Genesis 28

1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman!t2 Leave immediatelyt for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.3 May the sovereign Godt bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants!t Then you will becomet a large nation.t4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abrahamt so that you may possess the landt God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.”t

5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there.t As he blessed him,t Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.”t7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram.8 Then Esau realizedt that the Canaanite woment were displeasing tot his father Isaac.

9 So Esau went to Ishmael and marriedt Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran.11 He reached a certain placet where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down.t He took one of the stonest and placed it near his head.t Then he fell asleept in that place12 and had a dream.t He sawt a stairwayt erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac.t I will give you and your descendants the groundt you are lying on.14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth,t and you will spread outt to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one anothert using your name and that of your descendants.t

15 I am with you!t I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
16 Then Jacob woke upt and thought,t “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!”

17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”
18 Earlyt in the morning Jacobt took the stone he had placed near his headt and set it up as a sacred stone.ts Then he poured oil on top of it.19 He called that place Bethel,ts although the former name of the town was Luz.20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me foodt to eat and clothing to wear,21 and I return safely to my father’s home,t then the Lord will become my God.

22 Then this stonet that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surelyt give you back a tenth of everything you give me.”t

Genesis 29

The Marriages of Jacob

1 So Jacob moved ont and came to the land of the eastern people.t2 He sawt in the field a well witht three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Nowt a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherdst would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.”5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandsont of Nahor?” “We know him,”t they said.6 “Is he well?”t Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well.t Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”7 Then Jacobt said, “Since it is still the middle of the day,t it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.”t

8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we watert the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them.t10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban,t and the sheep of his uncle Laban, het went overt and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban.t11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly.t12 When Jacob explainedt to Rachel that he was a relative of her fathert and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father.13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacobt told Laban how he was related to him.t

14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.”t So Jacobt stayed with him for a month.t
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you workt for me for nothing because you are my relative?t Tell me what your wages should be.”16 (Now Laban had two daughters;t the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel.17 Leah’s eyes were tender,t but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.)t18 Since Jacob had fallen in love witht Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.”19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man.t Stay with me.”

20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel.t But they seemed like only a few days to hims because his love for her was so great.t
21 Finally Jacob saidt to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up.t I want to have marital relations with her.”t22 So Laban invited all the peoplet of that place and prepared a feast.23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leahts to Jacob,t and Jacobt had marital relations with her.t

24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)t
25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah!t So Jacobt said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me!t Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you trickeds me?”26 “It is not our custom here,”t Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriaget before the firstborn.

27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week.ts Then we will give you the younger onet too, in exchange for seven more years of work.”ts
28 Jacob did as Laban said.t When Jacobt completed Leah’s bridal week,t Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.t29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)t

30 Jacobt had marital relationst with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Labant for seven more years.t

The Family of Jacob

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved,t he enabled her to become pregnantt while Rachel remained childless.

32 So Leah became pregnantt and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,s for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition.ts Surely my husband will love me now.”

33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved,t he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.s

34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection,t because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi.s

35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah.s Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 30

1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, shet became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me childrent or I’ll die!”2 Jacob became furioust with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”t

3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations witht her so that she can beart childrent for met and I can have a family through her.”t
4 So Rachelt gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations witht her.5 Bilhah became pregnantt and gave Jacob a son.t

6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayert and given me a son.” That is whyt she named him Dan.s
7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son.t

8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.”t So she named him Naphtali.s
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gavet her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son.t

11 Leah said, “How fortunate!”s So she named him Gad.s
12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son.t

13 Leah said, “How happy I am,t for woment will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.s
14 At the timet of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plantss in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”15 But Leah replied,t “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,”t Rachel said, “he may sleept with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleept with me because I have paid for your servicest with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relationst with her that night.17 God paid attentiont to Leah; she became pregnantt and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time.t

18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a rewardt because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.”ts So she named him Issachar.s
19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time.t

20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.s

21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 Then God took note oft Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant.t23 She became pregnantt and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.”t

24 She named him Joseph,s saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

The Flocks of Jacob

25 After Rachel had given birtht to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Sendts me on my way so that I can got home to my own country.t

26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you.t Then I’ll depart,t because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.”t
27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here,t for I have learned by divinationt that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.”

28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.”t
29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied,t “and how well your livestock have fared under my care.t

30 Indeed,t you had little before I arrived,t but now your possessions have increased many times over.t The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked.t But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?”t
31 So Laban asked,t “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,”t Jacob replied,t “but if you agree to this one condition,t I will continue to care fort your flocks and protect them:32 Let me walk amongt all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb,t and the spotted or speckled goats.t These animals will be my wages.t33 My integrity will testify for met later on.t When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on,ts if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.”t

34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.”t
35 So that day Labant removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the caret of his sons.

36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey,ts whilet Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible.38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink.s39 When the sheep matedt in front of the branches, theyt gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock facet the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks.41 When the stronger females were in heat,t Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches.42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there.t So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Labant and the stronger animals to Jacob.

43 In this way Jacobt became extremely prosperous. He ownedt large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.