Genesis 30

1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she was jealous of her sister, and she said to Jacob, “Give me children — or I shall die.” 2 And Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said to her, “Am I in the place of God, who has deprived you of the fruit of the womb?” 3 And Rachel said to Jacob, “Here is my servant girl Bilhah. Go in to her, and she will bear on my knees — and I too will have children, through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 And Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor — he has listened to my voice and given me a son.” So she called his name Dan. 7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 And Rachel said, “God has helped me: I have contended with my sister, and prevailed.” And she called his name Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her servant girl Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Jacob went in to her, and Zilpah, Leah’s servant, conceived and bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “With good fortune!” And she called his name Gad. [a] 12 And Zilpah, Leah’s servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Blessed am I — for the women will call me blessed.” And she called his name Asher.

14 In the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found mandrake fruits in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to her sister Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 And Leah said, “Is it not enough that you have taken my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?” And Rachel said, “Not so — let him lie with you tonight, in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field at evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You are coming in to me tonight — for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 And Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because I gave my servant girl to my husband.” And she called his name Issachar — that is, Reward. 19 And Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 And Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. This time my husband will choose me — for I have borne him six sons.” And she called his name Zebulun. [b] 21 After this she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. [c] 22 Then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her, and opened her womb, 23 and she conceived and bore Jacob a son. And Rachel said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “Let God add another son to me.”

25 After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own place and my own land. 26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go. You know the service I have given you.” 27 And Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight — I have taken it as an omen — for God has blessed me at your coming. 28 Name me your wages, and I will pay them.” 29 And Jacob said, “You know how I have served you, and how many cattle of yours have been with me. 30 You had little before I came, and it has grown into a multitude — the Lord has blessed you since my coming. Now then: when shall I provide for my own house as well?” 31 And Laban said to him, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall give me nothing. But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending and keeping your flocks: 32 let all your sheep pass by today, and set apart every gray one among the lambs, and every speckled and spotted one among the goats — and that shall be my wages. 33 And my righteousness will answer for me tomorrow, for this is my wage before you: whatever among the goats is not spotted and speckled, and not gray among the lambs, shall count as stolen if it is found with me.” 34 And Laban said to him, “Let it be as you say.” 35 And that same day Laban set apart the spotted and speckled he-goats and all the spotted and speckled she-goats, and every white one among them, and everything gray among the lambs, and gave them into the hands of his sons. 36 And he set a distance of three days’ journey between them and Jacob. And Jacob tended the flocks of Laban that were left.

37 Then Jacob took fresh rods of storax and walnut and plane tree, and peeled white stripes in them — and as he stripped off the green, the white stripes he had cut showed banded along the rods. [d] 38 And he laid the peeled rods in the hollows of the watering troughs, so that when the flocks came to drink in front of the rods, they would breed at the rods. 39 So the flocks bred at the rods, and the flocks bore young that were speckled, and streaked, and spotted with ash-gray spots. 40 And Jacob separated out the lambs, and set before the sheep a speckled ram and every marked one among the lambs. And he kept his own droves apart, and did not mix them with Laban’s sheep. 41 Whenever the flocks were breeding, Jacob put the rods before them in the troughs, so that they would breed by the rods — 42 but whenever the flocks simply gave birth, he did not put them in — so the unmarked ones went to Laban, and the marked ones to Jacob. 43 And the man became exceedingly rich. He had many cattle, and oxen, and servants and servant girls, and camels and donkeys.