1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
3Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”
4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated.
7Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.30:8 Naphtali means my struggle.
9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”30:11 Or “A troop is coming!” So she named him Gad.30:11 Gad can mean good fortune or troop.
12Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.30:13 Asher means happy.
14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”
16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward.
19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.30:20 Zebulun probably means honor.
21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24She named him Joseph,30:24 Joseph means may he add. and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”
Jacob’s Flocks Increase
25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
27But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
31“What shall I give you?” he asked.
“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”
34“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” 35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
1拉结见自己没有给雅各生孩子，就嫉妒姐姐。她对雅各说：“你给我孩子，不然我还不如死了！” 2雅各气愤地说：“使你不能生育的是上帝，难道我能代替上帝吗？” 3拉结说：“你去跟我的婢女辟拉同房吧，让她替我生孩子，我也可以借她留后。” 4于是拉结把婢女辟拉给丈夫做妾，雅各和辟拉同房。 5辟拉怀了孕，为雅各生下一个儿子。 6拉结说：“上帝为我申冤，也听了我的恳求，赐给我一个儿子。”拉结就给孩子取名叫但30:6 “但”意思是“申冤”。。 7拉结的婢女辟拉又怀孕，为雅各生了第二个儿子。 8拉结说：“我跟姐姐激烈相争，我得胜了。”她就给这孩子取名叫拿弗他利30:8 “拿弗他利”意思是“相争”。。
9利亚见自己不再生育，就把婢女悉帕给雅各做妾。 10利亚的婢女悉帕给雅各生了一个儿子。 11利亚说：“真幸运！”她便给孩子取名叫迦得30:11 “迦得”意思是“幸运”。。 12利亚的婢女悉帕又给雅各生了第二个儿子， 13利亚说：“我真有福啊！妇女们会说我有福！”她就为孩子取名叫亚设30:13 “亚设”意思是“有福”。。
14在收麦子的季节，吕便在田间找到一些风茄，拿回家给母亲利亚。拉结对利亚说：“请给我一些你儿子找到的风茄。” 15利亚说：“你抢了我丈夫还不够吗？现在还要抢我儿子的风茄吗？”拉结回答说：“你给我风茄，今夜雅各就跟你同房。” 16那天晚上，雅各从田间回来，利亚就出来迎接他说：“你要来跟我同房，因为我已经用儿子的风茄把你雇下来了。”于是，那天晚上雅各便跟利亚同房。 17上帝答应利亚的祈求，使她怀孕，为雅各生了第五个儿子。 18利亚说：“我把婢女送给丈夫，现在上帝给我报酬了。”因此，她就为孩子取名叫以萨迦30:18 “以萨迦”意思是“报酬”。。
19后来，利亚又怀孕，给雅各生下第六个儿子。 20她说：“上帝赐给我珍贵的礼物，现在我丈夫会尊重我，因为我给他生了六个儿子。”于是，她就给这个儿子取名叫西布伦30:20 “西布伦”意思是“尊重”。。 21后来，利亚又生了一个女儿，给她取名叫底娜。
22上帝眷顾拉结，听了她的祷告，使她可以生育。 23她就怀孕，生了一个儿子，说：“上帝除去了我的羞辱。” 24她给孩子取名叫约瑟30:24 “约瑟”意思是“增添”。，说：“愿上帝再给我添一个儿子！”
雅各与拉班的协议
25拉结生约瑟以后，雅各对拉班说：“请让我走吧！我好回故乡， 26请把我的妻儿给我，我好离开。她们都是我替你工作得来的，你知道我怎样努力为你工作。”
27拉班却挽留他，说：“如果你肯赏光，请你留下来！因为我占卜得知上帝为了你的缘故才赐福给我。 28你要多少酬劳，只管说出来，我一定会给你。”
29雅各回答说：“你知道我怎样努力地服侍你，照顾你的牲畜。 30我来以前，你的财产很少。耶和华因为我的到来而赐福给你，使你财产大增。但我自己什么时候才能兴家立业呢？”
31拉班问：“我该给你什么呢？”雅各说：“你不用给我什么，只要你答应一件事，我就继续照料你的羊群。 32今天让我走遍你的羊群，从中挑出有斑点的绵羊、黑色的小羊和有斑点的山羊作为我的薪酬。 33以后，如果你在给我作薪酬的羊群中查出没有斑点的山羊或非黑色的绵羊，就算是我偷的。这样你可以知道我是否诚实。”
34拉班说：“好，就照你的话做！” 35当天，拉班把有条纹或斑点的公山羊以及有斑点或夹杂白纹的母山羊，连同黑色的绵羊都挑出来，交给自己的儿子们看管。 36然后，他离开雅各，彼此相隔三天的路程。雅各继续为他照料其余的羊。
37雅各折下一些杨树、杏树和枫树的嫩枝，削掉部分树皮，露出白色的条纹， 38然后把这些嫩枝插在羊喝水的水槽和水沟里。羊群来喝水时互相交配。 39它们对着这些树枝交配，就生下有条纹和有斑点的羊羔。 40雅各把这些羊羔分出来，又让羊群对着拉班那些有条纹和黑色的羊。他把自己的羊安置在一处，不与拉班的羊掺杂在一起。 41每当肥壮的羊交配时，雅各就把有条纹的枝子插在水沟里，使羊对着树枝交配。 42但如果交配的羊是瘦弱的，他就不插枝子。这样，瘦弱的羊归拉班，肥壮的羊归雅各。 43因此，雅各变得极其富有，拥有很多羊、骆驼、驴和仆婢。
