Genesis 30:1-13 ▼

1 Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, |If you don't give me sons, I'm going to die!|

2 That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, |Can I take God's place, who has not allowed you to conceive?|

3 Rachel responded, |Here's my handmaid Bilhah. Go have sex with her. She can bear children on my knees so I can have children through her.|

4 So Rachel gave Jacob her woman servant Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob had sex with her.

5 Bilhah conceived and bore a son for Jacob.

6 Then Rachel said, |God has vindicated me! He has heard my voice and has given me a son.| Therefore, she named him Dan.

7 Rachel's servant conceived again and bore a second son for Jacob,

8 so Rachel said, |I've been through a mighty struggle with my sister and won.| She named him Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her woman servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10 Leah's servant Zilpah bore a son to Jacob,

11 and Leah exclaimed, |How fortunate!| So she named him Gad.

12 Later, Leah's servant Zilpah bore a second son for Jacob.

13 She said, |How happy I am, because women will call me happy!| So she named him Asher.