¹⁰ This is [the sign of] My covenant, which you shall keep and faithfully obey, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be the sign (symbol, memorial) of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, [including] a servant whether born in the house or one who is purchased with [your] money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. ¹³ A servant who is born in your house or one who is purchased with your money must be circumcised; and [the sign of] My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ And the male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

² So Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. ³ Abraham named his son Isaac (laughter), the son to whom Sarah gave birth. ⁴ So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him.

²⁶ Afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob (^[a]one who grabs by the heel, supplanter). Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

³¹ Now when the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He ^[a]made her able to bear children, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah conceived and gave birth to a son and named him Reuben (See, a son!), for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my humiliation and suffering; now my husband will love me [since I have given him a son].” ³³ Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Because the Lord heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon (God hears). ³⁴ She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me [as a companion], for I have given him three sons.” Therefore he was named ^[b]Levi. ³⁵ Again she conceived and gave birth to a [fourth] son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” So she named him ^[c]Judah; then [for a time] she stopped bearing [children].

The Sons of Jacob

30 When Rachel saw that she conceived no children for Jacob, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.” ² Then Jacob became furious with Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has denied you children?” ³ She said, “Here, take my maid Bilhah and go in to her; and [when the baby comes] she shall ^[d]deliver it [while sitting] on my knees, so that by her I may also have children [to count as my own].” ⁴ So she gave him Bilhah her maid as a [^[e]secondary] wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has judged and vindicated me, and has heard my plea and has given me a son [through my maid].” So she named him Dan (He judged). ⁷ Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ⁸ So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings [in prayer to God] I have struggled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she named him Naphtali (my wrestlings).

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing [children], she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a [^[f]secondary] wife. ¹⁰ Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a son for Jacob. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad (good fortune). ¹² Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ¹³ Then Leah said, “I am happy! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher (happy).

¹⁴ Now at the time of wheat harvest Reuben [the eldest child] went and found some ^[g]mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁵ But Leah answered, “Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Jacob shall sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me [tonight], for I have in fact hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. ¹⁷ God listened and answered [the prayer of] Leah, and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she named him ^[h]Issachar. ¹⁹ Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good [marriage] gift [for my husband]; now he will live with me [regarding me with honor as his wife], because I have given birth to six sons.” So she named him ^[i]Zebulun. ²¹ Afterward she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered [the prayers of] Rachel, and God thought of her and opened her womb [so that she would conceive]. ²³ So she conceived and gave birth to a son; and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace and humiliation.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph (may He add) and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachel began to give birth and had difficulty and suffered severely. ¹⁷ When she was in hard labor the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid; you now have another son.” ¹⁸ And as her soul was departing, (for she died), she named him Ben-oni (son of my sorrow); but his father called him Benjamin (^[a]son of the right hand). ¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set a pillar (memorial, monument) on her grave; that is the ^[b]pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. ²¹ Then Israel (Jacob) journeyed on and pitched his tent on the other side of the tower of Eder [the lookout point used by shepherds].

²² While Israel was living in that land, Reuben [his eldest son] went and lay with Bilhah his father’s ^[c]concubine, and Israel heard about it.

The Sons of Israel

Now Jacob had twelve sons— ²³ The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; ²⁴ and the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; ²⁵ and 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 Paddan-aram.