‏ Genesis 30

1 Rachel in grief for her barrenness, gives Bilhah her maid unto Jacob. 5 She bears Dan and Naphtali. 9 Leah gives Zilpah her maid, who bears Gad and Asher. 14 Reuben finds mandrakes, with which Leah buys her husband of Rachel. 17 Leah bears Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah. 22 Rachel bears Joseph. 25 Jacob desires to depart. 27 Laban stays him on a new covenant. 37 Jacob’s policy, whereby he became rich.

1And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb? 3And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in to her; and she shall bear on my knees, that I may also have children by her. 4And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in to her. 5And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son. 6And Rachel said, God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. 7And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. 8And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. 9When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. 10And Zilpah Leah’s maid bore Jacob a son. 11And Leah said, A troop comes: and she called his name Gad. 12And Zilpah Leah’s maid bore Jacob a second son. 13And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

14And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray you, of your son’s mandrakes. 15And she said to her, Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? and would you take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with you to night for your son’s mandrakes. 16And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, You must come in to me; for surely I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. 17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob the fifth son. 18And Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. 19And Leah conceived again, and bore Jacob the sixth son. 20And Leah said, God has 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. 21And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

22And God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb. 23And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God has taken away my reproach: 24And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

25And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country. 26Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go: for you know my service which I have done you. 27And Laban said to him, I pray you, if I have found favor in your eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake. 28And he said, Appoint me your wages, and I will give it. 29And he said to him, You know how I have served you, and how your cattle was with me. 30For it was little which you had before I came, and it is now increased to a multitude; and the LORD has blessed you since my coming: and now when shall I provide for my own house also? 31And he said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me any thing: if you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flock. 32I will pass through all your flock to day, removing from there 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. 33So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before your face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. 34And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to your word. 35And 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. 36And he set three days’ journey between himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. 38And 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. 39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. 40And 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 to Laban’s cattle. 41And it came to pass, whenever 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. 42But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
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