son.

20And Lĕ’ah said, “Elohim has presented me with a good present. Now my husband is going to dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zeḇulun.

21And afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

22And Elohim remembered Raḥĕl, and Elohim listened to her and opened her womb.

23And she conceived, and bore a son, and said, “Elohim has taken away my reproach.”

24So she called his name Yosĕph, and said, “יהוה has added to me another son.”

25And it came to be, when Raḥĕl had borne Yosĕph, that Ya‛aqoḇ said to Laḇan, “Send me on my way, to go to my own place and to my land.

26Give my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you yourself know my service which I have done for you.

27And Laḇan said to him, “If please I have found favour in your eyes, stay, for I have divined that יהוה has blessed me for your sake.”

28And he said, “Name me your wages, and I give it.”

29So he said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.

30For the little you had before I came has increased greatly, and יהוה has blessed you since my coming. But now, when am I to provide for my own house too?

31And he said, “What do I give you?” And Ya‛aqoḇ said, “Give me naught! If you do this for me, I shall again feed and guard your flocks:

32“Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the black ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. And these shall be my wages.

33“And my righteousness shall answer for me in time to come, when you come concerning my wages: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the lambs, it is stolen if it is with me.”

34And Laḇan said, “See, let it be according to your word!”

35And on that day he set aside the male goats that were speckled and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the black ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

36And he put three days’ journey between himself and Ya‛aqoḇ, and Ya‛aqoḇ fed the rest of Laḇan’s flocks.

37And Ya‛aqoḇ took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods.

38And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, and they conceived when they came to drink.

39So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.

40And Ya‛aqoḇ separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the black in the flock of Laḇan, but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laḇan’s flock.

41And it came to be, whenever the strong ones of the flock conceived, that Ya‛aqoḇ placed the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, so they would conceive among the rods.

42But when the flocks were weak, he did not put them in, so the weak ones were Laḇan’s and the strong ones Ya‛aqoḇ’s.

43Thus the man increased very much, and had many flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

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