Berĕshith (Genesis) 29
29
1And Ya‛aqoḇ moved on and came to the land of the people of the East.
2And he looked and saw a well in the field, and saw three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well they watered the flocks, and a large stone was on the well’s mouth.
3And all the flocks would be gathered there, then they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth.
4So Ya‛aqoḇ said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Ḥaran.”
5And he said to them, “Do you know Laḇan son of Naḥor?” And they said, “We know him.”
6So he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “Well. And see, his daughter Raḥĕl is coming with the sheep.”
7And he said, “See, it is still high day, not the time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”
8But they said, “We are not allowed until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, then we shall water the sheep.”
9While he was still speaking with them, Raḥĕl came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
10And it came to be, when Ya‛aqoḇ saw Raḥĕl the daughter of Laḇan his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laḇan his mother’s brother, that Ya‛aqoḇ went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laḇan his mother’s brother.
11And Ya‛aqoḇ kissed Raḥĕl, and lifted up his voice and wept.
12And when Ya‛aqoḇ told Raḥĕl that he was her father’s relative and that he was Riḇqah’s son, she ran and told her father.
13And it came to be, when Laḇan heard the report about Ya‛aqoḇ his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Then he told Laḇan all these matters.
14And Laḇan said to him, “You are indeed my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a new moon.
15Then Laḇan said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for naught? Let me know, what should your wages be?”
16And Laḇan had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lĕ’ah, and the name of the younger was Raḥĕl.
17And Lĕ’ah’s eyes were weak, but Raḥĕl was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.
18And Ya‛aqoḇ loved Raḥĕl, so he said, “Let me serve you seven years for Raḥĕl your younger daughter.”
19And Laḇan said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.”
20So Ya‛aqoḇ served seven years for Raḥĕl, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
21Then Ya‛aqoḇ said to Laḇan, “Give me my wife, for my days are completed, and let me go in to her.”
22And Laḇan gathered all the men of the place and made a feast.
23And it came to be in the evening, that he took Lĕ’ah his daughter and brought her to Ya‛aqoḇ. And he went in to her.
24And Laḇan gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Lĕ’ah as a female servant.
25And in the morning it came to be, that see, it was Lĕ’ah. So he said to Laḇan, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Raḥĕl that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”
26And Laḇan said, “It is not done this way in our place, to give the younger before the first-born.
27Complete the week of this one, then we give you this one too, for the service which you shall serve with me still another seven years.
28And Ya‛aqoḇ did so and completed her week. Then he gave him his daughter Raḥĕl too, as wife.
29And Laḇan gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Raḥĕl as a female servant.
30And he also went in to Raḥĕl, and he also loved Raḥĕl more than Lĕ’ah. And he served with Laḇan still another seven years.
31And יהוה saw that Lĕ’ah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Raḥĕl was barren.
32And Lĕ’ah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Re’uḇĕn, for she said, “For יהוה has looked on my affliction, because now my husband is going to love me.”
33And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because יהוה has heard that I am unloved, He gave me this son too.” And she called his name Shim‛on.
34And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband is joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So his name was called Lĕwi.
35And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I praise יהוה.” So she called his name Yehuḏah. And she ceased bearing.
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Berĕshith (Genesis) 29: TS2009
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Genesis 29
29
Jacob Meets Rachel
1Then Jacob continued his trip. He went to the country in the East. 2He looked and saw a well in the field. There were three flocks of sheep lying near the well, where the sheep drank water. There was a large rock covering the mouth of the well. 3When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the rock away from the well. Then all the sheep could drink from the water. After the sheep were full, the shepherds would put the rock back in its place.
4Jacob said to the shepherds there, “Brothers, where are you from?”
They answered, “We are from Haran.”
5Then Jacob said, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?”
The shepherds answered, “We know him.”
6Then Jacob said, “How is he?”
They answered, “He is well. Look, that is his daughter Rachel coming now with his sheep.”
7Jacob said, “Look, it is still day and long before the sun sets. It is not yet time for the animals to be gathered together for the night. So give them water and let them go back into the field.”
8But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered together. Then we will move the rock from the well, and all the sheep will drink.”
9While Jacob was talking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. (It was her job to take care of the sheep.) 10Rachel was Laban’s daughter. Laban was the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother. When Jacob saw Rachel, he went and moved the rock and gave water to the sheep. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and cried. 12He told her that he was from her father’s family. He told her that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father.
13When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. Laban hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban everything that had happened.
14Then Laban said, “This is wonderful! You are from my own family.” So Jacob stayed with Laban for a month.
Laban Tricks Jacob
15One day Laban said to Jacob, “You are a relative of mine. It is not right for you to continue working for me without pay. What should I pay you?”
16Now Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah and the younger was Rachel.
17Leah’s eyes were gentle,#29:17 Leah’s eyes were gentle This might be a polite way of saying Leah was not very pretty. but Rachel was beautiful. 18Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, “I will work seven years for you if you will allow me to marry your daughter Rachel.”
19Laban said, “It would be better for her to marry you than someone else. So stay with me.”
20So Jacob stayed and worked for Laban for seven years. But it seemed like a very short time because he loved Rachel very much.
21After seven years Jacob said to Laban, “Give me Rachel so that I can marry her. My time of work for you is finished.”
22So Laban gave a party for all the people in that place. 23That night Laban brought his daughter Leah to Jacob. Jacob and Leah had sexual relations together. 24(Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter to be her maid.) 25In the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah he had slept with, and he said to Laban, “You have tricked me. I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel. Why did you trick me?”
26Laban said, “In our country we don’t allow the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter. 27Continue for the full week of the marriage ceremony, and I will also give you Rachel to marry. But you must serve me another seven years.”
28So Jacob did this and finished the week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29(Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) 30So Jacob had sexual relations with Rachel also. And Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
Jacob’s Family Grows
31The Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, so he made it possible for Leah to have children. But Rachel did not have any children.
32Leah gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben.#29:32 Reuben This is like the Hebrew word meaning “Look, a son.” She named him this because she said, “The Lord has seen my troubles. My husband does not love me. So now maybe my husband will love me.”
33Leah became pregnant again and had another son. She named this son Simeon.#29:33 Simeon This is like the Hebrew word meaning “He hears.” She said, “The Lord has heard that I am not loved, so he gave me this son.”
34Leah became pregnant again and had another son. She named this son Levi.#29:34 Levi This is like the Hebrew word meaning “accompany,” “be joined together,” or “become close.” She said, “Now, surely my husband will love me. I have given him three sons.”
35Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named this son Judah.#29:35 Judah This name is like the word meaning “He is praised.” Leah named him this because she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Then Leah stopped having children.
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