THE FIRST BOOK OF
MOSES,
called
G E N E S I S
Genesis 30 ©
Rachel, being impatient by reason of her barrenness, gives Jacob her handmaid Bilhah who bears him Dan and Naphtali, vs. 1, etc. Leah likewise, ceasing to bear, gives Jacob her handmaid Zilpah who bears him Gad and Asher, 9, etc. Reuben finds mandrakes, and Leah conceives again, and bears Issachar, Zebulon, and a daughter, Dinah, 14. At last Rachel likewise bears Joseph, 22. Now when Jacob was desirous to return to his own country, Laban keeps him with a new bargain of wages, 25. Whereby Jacob, contrary to Laban’s expectation, was very richly blessed by God, 37.
AND when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel 1envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, 2or else I die.
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, 3Am I in God’s stead,a who hath withheld from thee the 4fruit of the womb?
5And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear 6upon my knees, that I may also 7have children by her.
And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid 8to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
And Rachel said, 9God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name 10Dan.
And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
And Rachel said, With great 11wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name 12Naphtali.
When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she 13took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
And Leah said, 14A troop cometh: and she called his name 15Gad.
And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
And Leah said, 16Happy am I, for the 17daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name 18Asher.
¶And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found 19mandrakes 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.
And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakesb also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes.
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 20hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
And God 21hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
And Leah said, God 22hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name 23Issachar.
And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
And Leah said, God hath 24enduedc me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name 25Zebulun.
And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name 26Dinah.
¶And 27God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and 28opened her womb.
And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath 29taken away my 30reproach:
And she called his name 31Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
¶And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that 32Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
Give me my wives and my children, 33for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service 34which I have done thee.
And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, 35tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
And he said, Appoint 36me thy wages, and 37I will give it.
And he said unto him, Thou knowest 38how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
For it was little which thou hadst 39before I came, and it is now 40increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee 41since my coming: and now when shall I 42provide for mine own house also?
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me 43any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, 44I will again feed and keep thy flock:
I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the 45speckled and 46spotted 47cattle, and all the 48brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: 49and of such shall be my hire.
50So shall my righteousness answer for me 51in time to come, 52when 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.
And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
And 53he removed that day the he goats that were 54ringstraked 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.
And he set 55three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
¶ 56And Jacob took him 57rods of 58green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnutd tree; and pillede white strakesf in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
And he set the rods which he had pilledg before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that 59they should conceive when they came to drink.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle 60ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
And Jacob did separate 61the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked,h and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and 62he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
And it came to pass, whensoever the 63stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
But when the cattle were 64feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
And the man 65increased 66exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.