Daily Bread

Jacob’s Children

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved,^(A) he enabled her to conceive,^(B) but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.^(C) She named him Reuben,^[a](D) for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery.^(E) Surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved,^(F) he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.^[b](G)

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me,^(H) because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.^[c](I)

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.^[d](J) Then she stopped having children.^(K)

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children,^(L) she became jealous of her sister.^(M) So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

² Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God,^(N) who has kept you from having children?”^(O)

³ Then she said, “Here is Bilhah,^(P) my servant.^(Q) Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”^(R)

⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife.^(S) Jacob slept with her,^{(T) 5} and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me;^(U) he has listened to my plea and given me a son.”^(V) Because of this she named him Dan.^[e](W)

⁷ Rachel’s servant Bilhah^(X) conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”^(Y) So she named him Naphtali.^[f](Z)

⁹ When Leah^(AA) saw that she had stopped having children,^(AB) she took her servant Zilpah^(AC) and gave her to Jacob as a wife.^{(AD) 10} Leah’s servant Zilpah^(AE) bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”^[g] So she named him Gad.^[h](AF)

¹² Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me^(AG) happy.”^(AH) So she named him Asher.^[i](AI)

¹⁴ During wheat harvest,^(AJ) Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants,^(AK) which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough^(AL) 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.”^(AM)

¹⁶ So 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.”^(AN) So he slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah,^(AO) and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.”^(AP) So she named him Issachar.^[j](AQ)

¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor,^(AR) because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.^[k](AS)

²¹ Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.^(AT)

²² Then God remembered Rachel;^(AU) he listened to her^(AV) and enabled her to conceive.^{(AW) 23} She became pregnant and gave birth to a son^(AX) and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”^{(AY) 24} She named him Joseph,^[l](AZ) and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”^(BA)