Genesis 30
1 Then Rachel, discerning that she was infertile, envied her sister, and so she said to her husband, “Give me children, otherwise I will die.”
When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”
2 Jacob, being angry, responded to her, “Am I in the place of God, who has deprived you of the fruit of your womb?”
Jacob's anger burned against Rachel. He said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
3 But she said: “I have a handmaid Bilhah. Go in to her, so that she may give birth upon my knees, and I may have sons by her.”
She said, “See, there is my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her, so she might give birth to children on my knees, and I will have children by her.”
4 And she gave him Bilhah in marriage.
So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob slept with her.
5 And when her husband had gone in to her, she conceived and bore a son.
Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
6 And Rachel said, “The Lord has judged for me, and he has heeded my voice, giving me a son.” And because of this, she called his name Dan.
Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and he has heard my voice and given me a son.” For this reason she called his name Dan.
7 And conceiving again, Bilhah bore another,
Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 about whom Rachel said, “God has compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed.” And she called him Naphtali.
Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” She called his name Naphtali.
9 Leah, perceiving that she had desisted from child-bearing, delivered Zilpah, her handmaid, to her husband.
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 And she, after having borne a son with difficulty,
Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a son.
11 said: “Happiness!” And for this reason, she called his name Gad.
Leah said, “This is fortunate!” so she called his name Gad.
12 Likewise, Zilpah bore another.
Then Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a second son.
13 And Leah said, “This one is for my happiness. Indeed, women will call me blessed.” Because of this, she called him Asher.
Leah said, “I am happy! For the daughters will call me happy.” So she called his name Asher.
14 Then Reuben, going out into the field at the time of the wheat harvest, found mandrakes. These he brought to his mother Leah. And Rachel said, “Give me a portion of your son’s mandrakes.”
Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field. He brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son's mandrakes.”
15 She responded, “Does it seem like such a small matter to you, that you have usurped from me my husband, unless you will also take my son’s mandrakes?” Rachel said, “He will sleep with you this night because of your son’s mandrakes.”
Leah said to her, “Is it a small matter to you, that you have taken away my husband? Do you now want to take away my son's mandrakes, too?” Rachel said, “Then he will sleep with you tonight, in exchange for your son's mandrakes.”
16 And when Jacob returned from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and she said, “You will enter to me, because I have hired you for the reward of my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night.
Jacob came from the field in the evening. Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me tonight, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with Leah that night.
17 And God heard her prayers. And she conceived and bore a fifth son.
God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.
18 And she said, “God has given a reward to me, because I gave my handmaid to my husband.” And she called his name Issachar.
Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant woman to my husband.” She called his name Issachar.
19 Conceiving again, Leah bore a sixth son.
Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
20 And she said: “God has endowed me with a good dowry. And now, at this turn, my husband will be with me, because I have conceived six sons for him.” And therefore she called his name Zebulun.
Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” She called his name Zebulun.
21 After him, she bore a daughter, named Dinah.
Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.
22 The Lord, likewise remembering Rachel, heeded her and opened her womb.
God called Rachel to mind and listened to her. He caused her to become pregnant.
23 And she conceived and bore a son, saying, “God has taken away my reproach.”
She conceived and bore a son. She said, “God has taken away my shame.”
24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “The Lord has added to me another son.”
She called his name Joseph, saying, “Yahweh has added to me another son.”
25 But when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father-in-law: “Release me, so that I may return to my native country and to my land.
After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own home and to my country.
26 Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served you, so that I may depart. You know the servitude with which I have served you.”
Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know the service I have given you.”
27 Laban said to him: “May I find grace in your sight. I have learned by experience that God has blessed me because of you.
Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, wait, because I have learned by using divination that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake.”
28 Choose your wages, which I will give you.”
Then he said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 But he responded: “You know how I have served you, and how great your possession became in my hands.
Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me.
30 You had little before I came to you, and now you have achieved riches. And the Lord has blessed you since my arrival. It is just, therefore, that at some time I also should provide for my own house.”
For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I worked. Now when will I provide for my own household also?”
31 And Laban said, “What shall I give to you?” But he said, “I want nothing. But if you will do what I ask, I will feed and guard your sheep again.
So Laban said, “What will I pay you?” Jacob said, “You will not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.
32 Go around through all your flocks and separate all the sheep of variegated or spotted fleece; and whatever will be darkened or blemished or variegated, as much among the sheep as among the goats, will be my wages.
Let me walk through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. These will be my wages.
33 And my justice will answer on my behalf tomorrow, when the time of settlement arrives before you. And all that is not variegated or blemished or darkened, as much among the sheep as among the goats, these will prove me to be a thief.”
My integrity will testify for me later on, when you come to check on my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, if any are found with me, will be considered to be stolen.”
34 And Laban said, “I hold favor for this request.”
Laban said, “Agreed. Let it be according to your word.”
35 And on that day he separated the she-goats, and the sheep, and the he-goats, and the rams with variegations or with blemishes. But every one of the flock which was of one color, that is, of white or of black fleece, he delivered into the hands of his sons.
That day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36 And he established a distance of three days journey between himself and his son-in-law, who pastured the remainder of his flock.
Laban also put three days' journey between himself and Jacob. So Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 Then Jacob, taking green branches of poplar, and almond, and sycamore trees, debarked them in part. And when the bark was pulled off, in the parts that were stripped, there appeared whiteness, yet the parts that were left whole, remained green. And so, in this way the color was made variegated.
Jacob took fresh cut branches of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane tree, and peeled white streaks in them, and made the white inner wood appear that was in the sticks.
38 And he placed them in the troughs, where the water was poured out, so that when the flocks had arrived to drink, they would have the branches before their eyes, and in their sight they might conceive.
Then he set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in front of the watering troughs where they came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.
39 And it happened that, in the very heat of joining together, the sheep looked upon the branches, and they bore the blemished and the variegated, those speckled with diverse color.
The flocks bred in front of the sticks; and the flocks produced striped, speckled, and spotted young.
40 And Jacob divided the flock, and he set the branches in the troughs before the eyes of the rams. Now whatever was white or black belonged to Laban, but, in truth, the others belonged to Jacob, for the flocks were dispersed among one another.
Jacob separated out these lambs, but made the rest of them face toward the striped animals and all the black sheep in the flock of Laban. Then he separated out his flocks for himself alone and did not put them together with Laban's flocks.
41 Therefore, when the first to arrive were climbing on the ewes, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams and the sheep, so that they might conceive while they were gazing upon them.
Whenever the stronger sheep in the flock were breeding, then Jacob would lay the sticks in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, so that they might conceive among the sticks.
42 Yet when the late arrivals and the last to conceive were let in, he did not place these. And so those that arrived late became Laban’s, and those that arrived first became Jacob’s.
But when the feebler animals in the flock came, he did not put the sticks in front of them. So the feebler animals were Laban's, and the stronger were Jacob's.
43 And the man was enriched beyond limit, and he had many flocks, women servants and men servants, camels and donkeys.
The man became very prosperous. He had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
