Gen 29:31-30:21, 35:18, 23-26, 46:8-26, 49:3-27, Exo 6:14-16 | ESV | STEP | When the Lord saw that Leah was hated , he opened her womb , but Rachel was barren .

Genesis 29:31-35

Jacob’s Children

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was ^ahated, ^bhe opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, ^{▼▼ Reuben means See, a son} for she said, “Because the Lord ^dhas looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. ^{▼▼ Simeon sounds like the Hebrew for heard} 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be ^fattached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. ^{▼▼ Levi sounds like the Hebrew for attached} 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name ^hJudah. ^{▼▼ Judah sounds like the Hebrew for praise} Then she ceased bearing.

Genesis 30:1-21

1 When Rachel saw that ^jshe bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, ^kwho has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant ^lBilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth ^mon my behalf, ^{▼▼Hebrew on my knees} that even I may have children ^{▼▼Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children} through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has ^pjudged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. ^{▼▼ Dan sounds like the Hebrew for judged} 7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings ^{▼▼Hebrew With wrestlings of God} I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name ^sNaphtali. ^{▼▼ Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew for wrestling}

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and ^ugave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, ^v“Good fortune has come!” so she called his name ^wGad. ^{▼▼ Gad sounds like the Hebrew for good fortune} 12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women ^yhave called me happy.” So she called his name Asher. ^{▼▼ Asher sounds like the Hebrew for happy}

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found ^aamandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. ^{▼▼ Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for wages, or hire}

19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name ^acZebulun. ^{▼▼ Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew for honor} 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

Genesis 35:18

18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; ^{▼▼ Ben-oni could mean son of my sorrow, or son of my strength} ^afbut his father called him Benjamin. ^{▼▼ Benjamin means son of the right hand}

Genesis 35:23-26

23 The sons of Leah: ^ahReuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Genesis 46:8-26

8 ^aiNow ^ajthese are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. ^akReuben, Jacob’s firstborn, 9 and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of ^alLevi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of ^amJudah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but ^anEr and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of ^aoPerez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 ^apThe sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These are the sons of Leah, ^aqwhom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.

16 The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 ^arThe sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18 ^asThese are the sons of Zilpah, ^atwhom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons.

19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And ^auto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of ^avOn, bore to him. 21 And ^awthe sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all.

23 The son ^{▼▼Hebrew sons} of Dan: Hushim. 24 ^ayThe sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 ^azThese are the sons of Bilhah, ^bawhom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all.

26 All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all.

Genesis 49:3-27

3 “Reuben, you are ^bbmy firstborn,
my might, and the ^bcfirstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you ^bdwent up to your father’s bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
5 ^be“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons ^bfof violence are their swords.
6 Let my soul come not into their council;
^bgO my glory, ^bhbe not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
and in their willfulness they ^bihamstrung oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will ^bjdivide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8 “Judah, ^bkyour brothers shall praise you;
^blyour hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
^bmyour father’s sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is ^bna lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
^boHe stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The ^bpscepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff ^bqfrom between his feet,
until tribute comes to him; ^{▼▼By a slight revocalization; a slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Targum) until he comes to whom it belongs; Hebrew until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh}
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12 His ^bseyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 ^bt“Zebulun shall dwell at the ^bushore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 ^bv“Issachar is a strong donkey,
crouching between the sheepfolds. ^{▼▼Or between its saddlebags}
15 He saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and ^bxbecame a servant at forced labor.
16 ^by“Dan shall ^bzjudge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan ^cashall be a serpent in the way,
a viper by the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that his rider falls backward.
18 I ^cbwait for your salvation, O Lord.
19 ^cc“Raiders shall raid ^cdGad, ^{▼▼ Gad sounds like the Hebrew for raiders and raid}
but he shall raid at their heels.
20 ^cf“Asher’s food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.
21 ^cg“Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears beautiful fawns. ^{▼▼Or he gives beautiful words, or that bears fawns of the fold}
22 “Joseph is ^cia fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall. ^{▼▼Or Joseph is a wild donkey, a wild donkey beside a spring, his wild colts beside the wall}
23 The archers ^ckbitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet ^clhis bow remained unmoved;
his arms ^{▼▼Hebrew the arms of his hands} were made agile
by the hands of the ^cnMighty One of Jacob
(from there is ^cothe Shepherd, ^{▼▼Or by the name of the Shepherd} ^cqthe Stone of Israel),
25 ^crby the God of your father who will help you,
by ^csthe Almighty ^{▼▼Hebrew Shaddai} ^cuwho will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
up to the bounties ^cvof the everlasting hills. ^{▼▼A slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint) the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills}
May they be ^cxon the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27 ^cy“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening ^czdividing the spoil.”

Exodus 6:14-16

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: the ^dasons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The ^dbsons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the ^dcsons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.