Genesis 30:1-18 ▼

1 Then Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, so she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.”

2 Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

3 And she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah, go in to her that she may bear on my knees, that through her I too may obtain children.”

4 So she gave him her servant-woman Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.

5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6 Then Rachel said, “God has rendered justice to me and has indeed listened to my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.

7 And Rachel’s servant-woman Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8 So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

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

10 And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

12 And Leah’s servant-woman Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

13 Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14 And in the days of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 Then Jacob came in from the field in the evening. And Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So 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 wages because I gave my servant-woman to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.