1拉結見自己沒有給雅各生孩子，就嫉妒姐姐。她對雅各說：「你給我孩子，不然我還不如死了！」 2雅各氣憤地說：「使你不能生育的是上帝，難道我能代替上帝嗎？」 3拉結說：「你去跟我的婢女辟拉同房吧，讓她替我生孩子，我也可以藉她留後。」 4於是拉結把婢女辟拉給丈夫做妾，雅各和辟拉同房。 5辟拉懷了孕，為雅各生下一個兒子。 6拉結說：「上帝為我伸冤，也聽了我的懇求，賜給我一個兒子。」拉結就給孩子取名叫但30·6 「但」意思是「伸冤」。。 7拉結的婢女辟拉又懷孕，為雅各生了第二個兒子。 8拉結說：「我跟姐姐激烈相爭，我得勝了。」她就給這孩子取名叫拿弗他利30·8 「拿弗他利」意思是「相爭」。。
9利亞見自己不再生育，就把婢女悉帕給雅各做妾。 10利亞的婢女悉帕給雅各生了一個兒子。 11利亞說：「真幸運！」她便給孩子取名叫迦得30·11 「迦得」意思是「幸運」。。 12利亞的婢女悉帕又給雅各生了第二個兒子， 13利亞說：「我真有福啊！婦女們會說我有福！」她就為孩子取名叫亞設30·13 「亞設」意思是「有福」。。
14在收麥子的季節，呂便在田間找到一些風茄，拿回家給母親利亞。拉結對利亞說：「請給我一些你兒子找到的風茄。」 15利亞說：「你搶了我丈夫還不夠嗎？現在還要搶我兒子的風茄嗎？」拉結回答說：「你給我風茄，今夜雅各就跟你同房。」 16那天晚上，雅各從田間回來，利亞就出來迎接他說：「你要來跟我同房，因為我已經用兒子的風茄把你雇下來了。」於是，那天晚上雅各便跟利亞同房。 17上帝答應利亞的祈求，使她懷孕，為雅各生了第五個兒子。 18利亞說：「我把婢女送給丈夫，現在上帝給我報酬了。」因此，她就為孩子取名叫以薩迦30·18 「以薩迦」意思是「報酬」。。
19後來，利亞又懷孕，給雅各生下第六個兒子。 20她說：「上帝賜給我珍貴的禮物，現在我丈夫會尊重我，因為我給他生了六個兒子。」於是，她就給這個兒子取名叫西布倫30·20 「西布倫」意思是「尊重」。。 21後來，利亞又生了一個女兒，給她取名叫底娜。
22上帝眷顧拉結，聽了她的禱告，使她可以生育。 23她就懷孕，生了一個兒子，說：「上帝除去了我的羞辱。」 24她給孩子取名叫約瑟30·24 「約瑟」意思是「增添」。，說：「願上帝再給我添一個兒子！」
雅各與拉班的協議
25拉結生約瑟以後，雅各對拉班說：「請讓我走吧！我好回故鄉， 26請把我的妻兒給我，我好離開。她們都是我替你工作得來的，你知道我怎樣努力為你工作。」
27拉班卻挽留他，說：「如果你肯賞光，請你留下來！因為我占卜得知上帝為了你的緣故才賜福給我。 28你要多少酬勞，只管說出來，我一定會給你。」
29雅各回答說：「你知道我怎樣努力地服侍你，照顧你的牲畜。 30我來以前，你的財產很少。耶和華因為我的到來而賜福給你，使你財產大增。但我自己什麼時候才能興家立業呢？」
31拉班問：「我該給你什麼呢？」雅各說：「你不用給我什麼，只要你答應一件事，我就繼續照料你的羊群。 32今天讓我走遍你的羊群，從中挑出有斑點的綿羊、黑色的小羊和有斑點的山羊作為我的薪酬。 33以後，如果你在給我作薪酬的羊群中查出沒有斑點的山羊或非黑色的綿羊，就算是我偷的。這樣你可以知道我是否誠實。」
34拉班說：「好，就照你的話做！」 35當天，拉班把有條紋或斑點的公山羊以及有斑點或夾雜白紋的母山羊，連同黑色的綿羊都挑出來，交給自己的兒子們看管。 36然後，他離開雅各，彼此相隔三天的路程。雅各繼續為他照料其餘的羊。
37雅各折下一些楊樹、杏樹和楓樹的嫩枝，削掉部分樹皮，露出白色的條紋， 38然後把這些嫩枝插在羊喝水的水槽和水溝裡。羊群來喝水時互相交配。 39牠們對著這些樹枝交配，就生下有條紋和有斑點的羊羔。 40雅各把這些羊羔分出來，又讓羊群對著拉班那些有條紋和黑色的羊。他把自己的羊安置在一處，不與拉班的羊摻雜在一起。 41每當肥壯的羊交配時，雅各就把有條紋的枝子插在水溝裡，使羊對著樹枝交配。 42但如果交配的羊是瘦弱的，他就不插枝子。這樣，瘦弱的羊歸拉班，肥壯的羊歸雅各。 43因此，雅各變得極其富有，擁有很多羊、駱駝、驢和僕婢。
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.
