Genesis 30
30
1When Rachel realized she was unable to give Jacob any children she was jealous of her sister. She complained to Jacob, “I'll die if you don't give me children!”
2Jacob became angry with Rachel and told her, “Am I God? Do you think I'm the one stopping you having children?”
3“Here's my personal maid Bilhah,” Rachel replied. “Sleep with her and she can have children for me so I'll have a family too.” 4She gave her personal maid Bilhah to him as a wife and Jacob slept with her. 5Bilhah became pregnant and had a son for Jacob. 6Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor! He listened to me and gave me a son.” So she named him Dan.#30:6. Dan means “judge.” 7Rachel's personal maid Bilhah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob. 8Rachel said, “I've had a hard struggle with my sister, but I've won.” So she named him Naphtali.#30:8. Naphtali means “struggle.”
9Leah realized she wasn't having any more children, so she gave her personal maid Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10Zilpah had a son for Jacob. 11Leah said, “I'm really fortunate!” So she named him Gad.#30:11. Gad means “fortunate.” 12Leah's personal maid Zilpah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob. 13Leah said, “I'm so happy, and the other women will say I'm happy too!” So she named him Asher.#30:13. Asher means “happy.”
14At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben found some mandrake plants when he was out in the fields. He took them back to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah, “Please give me some of the mandrakes your son found.”
15“Aren't you satisfied with stealing my husband?” Leah replied. “Are you going to take my son's mandrakes too?”
“Fine, he can sleep with you tonight if you give me some mandrakes in return,” Rachel responded.
16When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You have to sleep with me because I've paid for you with my son's mandrakes,” she told him. So he slept with her that night. 17God heard Leah's request, and she became pregnant and had a fifth son for Jacob. 18Leah said, “The Lord has rewarded me for giving my personal maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.#30:18. Issachar means “reward.” 19Then Leah became pregnant again and had a sixth son for Jacob. 20Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I've given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.#30:20. Zebulun is related to both the words for “gift” and “honor.” 21Later she had a daughter she named Dinah.
22Then God paid attention to Rachel and listened to her appeals, and helped her to have children. 23She became pregnant and had a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. 24She named him Joseph,#30:24. Joseph may mean both “may he add,” and “he takes away,” referring to Rachel's “disgrace.” saying, “May the Lord give me an additional son.”
25Once Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me leave so I can return to my home and my own country. 26Give me my wives and children because I worked for you to have them. Let me go now because you know very well how much work I've done for you.”
27“Please be so kind as to stay,” Laban replied, “because I have discovered#30:27. “Discovered”: or “learned by divination.” that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28Then Laban continued, “Tell me how much to pay you and I'll give it to you.”
29“You certainly know how much work I've done for you, and how well your flocks have done under my care. 30You hardly had anything before I arrived, but now you have so much! The Lord has blessed you through what I've done. When am I going to be able to provide for my own family?”
31“Well, what do you propose I give you?” Laban asked again.
“You don't have to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you want to do something for me, then how about this: I'll go on looking after your flocks, making sure they're fed. 32Let me go through your flocks today and take all the sheep that are speckled or spotted, and all the dark ones, as well as all the speckled and spotted goats. They'll be my wages. 33In the future you'll be able to prove that I've been honest. When you check my flock, any goats that don't have speckles or spots, or any sheep that aren't dark will be considered stolen from you.”
34“Very good,” Laban agreed. “We'll do as you say.” 35However, the same day Laban went and removed all the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats, and all the dark sheep. He had his sons look after them and sent them away— 36a three day journey between them and Jacob, while Jacob was looking after the rest of Laban's flocks.
37Then Jacob cut some sticks from poplar, almond, and plane trees that had white wood under the bark. He peeled off some of the bark, making the sticks look streaked with white. 38He put the sticks he'd peeled in the water troughs where the flocks came to drink because that's where they mated. 39The flocks mated in front of the sticks and gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40Jacob separated all these ones out. Then he made his flock face towards those in Laban's flock that were streaked and dark. This is the way he kept his flocks apart from Laban's flock.
41When the strong females were ready to breed, Jacob put the sticks in the troughs where the flocks could see them when they mated. 42He didn't do this for the weaker females. The weaker ones went to Laban, and the strong ones went to Jacob. 43In this way Jacob became an extremely rich man with large flocks, and many male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.
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Genesis 30: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Bereshis 30
30
1And when Rachel saw that she did not bear [banim] to Ya'akov, Rachel had kina toward her achot; and said unto Ya'akov, Give me banim, or else I die.
2And af Ya'akov was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in place of Elohim, Who hath withheld from thee p'ri beten?
3And she said, Hinei my amah (maidservant) Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my birkayim, that I may also build up through her.
4And she gave him Bilhah her shifchah (slave woman, maidservant) as isha; and Ya'akov went in unto her.
5And Bilhah conceived, and bore Ya'akov ben.
6And Rachel said, Elohim danani (G-d hath judged me), and hath also heard my voice, and hath given to me ben: therefore called she shmo Dan.
7And Bilhah shifchat Rachel conceived again, and bore Ya'akov ben sheni.
8And Rachel said, With naftulei Elohim niftalti (with wrestlings of G-d have I wrestled) with my achot, and I have prevailed: and she called shmo Naphtali.
9When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her shifchah, and gave her to Ya'akov as isha.
10And Zilpah shifchat Leah bore Ya'akov ben.
11And Leah said, BaGad (What Good Fortune!) And she called shmo Gad.
12And Zilpah shifchat Leah bore Ya'akov ben sheni.
13And Leah said, B'Ashri (Happy am I), for the banot will call me asher (blessed): so she called shmo Asher.
14And Reuven went in the yemei ketzir chittim, and found duda'im (mandrakes) in the sadeh, and brought them unto Leah immo. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, now, of the duda'im of thy ben.
15And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my ish? And wouldest thou take away the duda'im of beni also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee halailah (tonight) for the duda'im of thy ben.
16And Ya'akov came in from the sadeh ba'erev, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with duda'im of beni. And he lay with her that night.
17And Elohim paid heed unto Leah, and she conceived, and bore Ya'akov ben chamishi.
18And Leah said, Elohim hath given me my hire, because I have given my shifchah to my ish; and she called shmo Yissakhar.
19And Leah conceived again, and bore Ya'akov ben shishi.
20And Leah said, Elohim hath endued me with a zeved tov (good endowment); now will my ish zabal (honor) me, because I have born him shisha banim; and she called shmo Zevulun.
21And afterwards she bore a bat, and called her shem Dinah.
22And Elohim remembered Rachel, and Elohim paid heed to her, and opened her rekhem (womb).
23And she conceived, and bore ben; and said, Elohim hath taken away my cherpah (shame, disgrace, reproach);
24And she called shmo Yosef; and said, yosef (may He add), may Hashem add me ben acher (another son).
25And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Yosef, that Ya'akov said unto Lavan, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own makom (place, home) and to my eretz.
26Give me my nashim and my yeladim, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my avodah which I have done thee.
27And Lavan said unto him, Now, if I have found chen (favor, grace) in thine eyes, tarry; for I have learned by nachash (divination) that Hashem hath made a brocha upon me for thy sake.
28And he said, Specify thy sachar (wages, reward), and I will pay it.
29And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy mikneh fared with me.
30For it was me'at (little) which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and Hashem hath made a brocha upon thee since my coming; and now when shall I do for mine own bais also?
31And he said, What shall I give thee? And Ya'akov said, Thou shalt not give me any thing; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again tend and be shomer over thy tzon.
32I will pass through all thy tzon today, removing from there speckled and spotted seh, and every dark seh among the kesavim, and the spotted and speckled among the izzim; and of such shall be my sachar.
33So shall my tzedakah answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my sachar before thy face; every one that is not speckled and spotted among the izzim, and dark among the kesavim, that shall be counted a ganavʼs with me.
34And Lavan said, Agreed, I would it might be according to thy davar.
35And he removed that day the male goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the izzim that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some lavan in it, and all the dark among the kesavim, and gave them into the yad of his banim.
36And he set a derech shloshet yamim between himself and Ya'akov; and Ya'akov tended the rest of the tzon Lavan.
37And Ya'akov took him fresh cut makal (rod, branch) of poplar and of almond and plane tree; and peeled strips of bark in them, and made the lavan (white) appear which was in the maklot (rods, branches).
38And he set the maklot which he had peeled before the flocks in the small channels of the shikatot mayim (watering troughs) when the tzon came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,
39And the flocks bred before the maklot, and brought forth tzon streaked, speckled, and spotted.
40And Ya'akov did separate the kesavim, and set the faces of the tzon toward the streaked, and all the dark in the tzon Lavan; and he put his own adarim (flocks) by themselves, and put them not unto the tzon Lavan.
41And it came to pass, whensoever tzon hamekusharot (the stronger flock) did breed, that Ya'akov set the maklot before the eyes of the tzon in the trough channels, that they might breed among the maklot.
42But when the tzon were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler would belong to Lavan, and the stronger to Ya'akov.
43And the ish increased exceedingly, and had much tzon, and shefachot, and avadim, and gemalim, and chamorim.
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
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