Gen 30 | Lees | STEP | And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, and if not, I die.

‏ Genesis 30

1 And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, and if not, I die. 2 And 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? 3 And she said, Behold, here is my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. 4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid for wife, and Jacob went in unto her. 5 And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son. 6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. 7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. 8 And Rachel said, Contests of God have I contended with my sister, I have also prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. 9 When Leah now saw that she had left off bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her to Jacob for wife. 10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, Good luck hath come: and she called his name Gad. 12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bore a second son unto Jacob. 13 And Leah said, To my happiness; for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher. 14 And Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and he brought them unto Leah his mother; then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, some of thy son’s mandrakes. 15 And she said unto her, Is it not enough that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldst thou also take away my son’s mandrakes? And Rachel said, Therefore shall he be with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes. 16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Unto me thou must come in; for surely I have obtained thee as a reward with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. 17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 And Leah said, God hath given me my reward, because I have given my maid to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again, and bore a sixth son unto Jacob. 20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons; and she called his name Zebulun. 21 And afterward she bore a daughter, and she called her name Dinah. 22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23 And she conceived, and bore a son; and she said, God hath taken away my reproach. 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, The Lord shall add to me another son. 25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto my own place, and to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go; for thou knowest my service with which I have served thee. 27 And Laban said unto him, If I could but find favor in thy eyes; I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake: 28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give them. 29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and what thy cattle hath become with me. 30 For it was a little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased into a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming; and now when shall I provide also for my own house? 31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me the least; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: 32 I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted lamb, and every brown lamb among the sheep, and whatever is spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be after this my reward. 33 And my righteousness shall testify for me in time to come, when it shall come with my reward 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. 34 And Laban said, Well, let it be according to thy word. 35 And he removed on that day the he-goats that were ring-streaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white on it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 And he put a space of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob; and Jacob fed the flocks of Laban that were left. 37 And Jacob took himself rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and peeled thereon white streaks, laying bare the white which was on the rods. 38 And he set the rods which he had peeled in the gutters in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink, just before the flocks, and where they conceived, when they came to drink. 39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40 And these lambs did Jacob separate, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ring-streaked, and whatever was brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not with Laban’s cattle. 41 And 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. 42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in; so the feebler belonged to Laban, and the stronger to Jacob. 43 And the man increased exceedingly, and he had many flocks, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and camels, and asses.