Genesis 30

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she was jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I will die."

1And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

NoteIn this society a wife's standing, security in old age, and share in the family's future all depended on bearing sons; childlessness was a social and economic disaster, not only a private grief. Rachel's words are the extreme form of that pressure, not a literal threat.

2Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"

2And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

3She said, "Here is my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her, and she will give birth on my knees, so that through her I can have children too."

3And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

Note"She shall bear upon my knees" describes a legal gesture, not the position of the birth: the child was placed on the knees of the woman who was claiming it, which formally acknowledged it as hers. Ancient Near Eastern marriage contracts provided for exactly this, a childless wife giving her own slave to her husband so that any child counted as the wife's.

4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob slept with her.

4And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

NoteBilhah is a slave belonging to Rachel, given as a secondary wife. Her status is lower than Rachel's or Leah's, and the arrangement is made between Rachel and Jacob; her own consent is not part of the transaction as the text tells it.

5Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

5And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

6Rachel said, "God has judged my case, and he has also heard my voice and given me a son." So she named him Dan.

6And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

NoteThe names in this chapter are Hebrew puns that the English loses. Dan sounds like the Hebrew word "he judged" or "he gave a verdict for", Rachel is saying God ruled in her favor.

7Bilhah, Rachel's servant, became pregnant again and bore Jacob a second son.

7And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

8Rachel said, "I have wrestled hard with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali.

8And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

NoteNaphtali sounds like the Hebrew for "my wrestling" or "my struggle." The phrase KJV renders "with great wrestlings" is literally "with wrestlings of God," which can mean either mighty struggles or struggles in which God was involved; the Hebrew leaves both open.

9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

9When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

10Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a son.

10And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

11Leah said, "Good fortune has come!" So she named him Gad.

11And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

NoteGad means "good fortune" or "luck"; it was also the name of a god of fortune in the region. The KJV's "a troop cometh" follows a different way of dividing the Hebrew letters, which can be read either as "fortune has come" or "in fortune."

12Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a second son.

12And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

13Leah said, "I am happy, because the women will call me blessed." So she named him Asher.

13And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

NoteAsher sounds like the Hebrew for "happy" or "fortunate." "Call me blessed" here means "call me lucky, congratulate me", it is about her reputation among the other women, not a religious blessing.

14During the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found mandrakes in the field, and he brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."

14And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes 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.

NoteMandrake is a plant with a forked root and a strong-smelling yellow fruit, widely believed in the ancient world to arouse desire and help a woman conceive. That belief is why Rachel, who has no children, wants them badly enough to trade a night with her husband for them. The wheat harvest places the scene in late spring.

15Leah said to her, "Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" Rachel said, "Then he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

15And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

16When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come to me, because I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night.

16And 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 hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.

17And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

18Leah said, "God has given me my payment, because I gave my servant to my husband." So she named him Issachar.

18And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

NoteIssachar sounds like the Hebrew for "there is a reward" or "hire." "Hire" in verses 16 and 18 is the language of wages, the same commercial vocabulary that runs through Jacob's dealings with Laban later in the chapter.

19Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

19And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

20Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.

20And Leah said, God hath 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.

NoteZebulun is linked to two similar-sounding Hebrew words, one meaning "gift" or "endowment" and one meaning "to dwell with" or "to honour"; Leah's sentence plays on both. KJV's "dowry" is misleading in modern English: it is not property brought by a bride but a gift given to her.

21After that she bore a daughter, and she named her Dinah.

21And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

NoteDinah is the only daughter named in this list, and unusually no explanation of her name is given. She is named here because she becomes central to the events of chapter 34.

22Then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb.

22And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

Note"God remembered" is a Hebrew idiom for acting on someone's behalf, not for recalling something forgotten. It marks the moment God steps in, not the moment he notices.

23She became pregnant and bore a son. She said, "God has taken away my shame."

23And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

Note"Reproach" here is public disgrace: the standing insult of being a wife with no children. Rachel is saying the taunt has been removed, not that a sin has been forgiven.

24She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add another son to me."

24And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

NoteTwo puns are stacked here. Joseph sounds both like the Hebrew "he has taken away" (of her shame, verse 23) and like "may he add", so the name looks back at what has ended and forward to what she still wants.

25After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, so I can go to my own place and my own country.

25And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.

26Give me my wives and my children, the ones I have worked for by serving you, and let me go. You know the work I have done for you."

26Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.

NoteJacob's wives and children were, under the household law of the time, part of Laban's establishment, since Jacob had worked for them as a hired man without property of his own. That is why he has to ask for them rather than simply leave with them.

27Laban said to him, "Please, if I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you."

27And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.

NoteThe KJV's "learned by experience" softens the Hebrew, which means learned by divination, reading omens, the standard way of consulting the gods in Laban's world. Laban is saying he has consulted the signs and found that his prosperity tracks Jacob's presence.

28He said, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."

28And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

29Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have done in my care.

29And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.

Note"Cattle" in the King James Version means livestock of any kind, here mostly sheep and goats, not cows.

30You had little before I came, and now it has grown into a great amount. The LORD has blessed you since I came. But when will I provide for my own household too?"

30For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?

31Laban said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You do not need to give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will go on feeding and keeping your flock.

31And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.

32Let me go through your whole flock today and take out from it every speckled and spotted animal, every dark one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled ones among the goats. Those will be my wages.

32I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence 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.

NoteThe deal only sounds fair if you know the flocks: in this region sheep were normally white and goats normally dark brown or black. Speckled, spotted, and off-colored animals were the small minority, so Jacob is asking for the odd ones and leaving Laban the bulk. It is also a wage that can be checked at a glance, with no counting or bookkeeping.

33Then my honesty will speak for me later on, when you come to look over my wages. Any goat I have that is not speckled or spotted, and any sheep that is not dark, will count as stolen."

33So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when 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.

Note"Righteousness" here means honest dealing, not moral or religious virtue. Jacob is proposing a self-auditing arrangement: any normal-colored animal found in his flock is automatic proof of theft.

34Laban said, "Agreed. Let it be as you have said."

34And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

35That same day he took out the male goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had any white on it, and all the dark ones among the sheep, and he put them in the care of his sons.

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.

NoteIn verse 32 Jacob offered to do the sorting; here Laban does it himself, and hands the removed animals to his own sons rather than to Jacob. "Ringstraked" is an old word for streaked or striped.

36He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

36And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

NoteThree days' journey, perhaps fifty miles, put the two flocks far enough apart that no already-marked animal could stray into Jacob's care and breed there. Laban is closing the obvious loophole.

37Jacob took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white strips in them, making the white inner wood of the branches show.

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.

Note"Green" means fresh-cut, not the color. The three trees are identified by guesswork from the Hebrew names; poplar, almond, and plane are the usual modern guesses, and "hazel and chestnut" in the KJV is another attempt at the same uncertain words.

38He set the branches he had peeled in front of the flocks, in the channels of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they would breed when they came to drink.

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.

NoteJacob is acting on a widespread ancient belief that what an animal looked at while mating shaped the markings of its young. The narrator reports the technique without commenting on whether it works; in chapter 31 Jacob himself gives a different account of why his flocks multiplied.

39The flocks bred in front of the branches, and they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

40Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the streaked ones and all the dark ones in Laban's flock. He kept his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban's animals.

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 unto Laban’s cattle.

NoteThis verse is one of the most obscure in Genesis; the Hebrew is broken enough that translations differ sharply on who is being made to face what. The general sense is that Jacob arranged the animals so the breeding stock had marked animals in view, and kept his own growing flock strictly separate.

41Whenever the stronger animals were breeding, Jacob laid the branches in the troughs where the animals could see them, so they would breed among the branches.

41And it came to pass, whensoever 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.

Note"Stronger" and "feeble" may refer to physical vigor, or, on another reading of the Hebrew, to the animals that bred early in the season versus late, early-born young being hardier. Either way Jacob applies the technique only to the better animals.

42But when the animals were weak, he did not put the branches in. So the weaker ones were Laban's and the stronger ones were Jacob's.

42But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

43The man grew very rich, and he had large flocks, female servants and male servants, camels, and donkeys.

43And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

NoteFlocks, slaves, camels, and donkeys are the standard inventory of wealth in these narratives; listing them is the way the text says a man has become rich. Camels appear here as valuable pack animals in a herder's holdings.