30 1 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 was furious with Rachel. He said, "Am I in our Father's place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"
3 She said, "Here is my servant Bilhah. Go in to her, that she may bear on my knees, and through her I too may build a family." a a v3 To bear a child 'on one's knees' was an ancient adoption gesture — the child placed on the adoptive mother's knees was legally claimed as her own. 4 So she gave him Bilhah her servant as a wife, and Jacob was intimate with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, "Our Father has judged me; he has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she named him Dan. b b v6 The name Dan means "he has judged." 7 Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel said, "I have wrestled fiercely with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali. c c v8 The name Naphtali means "my struggle."
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took Zilpah her servant and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Leah said, "Good fortune!" So she named him Gad. d d v11 The name Gad means "good fortune." 12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Leah said, "How happy I am! For women will call me happy." So she named him Asher. e e v13 The name Asher means "happy" or "blessed."
14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went out and found 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." f f v14 Mandrakes were a plant widely believed in the ancient world to aid conception — hence Rachel’s eagerness for them.
15 But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may be intimate with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."
16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must sleep with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he was intimate with her that night.
17 And our Father listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, "Our Father has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband." So she named him Issachar. g g v18 The name Issachar means "wages" or "reward." 19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, "Our Father has endowed me with a good gift. Now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. h h v20 The name Zebulun means "honor." 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 Then our Father remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son, and said, "Our Father has taken away my disgrace." 24 She named him Joseph, saying, "May the Sovereign Father add to me another son." i i v24 The name Joseph means "may he add."
Send Me Home
25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Let me go back to my own home and country." 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go. You know the service I have given you."
27 But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes — I have learned by divination that our Father has blessed me because of you." 28 He said, "Name your wages, and I will give it."
29 Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you, and how well your livestock has done under my care." 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased greatly; our Father has blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?"
31 He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it."
32 Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and that shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will testify for me later, when you come to look into my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen."
34 Laban said, "Good! Let it be as you have said."
35 But 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 on it, and every black lamb among the sheep, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36 He set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock.
37 Then Jacob took fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the wood. 38 He placed the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks — the places where they came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted young. 40 Jacob separated the lambs and turned the flock to face the striped animals and all the black ones in Laban's flock. He kept his own flocks apart and did not mix them with Laban's flock. 41 Whenever the stronger animals were breeding, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in sight of the flock, so they would breed among the branches, 42 but for the weaker animals he would not lay them there. So the weaker animals went to Laban, and the stronger ones to Jacob. 43 Thus the man became exceedingly rich and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.