30 Now Sarai was ^jbarren; ^kshe had no child.

The Birth of Isaac

1 The Lord ^svisited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah ^tas he had promised. 2 ^uAnd ^vSarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age ^wat the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham ^xcalled the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.¹ 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, ^yas God had commanded him. 5 ^zAbraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made ^alaughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was ^mbarren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

Jacob’s Children

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was ^khated, ^lhe opened her womb, but Rachel was ^mbarren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,¹ for she said, “Because the Lord has ⁿlooked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.² 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.³ 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah.⁴ Then she ceased bearing.

1 When Rachel saw that she ^obore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, ^p“Am I in the place of God, ^qwho has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf,⁵ that even I may have children^{6 r}through her.” 4 So she ^sgave him her servant 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 judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.⁷ 7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings⁸ I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.⁹

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.¹⁰ 12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have ^tcalled me happy.” So she called his name Asher.¹¹

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found ^umandrakes 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 that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have 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 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.¹²

19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.¹³ 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God ^vremembered Rachel, and ^wGod listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has ^xtaken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph,¹⁴ saying, ^y“May the Lord add to me another son!”

Judah and Tamar

1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah¹ was in Chezib when she bore him.

6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 ^uBut Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and ^vperform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, ^w“Remain a widow in your father’s house, ^xtill Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.

12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was ^ycomforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s garments and ^zcovered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his ^adaughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a ^byoung goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” 18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. 21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute² who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’” 23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”

24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral.³ Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”⁴ And Judah said, “Bring her out, and ^clet her be burned.” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please ^didentify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” 26 Then Judah identified them and said, ^e“She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

27 ^fWhen the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez.⁵ 30 ^gAfterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.