1ራሔል ለያዕቆብ አንድም ልጅ እንዳልወለደችለት ባየች ጊዜ በእኅቷ ቀናች። ስለዚህ ያዕቆብን፣ “ልጅ ስጠኝ፤ አለዚያ እሞታለሁ” አለችው።
2ያዕቆብም ራሔልን ተቈጥቶ “እኔ እንዳትወልጂ ያደረገሽን እግዚአብሔርን (ኤሎሂም) መሰልኹሽን?” አላት።
3እርሷም፣ “እነሆ፤ አገልጋዬ ባላ አለችልህ፤ ልጆች እንድትወልድልኝና እኔም ደግሞ በእርሷ አማካይነት ልጆች እንዳገኝ ከእርሷ ጋር ተኛ” አለችው።
4ስለዚህም አገልጋይዋን ባላን ሚስት እንድትሆነው ሰጠችው፤ ያዕቆብም አብሯት ተኛ፤ 5እርሷም ፀነሰች፤ ወንድ ልጅም ወለደችለት። 6ራሔልም፣ “እግዚአብሔር (ኤሎሂም) ፈርዶልኛል፣ ልመናዬንም ሰምቶ ወንድ ልጅ ሰጥቶኛል” አለች። ስለዚህ ስሙን ዳን ብላ አወጣችለት።
7የራሔል አገልጋይ ባላ እንደ ገና ፀነሰች፤ ለያዕቆብም ሁለተኛ ወንድ ልጅ ወለደች። 8ራሔልም፣ “እኅቴን ብርቱ ትግል ገጥሜ አሸነፍሁ” አለች፤ ስሙንም ንፍታሌም ብላ አወጣችለት።
9ልያም ልጅ መውለድ ማቆሟን እንደ ተረዳች፣ አገልጋይዋን ዘለፋን ሚስት እንድትሆነው ለያዕቆብ ሰጠችው። 10የልያ አገልጋይ ዘለፋም ለያዕቆብ ወንድ ልጅ ወለደችለት፤ 11ልያም፣ “ምን ዐይነት መታደል30፥11 ወይም ጭፍራ እየመጣ ነው። ነው” አለች፤ ስሙንም ጋድ30፥11 ጋድ ማለት መልካም ዕድል ወይም ሰራዊት ማለት ነው። ብላ አወጣችለት።
12የልያም አገልጋይ ዘለፋ፤ ለያዕቆብ ሁለተኛ ወንድ ልጅ ወለደችለት፤ 13ልያም፣ “ምንኛ ደስተኛ ሆንሁ ከእንግዲህ ሴቶች ደስተኛዋ ይሉኛል” አለች፤ ስሙንም አሴር30፥13 አሴር ማለት ደስተኛ ማለት ነው። ብላ አወጣችለት። 14ስንዴ በሚታጨድበት ወቅት፣ ሮቤል ወደ ሜዳ ወጣ፤ እንኮይም አግኝቶ ለእናቱ ለልያ አመጣላት። ራሔልም ልያን፣ “እባክሽን ልጅሽ ካመጣልሽ እንኮይ ስጪኝ” አለቻት።
15ልያም፣ “ባሌን የቀማሽኝ አነሰና የልጄን እንኮይ ደግሞ ልትወስጂ አማረሽ?” አለቻት።
ራሔልም፣ “ስለ ልጅሽ እንኮይ ዛሬ ከአንቺ ጋር ይደር” አለቻት።
16በዚያች ምሽት ያዕቆብ ከዕርሻ ሲመለስ፣ ልያ ወጥታ ተቀበለችውና፣ “በልጄ እንኮይ ስለ ተከራየሁህ የዛሬው ዐዳርህ ከእኔ ጋር ነው” አለችው፤ ያዕቆብም በዚያች ሌሊት ከእርሷ ጋር ዐደረ።
17እግዚአብሔር (ኤሎሂም) የልያን ጸሎት ሰማ፤ ፀነሰች፤ ለያዕቆብም አምስተኛውን ወንድ ልጅ ወለደች። 18ልያም፣ “አገልጋዬን ለባሌ በመስጠቴ እግዚአብሔር (ኤሎሂም) ክሶኛል” አለች፤ ስሙንም ይሳኮር30፥18 ይሳኮር የሚለው ቃል ሽልማት የሚል ትርጕም ካለው የዕብራይስጥ ቃል ጋር አንድ ዐይነት ድምፅ አለው። ብላ አወጣችለት።
19ልያ አሁንም ደግማ ፀነሰች፤ ለያዕቆብም ስድስተኛውን ወንድ ልጅ ወለደች። 20እርሷም፣ “እግዚአብሔር (ኤሎሂም) በከበረ ስጦታ ዐድሎኛል፣ ስድስት ወንዶች ልጆች ስለ ወለድሁለት፣ ከእንግዲህ ባሌ አክብሮ ይይዘኛል”። አለች፤ ስሙንም ዛብሎን30፥20 ዛብሎን ማለት ማክበር ማለት ነው። አለችው።
21ከዚያም በኋላ ሴት ልጅ ወለደች፤ ስሟንም ዲና አለቻት።
22እግዚአብሔርም (ኤሎሂም) ራሔልን ዐሰባት፤ ልመናዋንም ሰምቶ ማሕፀኗን ከፈተላት። 23ከዚያም ፀንሳ፣ ወንድ ልጅ ወለደችና “እግዚአብሔር (ኤሎሂም) ዕፍረቴን አስወገደልኝ” አለች፤ 24ስሙንም፣ “እግዚአብሔር (ይህዌ) ሌላ ወንድ ልጅ ጨምሮ ይስጠኝ” ስትል፣ ዮሴፍ30፥24 ዮሴፍ ማለት እርሱ ይጨምር ማለት ነው። አለችው።
የያዕቆብ መንጎች መብዛት
25ራሔል ዮሴፍን ከወለደች በኋላ ያዕቆብ ላባን እንዲህ አለው፤ “ወደ ገዛ ቤቴ፣ ወደ አገሬ እንድመለስ አሰናብተኝ፤ 26የድካሜ ዋጋ የሆኑትን ሚስቶቼንና ልጆቼን ስጠኝና ይዤአቸው ልሂድ፤ መቼም የቱን ያህል እንዳገለገልሁህ ታውቃለህ” አለው።
27ላባም እንዲህ አለው፤ “በጎ ፈቃድህ ቢሆን፣ እባክህ እዚሁ ከእኔ ጋር ተቀመጥ፤ ምክንያቱም እግዚአብሔርም (ያህዌ) በአንተ ምክንያት እንደ ባረከኝ በንግርት ተረድቻለሁ፤30፥27 ወይም እየበለጸግሁና እግዚአብሔርም በአንተ ምክንያት እየባረከኝ ነው 28ይልቅስ ይገባኛል የምትለውን ደመወዝ ንገረኝና እከፍልሃለሁ።”
29ያዕቆብም እንዲህ አለው፤ “መቼም እንዴት እንዳገለገልሁህ፣ ከብቶችህ በእኔ ጥበቃ ምን ያህል እንደ ተመቻቸው አንተ ታውቃለህ። 30እኔ ከመምጣቴ በፊት ጥቂት የነበረው ሀብትህ ዛሬ ተትረፍርፏል፣ በተሰማራሁበት ሁሉ እግዚአብሔር (ያህዌ) በረከቱን አብዝቶልሃል። ታዲያ፣ ስለ ራሴ ቤት የማስበው መቼ ነው?”
31ላባም፣ “ታዲያ ምን ልስጥህ?” ሲል ጠየቀው።
ያዕቆብም መልሶ እንዲህ አለው፤ “ምንም አትስጠኝ፤ ነገር ግን የምጠይቅህን አንዲት ነገር ብቻ ብታደርግልኝ ከብቶችህን ማገዴን እቀጥላለሁ፤ 32በመንጎቹ መካከል ዛሬ ልዘዋወርና ከበጎቹ መካከል ዝንጕርጕር የሆኑትን፣ ነቍጣ ያለባቸውንና ጥቋቁሮቹን እንዲሁም ከፍየሎቹ ነቍጣ ያለባቸውንና ዝንጕርጕሮቹን ልምረጥ፤ እነዚህ ደሞዜ ይሁኑ። 33ወደ ፊት ደሞዜን ለመቈጣጠር በምትመጣበት ጊዜ ታማኝነቴ ይታወቃል፤ በመንጎቼ መካከል ዝንጕርጕር ወይም ነቍጣ የሌለበት ፍየል ወይም ጥቁር ያልሆነ ቢገኝ ያ እንደ ተሰረቀ ይቈጠር።”
34ላባም፣ “እሺ፣ ይሁን፤ ባልኸው ተስማምቼአለሁ” አለው። 35ነገር ግን በዚያኑ ዕለት ከተባዕት ፍየሎች ሽመልመሌ የሆኑትን ወይም ነቍጣ ያለባቸውን ሁሉ፣ እንዲሁም ከእንስት ፍየሎች ነቍጣ ያለባቸውን ዝንጕርጕር የሆኑትን ሁሉ፣ ማንኛውንም ነጭ ያለበትን ሁሉ መረጠ፤ ደግሞም ጥቋቁር የሆኑትንም በጎች ሁሉ ለየና ወንዶች ልጆቹን አስጠበቃቸው። 36ከዚያም በእርሱና በያዕቆብ መካከል የሦስት ቀን መንገድ ርቀት እንዲኖር አደረገ፤ ያዕቆብም የቀሩትን የላባን መንጎች ማገዱን ቀጠለ።
37ነገር ግን ያዕቆብ እርጥብ የልብን፣ የለውዝንና የኤርሞን በትሮች ወሰደ፤ ቅርፊታቸውንም በቀጭን ልጦ እያነሣ የበትሮቹ ግንድ ነጩ እንዲታይ፣ ሽመልመሌ መልክ እንዲኖራቸው አደረገ። 38የላጣቸውንም በትሮች መንጎቹ ውሃ ለመጠጣት ሲመጡ ከፊት ለፊት እንዲያዩአቸው በማጠጫ ገንዳዎቹ ሁሉ አስቀመጠ። መንጎቹም ስሜታቸው ሲነሣሣና ውሃ ለመጠጣት ሲመጡ፣ 39በትሮቹን ፊት ለፊት እያዩ ይሳረሩ ነበር፤ ሽመልመሌ፣ ዝንጕርጕርና ነቍጣ የጣለባቸውንም ግልገሎች ወለዱ። 40ያዕቆብ ግልገሎቹን ለብቻ ለያቸው፤ የቀሩትንም የላባ መንጎች ሽመልመሌና ጥቋቁር በሆኑት ትይዩ አቆማቸው፤ በዚህም መሠረት የራሱ መንጋ ከላባ መንጋ ጋር እንዳይቀላቀል ለብቻ ለየ። 41ያዕቆብም ብርቱ እንስቶች አውራ ፈልገው በሚቅበጠበጡበት ጊዜ፣ በትሮቹ አቅራቢያ እንዲጠቁ በትሮቹን በውሃ ገንዳዎቹ ውስጥ ፊት ለፊታቸው ያስቀምጥ ነበር፤ 42ደካማ በሆኑት እንስቶች ፊት ግን፣ በትሮቹን አያስቀምጥም ነበር፤ ስለዚህ ደካማ ደካማዎቹ ለላባ ሲሆኑ፣ ብርቱ ብርቱዎቹ ለያዕቆብ ሆኑ። 43በዚህም ሁኔታ ይህ ሰው እጅግ ባለጠጋ ሆነ፤ የብዙ መንጎች፣ የሴትና የወንድ አገልጋዮች፣ እንዲሁም የግመሎችና የአህዮች ባለቤት ሆነ።
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. 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? 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.30.3 have…: Heb. be built by her 4And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. 5And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. 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.30.6 Dan: that is, Judging 7And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. 8And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.30.8 great…: Heb. wrestlings of God30.8 Naphtali: that is, My wrestling: Gr. Nephthalim 9When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. 10And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son. 11And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.30.11 Gad: that is, A troop, or, company 12And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son. 13And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.30.13 Happy…: Heb. In my happiness30.13 Asher: that is, Happy
14¶ And 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. 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. 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. 17And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. 18And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.30.18 Issachar: that is, An hire 19And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. 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.30.20 Zebulun: that is, Dwelling: Gr. Zabulon 21And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.30.21 Dinah: that is Judgment
22¶ And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: 24And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.30.24 Joseph: that is, Adding
25¶ And 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, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. 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. 28And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. 29And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. 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?30.30 increased: Heb. broken forth30.30 since…: Heb. at my foot 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: 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. 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.30.33 in time…: Heb. to morrow 34And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. 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. 36And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37¶ And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. 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. 39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. 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. 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. 42But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
