Genesis 30
Lexham English Bible
Jacob’s Children
30 When Rachel saw that she could not bear children to Jacob, Rachel envied her sister. And she said to Jacob, “Give me children—if not, I will die!” 2 And Jacob became angry[a] with Rachel. And he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant girl Bilhah; go in to her that she may bear children as my surrogate.[b] Then I will even have children[c] by her.” 4 Then she gave him Bilhah, her female servant, as a wife, and Jacob went in to her 5 And Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. 7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob. 8 And Rachel said, “I have struggled a mighty struggle with my sister and have prevailed.” And she called his name Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took Zilpah her female servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Zilpah, the female slave of Leah, bore a son to Jacob. 11 Then Leah said, “Good fortune!” And she called his name Gad. 12 And Zilpah, Leah’s female servant, bore a second son to Jacob. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.
14 And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 And she said to her, “Is your taking my husband such a small thing that you will also take the mandrakes of my son?” Then Rachel said, “Then he may 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 she said, “Come in to me, for I have hired[d] you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my wage since I gave my servant girl to my husband.” And she called his name Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. 20 And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift. This time my husband will acknowledge me, because I bore him six sons.” And she called his name Zebulun. 21 And afterward she gave birth to a daughter. And she called her name Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel and listened to her, and God opened her womb. 23 And she conceived and gave birth to a son. And she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “Yahweh has added to me another son.”
Jacob’s Prosperity
25 And it happened that as soon as Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away that I may go to my place and my land. 26 Give me my wives and my children for which I have served you, and let me go. For you yourself know my service that I have rendered to you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, I have learned by divination that Yahweh has blessed me because of you.” 28 And he said, “Name your wage to me and I will give it.” 29 Then he said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have been with me.[e] 30 For you had little before me, and it has increased abundantly. And Yahweh has blessed you wherever I turned.[f] So then, when shall I provide for my own family also?” 31 And he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “Do not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flocks and keep them. 32 Let me pass through all your flocks today, removing all the speckled and spotted sheep from them, along with[g] every dark-colored sheep among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. That[h] shall be my wages. 33 And my righteousness will answer for me later[i] when you come concerning my wages before you. Every one that is not speckled or spotted among the goats, or dark-colored among the sheep shall be stolen if it is with me.” 34 Then Laban said, “Look! Very well. It shall be according to your word.” 35 But that day he[j] removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, all that had white on it, and every dark-colored ram, and put them in the charge of his sons.[k] 36 And he put a journey of three days between him and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the remainder of Laban’s flock. 37 Then Jacob took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled white strips on them, exposing the white which was on the branches. 38 And he set the branches that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in the troughs and in the water containers. And they were in heat when they came to drink. 39 And the flocks mated by the branches, so the flocks bore streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs and turned the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the dark-colored in Laban’s flocks. And he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with the flocks of Laban. 41 And whenever any of the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob put the branches in full view[l] of the flock in the troughs that they might mate among the branches. 42 But with the more feeble of the flock he would not put them there. So the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger were Jacob’s. 43 And the man became exceedingly[m] rich and had large flocks, female slaves, male slaves, camels, and donkeys.
Footnotes
- Genesis 30:2 Literally “became hot of nose”
- Genesis 30:3 Literally “upon my knees”
- Genesis 30:3 Literally “be built up”
- Genesis 30:16 Literally “I have fully paid for”
- Genesis 30:29 I.e., “How well they have done under my care”
- Genesis 30:30 Literally “to my foot”
- Genesis 30:32 Or “and”
- Genesis 30:32 Or “it”
- Genesis 30:33 Literally “on the day tomorrow”
- Genesis 30:35 That is, Laban
- Genesis 30:35 Literally “he gave into the hands of his sons”
- Genesis 30:41 Literally “before the eyes of”
- Genesis 30:43 Literally “very, very”
Genesis 30
King James Version
30 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
2 And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.
7 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
12 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.
28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.
32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
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