Genesis 28

Jacob Searches for a Wife

1 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.2 Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, in Northwest Mesopotamia. Laban, your mother’s brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters.3 May God Almighty bless you and give you many children, and may you become a group of many peoples.4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham so that you may own the land where you are now living as a stranger, the land God gave to Abraham.”5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Northwest Mesopotamia, to Laban the brother of Rebekah. Bethuel the Aramean was the father of Laban and Rebekah, and Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6 
Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Northwest Mesopotamia to find a wife there. He also learned that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Northwest Mesopotamia.8 So Esau saw that his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women.9 Now Esau already had wives, but he went to Ishmael son of Abraham, and he married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. Mahalath was the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.11 When he came to a place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone and laid his head on it to go to sleep.12 Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven, and he saw angels of God going up and coming down the ladder.13 Then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping.14 Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south, and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.15 I am with you and will protect you everywhere you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not know it.”17 He was afraid and said, “This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven.”18 Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone he had slept on and set it up on its end. Then he poured olive oil on the top of it.19 At first, the name of that city was Luz, but Jacob named it Bethel.

20 
Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “I want God to be with me and to protect me on this journey. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear21 so I will be able to return in peace to my father’s house. If the Lord does these things, he will be my God.22 This stone which I have set up on its end will be the house of God. And I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me.”

Genesis 29

Jacob Arrives in Northwest Mesopotamia

1 Then Jacob continued his journey and came to the land of the people of the East.2 He looked and saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying nearby, because they drank water from this well. A large stone covered the mouth of the well.3 When all the flocks would gather there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place.

4 
Jacob said to the shepherds there, “My brothers, where are you from?”
They answered, “We are from Haran.”

5 
Then Jacob asked, “Do you know Laban, grandson of Nahor?”
They answered, “We know him.”

6 
Then Jacob asked, “How is he?”
They answered, “He is well. Look, his daughter Rachel is coming now with his sheep.”

7 
Jacob said, “But look, it is still the middle of the day. It is not time for the sheep to be gathered for the night, so give them water and let them go back into the pasture.”

8 
But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered. Then we will roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep.”

9 
While Jacob was talking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, because it was her job to care for the sheep.10 When Jacob saw Laban’s daughter Rachel and Laban’s sheep, he went to the well and rolled the stone from its mouth and watered Laban’s sheep. Now Laban was the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother.11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and cried.12 He told her that he was from her father’s family and that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father.13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. Laban hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house, where Jacob told Laban everything that had happened.

Jacob Is Tricked

14 Then Laban said, “You are my own flesh and blood.”Jacob stayed there a month.15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “You are my relative, but it is not right for you to work for me without pay. What would you like me to pay you?”16 Now Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah, and the younger was Rachel.17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was very beautiful.18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, “Let me marry your younger daughter Rachel. If you will, I will work seven years for you.”19 Laban said, “It would be better for her to marry you than someone else, so stay here with me.”20 So Jacob worked for Laban seven years so he could marry Rachel. But they seemed like just a few days to him because he loved Rachel very much.

21 
After seven years Jacob said to Laban, “Give me Rachel so that I may marry her. The time I promised to work for you is over.”

22 
So Laban gave a feast for all the people there.23 That evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and they had sexual relations.24 (Laban gave his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter to be her servant.)25 In the morning when Jacob saw that he had had sexual relations with Leah, he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel! Why did you trick me?”

26 
Laban said, “In our country we do not allow the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter.27 But complete the full week of the marriage ceremony with Leah, and I will give you Rachel to marry also. But you must serve me another seven years.”

28 
So Jacob did this, and when he had completed the week with Leah, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.29 (Laban gave his slave girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)30 So Jacob had sexual relations with Rachel also, and Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.

Jacob’s Family Grows

31 

When the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he made it possible for Leah to have children, but not Rachel.32 Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, because she said, “The Lord has seen my troubles. Surely now my husband will love me.”

33 
Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon and said, “The Lord has heard that I am not loved, so he has given me this son.”

34 
Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Levi and said, “Now, surely my husband will be close to me, because I have given him three sons.”

35 
Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, because she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Then Leah stopped having children.

Genesis 30

1 When Rachel saw that she was not having children for Jacob, she envied her sister Leah. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Can I do what only God can do? He is the one who has kept you from having children.”

3 
Then Rachel said, “Here is my slave girl Bilhah. Have sexual relations with her so she can give birth to a child for me. Then I can have my own family through her.”

4 
So Rachel gave Bilhah, her slave girl, to Jacob as a wife, and he had sexual relations with her.5 She became pregnant and gave Jacob a son.6 Rachel said, “God has judged me innocent. He has listened to my prayer and has given me a son,” so she named him Dan.

7 
Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.8 Rachel said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won.” So she named that son Naphtali.

9 
Leah saw that she had stopped having children, so she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.10 When Zilpah had a son,11 Leah said, “I am lucky,” so she named him Gad.12 Zilpah gave birth to another son,13 and Leah said, “I am very happy! Now women will call me happy,” so she named him Asher.14 During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the field and found some mandrake plants and brought them to his mother Leah. But Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”15 Leah answered, “You have already taken away my husband, and now you are trying to take away my son’s mandrakes.”But Rachel answered, “If you will give me your son’s mandrakes, you may sleep with Jacob tonight.”16 When Jacob came in from the field that night, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You will have sexual relations with me tonight because I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.17 Then God answered Leah’s prayer, and she became pregnant again. She gave birth to a fifth son18 and said, “God has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband.” So Leah named her son Issachar.19 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son.20 She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now surely Jacob will honor me, because I have given him six sons,” so she named him Zebulun.21 Later Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 
Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer, making it possible for her to have children.23 When she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, she said, “God has taken away my shame,”24 and she named him Joseph. Rachel said, “I wish the Lord would give me another son.”

Jacob Tricks Laban

25 

After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now let me go to my own home and country.26 Give me my wives and my children and let me go. I have earned them by working for you, and you know that I have served you well.”

27 
Laban said to him, “If I have pleased you, please stay. I know the Lord has blessed me because of you.28 Tell me what I should pay you, and I will give it to you.”

29 
Jacob answered, “You know that I have worked hard for you, and your flocks have grown while I cared for them.30 When I came, you had little, but now you have much. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. But when will I be able to do something for my own family?”

31 
Laban asked, “Then what should I give you?”
Jacob answered, “I don’t want you to give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I will come back and take care of your flocks.32 Today let me go through all your flocks. I will take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. That will be my pay.33 In the future you can easily see if I am honest. When you come to look at my flocks, if I have any goat that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black, you will know I stole it.”

34 
Laban answered, “Agreed! We will do what you ask.”35 But that day Laban took away all the male goats that had streaks or spots, all the speckled and spotted female goats (all those that had white on them), and all the black sheep. He told his sons to watch over them.36 Then he took these animals to a place that was three days’ journey away from Jacob. Jacob took care of all the flocks that were left.

37 
So Jacob cut green branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them.38 He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated there,39 so the flocks mated in front of the branches. Then the young that were born were streaked, speckled, or spotted.40 Jacob separated the young animals from the others, and he made them face the streaked and dark animals in Laban’s flock. Jacob kept his animals separate from Laban’s.41 When the stronger animals in the flock were mating, Jacob put the branches before their eyes so they would mate near the branches.42 But when the weaker animals mated, Jacob did not put the branches there. So the animals born from the weaker animals were Laban’s, and those born from the stronger animals were Jacob’s.43 In this way Jacob became very rich. He had large flocks, many male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.