Genesis 29

1And Jacob lifteth up his feet, and goeth towards the land of the sons of the east;

2and he looketh, and lo, a well in the field, and lo, there three droves of a flock crouching by it, for from that well they water the droves, and the great stone [is] on the mouth of the well.

3(When thither have all the droves been gathered, and they have rolled the stone from off the mouth of the well, and have watered the flock, then they have turned back the stone on the mouth of the well to its place.)

4And Jacob saith to them, ‘My brethren, from whence [are] ye?’ and they say, ‘We [are] from Haran.’

5And he saith to them, ‘Have ye known Laban, son of Nahor?’ and they say, ‘We have known.’

6And he saith to them, ‘Hath he peace?’ and they say, ‘Peace; and lo, Rachel his daughter is coming with the flock.’

7And he saith, ‘Lo, the day [is] still great, [it is] not time for the cattle to be gathered; water ye the flock, and go, delight yourselves.’

8And they say, ‘We are not able, till that all the droves be gathered together, and they have rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and we have watered the flock.’

9He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel hath come with the flock which her father hath, for she [is] shepherdess;

10and it cometh to pass when Jacob hath seen Rachel, daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the flock of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob cometh nigh and rolleth the stone from off the mouth of the well, and watereth the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

11And Jacob kisseth Rachel, and lifteth up his voice, and weepeth,

12and Jacob declareth to Rachel that he [is] her father's brother, and that he [is] Rebekah's son, and she runneth and declareth to her father.

13And it cometh to pass, when Laban heareth the report of Jacob his sister's son, that he runneth to meet him, and embraceth him, and kisseth him, and bringeth him in unto his house; and he recounteth to Laban all these things,

14and Laban saith to him, ‘Only my bone and my flesh [art] thou;’ and he dwelleth with him a month of days.

15And Laban saith to Jacob, ‘Is it because thou [art] my brother that thou hast served me for nought? declare to me what [is] thy hire.’

16And Laban hath two daughters, the name of the elder [is] Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel,

17and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance.

18And Jacob loveth Rachel, and saith, ‘I serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter:’

19and Laban saith, ‘It is better for me to give her to thee than to give her to another man; dwell with me;’

20and Jacob serveth for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her.

21And Jacob saith unto Laban, ‘Give up my wife, for my days have been fulfilled, and I go in unto her;’

22and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet.

23And it cometh to pass in the evening, that he taketh Leah, his daughter, and bringeth her in unto him, and he goeth in unto her;

24and Laban giveth to her Zilpah, his maid-servant, to Leah his daughter, a maidservant.

25And it cometh to pass in the morning, that lo, it [is] Leah; and he saith unto Laban, ‘What [is] this thou hast done to me? for Rachel have I not served with thee? and why hast thou deceived me?’

26And Laban saith, ‘It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn;

27fulfil the week of this one, and we give to thee also this one, for the service which thou dost serve with me yet seven other years.’

28And Jacob doth so, and fulfilleth the week of this one, and he giveth to him Rachel his daughter, to him for a wife;

29and Laban giveth to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maid-servant, for a maid-servant to her.

30And he goeth in also unto Rachel, and he also loveth Rachel more than Leah; and he serveth with him yet seven other years.

31And Jehovah seeth that Leah [is] the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel [is] barren;

32and Leah conceiveth, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Reuben, for she said, ‘Because Jehovah hath looked on mine affliction; because now doth my husband love me.’

33And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, ‘Because Jehovah hath heard that I [am] the hated one, He also giveth to me even this [one];’ and she calleth his name Simeon.

34And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, ‘Now [is] the time, my husband is joined unto me, because I have born to him three sons,’ therefore hath [one] called his name Levi.

35And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith this time, ‘I praise Jehovah;’ therefore hath she called his name Judah; and she ceaseth from bearing.

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Genesis 29

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

1Then Jacob went on his journey and came to #Num. 23:7; Judg. 6:3the land of the people of the east. 2As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

4Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, #ch. 27:43“We are from Haran.” 5He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” 6He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” 7He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” 8But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

9While he was still speaking with them, #Ex. 2:16, 17Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12And Jacob told Rachel that he was #ch. 13:8; 14:14, 16 her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, #[ch. 24:28, 29]and she ran and told her father.

13As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, #[See ver. 12 above]he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14and Laban said to him, #ch. 2:23; 37:27; Judg. 9:2; 2 Sam. 5:1; 19:12, 13; 1 Chr. 11:1“Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

15Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17Leah’s eyes were weak,#29:17 Or soft but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, #ch. 30:26; 31:41; [Hos. 12:12]“I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20So Jacob #[See ver. 18 above]served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

21Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and #Judg. 14:10; [John 2:1, 2]made a feast. 23But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24(Laban gave#29:24 Or had given; also verse 29 #See ch. 30:9-12his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27#[Judg. 14:12]Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29(Laban gave #See ch. 30:3-7his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban #ver. 20; ch. 31:41for another seven years.

Jacob’s Children

31When the Lord saw that Leah was #Deut. 21:15 hated, #[ch. 30:22]he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,#29:32 Reuben means See, a son for she said, “Because the Lord #ch. 31:42; Ex. 3:7; 4:31; Deut. 26:7has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.#29:33 Simeon sounds like the Hebrew for heard 34Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be #[Num. 18:2, 4]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.#29:34 Levi sounds like the Hebrew for attached 35And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name #Matt. 1:2; [ch. 49:8]Judah.#29:35 Judah sounds like the Hebrew for praise Then she ceased bearing.

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