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10 This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your posterity after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

11 And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token or sign of the covenant (the promise or pledge) between Me and you.

12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male throughout your generations, whether born in [your] house or bought with [your] money from any foreigner not of your offspring.

13 He that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money must be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the male who is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.

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10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.(A) 11 You are to undergo circumcision,(B) and it will be the sign of the covenant(C) between me and you. 12 For the generations to come(D) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,(E) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.(F) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.(G) 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised(H) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;(I) he has broken my covenant.(J)

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For Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time God had told him.

Abraham [a]named his son whom Sarah bore to him Isaac [laughter].

And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:3 See footnote on Gen. 16:15.

Sarah became pregnant and bore a son(A) to Abraham in his old age,(B) at the very time God had promised him.(C) Abraham gave the name Isaac[a](D) to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him,(E) as God commanded him.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:3 Isaac means he laughs.

26 Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand grasped Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob [supplanter]. Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

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26 After this, his brother came out,(A) with his hand grasping Esau’s heel;(B) so he was named Jacob.[a](C) Isaac was sixty years old(D) when Rebekah gave birth to them.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 25:26 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.

31 And when the Lord saw that Leah was despised, He made her able to bear children, but Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah became pregnant and bore a son and named him Reuben [See, a son!]; for she said, Because the Lord has seen my humiliation and affliction; now my husband will love me.

33 [Leah] became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Because the Lord heard that I am despised, He has given me this son also; and she named him Simeon [God hears].

34 And she became pregnant again and bore a son and said, Now this time will my husband be a companion to me, for I have borne him three sons. Therefore he was named Levi [companion].

35 Again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, Now will I praise the Lord! So she called his name Judah [praise]; then [for a time] she ceased bearing.

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Jacob’s Children

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved,(A) he enabled her to conceive,(B) but Rachel remained childless. 32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.(C) She named him Reuben,[a](D) for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery.(E) Surely my husband will love me now.”

33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved,(F) he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.[b](G)

34 Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me,(H) because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.[c](I)

35 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.[d](J) Then she stopped having children.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 29:32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son.
  2. Genesis 29:33 Simeon probably means one who hears.
  3. Genesis 29:34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached.
  4. Genesis 29:35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.

30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I will die!

And Jacob became very angry with Rachel and he said, Am I in God’s stead, Who has denied you children?

And she said, See here, take my maid Bilhah and have intercourse with her; and [when the baby comes] she shall deliver it upon my knees, that I by her may also have children.

And she gave him Bilhah her maid as a [secondary] wife, and Jacob had intercourse with her.

And Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

And Rachel said, God has judged and vindicated me, and has heard my plea and has given me a son; so she named him Dan [judged].

And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings [in prayer to God] I have struggled with my sister and have prevailed; so she named him [this second son Bilhah bore] Naphtali [struggled].

When Leah saw that she had ceased to bear, she gave Zilpah her maid to Jacob as a [secondary] wife.

10 And Zilpah, Leah’s maid, bore Jacob a son.

11 Then Leah said, Victory and good fortune have come; and she named him Gad [fortune].

12 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, bore Jacob [her] second son.

13 And Leah said, I am happy, for women will call me blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied); and she named him Asher [happy].

14 Now Reuben went at the time of wheat harvest and found some mandrakes (love apples) in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray you, some of your son’s mandrakes.

15 But [Leah] answered, Is it not enough that you have taken my husband without your taking away my son’s [a]mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Jacob shall sleep with you tonight [in exchange] for your son’s mandrakes.

16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, You must sleep with me [tonight], for I have certainly paid your hire with my son’s mandrakes. So he slept with her that night.

17 And God heeded Leah’s [prayer], and she conceived and bore Jacob [her] fifth son.

18 Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maid to my husband; and she called his name Issachar [hired].

19 And Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob [her] sixth son.

20 Then Leah said, God has endowed me with a good marriage gift [for my husband]; now will he dwell with me [and regard me as his wife in reality], because I have borne him six sons; and she named him Zebulun [dwelling].

21 Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel and answered her pleading and made it possible for her to have children.

23 And [now for the first time] she became pregnant and bore a son; and she said, God has taken away my reproach, disgrace, and humiliation.

24 And she called his name Joseph [may he add] and said, May the Lord add to me another son.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 30:15 Mandrakes were superstitiously supposed to excite and win love.

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children,(A) she became jealous of her sister.(B) So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God,(C) who has kept you from having children?”(D)

Then she said, “Here is Bilhah,(E) my servant.(F) Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”(G)

So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife.(H) Jacob slept with her,(I) and she became pregnant and bore him a son. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me;(J) he has listened to my plea and given me a son.”(K) Because of this she named him Dan.[a](L)

Rachel’s servant Bilhah(M) conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”(N) So she named him Naphtali.[b](O)

When Leah(P) saw that she had stopped having children,(Q) she took her servant Zilpah(R) and gave her to Jacob as a wife.(S) 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah(T) bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”[c] So she named him Gad.[d](U)

12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me(V) happy.”(W) So she named him Asher.[e](X)

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

15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough(AA) 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.”(AB)

16 So 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.”(AC) So he slept with her that night.

17 God listened to Leah,(AD) and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.”(AE) So she named him Issachar.[f](AF)

19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor,(AG) because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.[g](AH)

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

22 Then God remembered Rachel;(AJ) he listened to her(AK) and enabled her to conceive.(AL) 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son(AM) and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”(AN) 24 She named him Joseph,[h](AO) and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”(AP)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated.
  2. Genesis 30:8 Naphtali means my struggle.
  3. Genesis 30:11 Or “A troop is coming!”
  4. Genesis 30:11 Gad can mean good fortune or a troop.
  5. Genesis 30:13 Asher means happy.
  6. Genesis 30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward.
  7. Genesis 30:20 Zebulun probably means honor.
  8. Genesis 30:24 Joseph means may he add.

16 And they journeyed from Bethel and had but a little way to go to Ephrath [Bethlehem] when Rachel suffered the pangs of childbirth and had hard labor.

17 When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, Do not be afraid; you shall have this son also.

18 And as her soul was departing, for she died, she called his name Ben-oni [son of my sorrow]; but his father called him Benjamin [son of the right hand].

19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

20 And Jacob set a pillar (monument) on her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

21 Then Israel journeyed on and spread his tent on the other side of the tower of Edar.

22 When Israel dwelt there, Reuben [his eldest son] went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now Jacob’s sons were twelve.

23 The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali.

26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob born to him in Padan-aram.

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The Deaths of Rachel and Isaac(A)

16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath,(B) Rachel(C) began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife(D) said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.”(E) 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.[a](F) But his father named him Benjamin.[b](G)

19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath(H) (that is, Bethlehem(I)). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day(J) that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb.(K)

21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.(L) 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine(M) Bilhah,(N) and Israel heard of it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

23 The sons of Leah:(O)

Reuben the firstborn(P) of Jacob,

Simeon, Levi, Judah,(Q) Issachar and Zebulun.(R)

24 The sons of Rachel:

Joseph(S) and Benjamin.(T)

25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:(U)

Dan and Naphtali.(V)

26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:(W)

Gad(X) and Asher.(Y)

These were the sons of Jacob,(Z) who were born to him in Paddan Aram.(AA)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 35:18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble.
  2. Genesis 35:18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.