Jacob Sent to Laban

1 Then Isaac called Jacob ^gand blessed him and directed him, ^f“You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 ^hArise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of ⁱBethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. 3 ^jGod Almighty¹ bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give ^kthe blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of ^lthe land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw ^mthat the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, ⁿMahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of ^oNebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Jacob left ^pBeersheba and went toward ^qHaran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he ^rdreamed, and behold, there was a ladder² set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, ^sthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, ^tthe Lord stood above it³ and said, ^u“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. ^vThe land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like ^wthe dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and ^xyour offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, ^yI am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and ^zwill bring you back to this land. For I will ^anot leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is ^bin this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up ^cfor a pillar ^dand poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place ^eBethel,⁴ but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob ^fmade a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 ^gso that I come again to my father’s house in peace, ^hthen the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ⁱshall be God’s house. And ^jof all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to ^kthe land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, 3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where do you come from?” They said, ^l“We are from Haran.” 5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.” 6 He said to them, “Is it well with him?” They said, “It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!” 7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them.” 8 But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

9 While he was still speaking with them, ^mRachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was ⁿher father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son, ^oand she ran and told her father.

13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, ^ohe ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14 and Laban said to him, ^p“Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak,⁵ but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, ^q“I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob ^qserved seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and ^rmade a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave^{6 s}his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 ^tComplete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 (Laban gave ^uhis female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban ^vfor another seven years.

Jacob’s Children

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was ^whated, ^xhe opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,⁷ for she said, “Because the Lord ^yhas looked 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.⁸ 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be ^zattached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.⁹ 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name ^aJudah.¹⁰ Then she ceased bearing.

1 When Rachel saw that ^bshe bore 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, “Am I in the place of God, ^cwho has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant ^dBilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth ^eon my behalf,¹¹ that even I may have children¹² through her.” 4 So she gave 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 ^fjudged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.¹³ 7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings¹⁴ I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name ^gNaphtali.¹⁵

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and ^hgave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, ⁱ“Good fortune has come!” so she called his name ⁱGad.¹⁶ 12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women ^jhave called me happy.” So she called his name Asher.¹⁷

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found ^kmandrakes 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.¹⁸

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 ^lZebulun.¹⁹ 21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God ^mremembered Rachel, and God listened to her and ⁿopened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away ^omy reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph,²⁰ saying, ^p“May the Lord add to me another son!”

Jacob’s Prosperity

25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children ^qfor whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that²¹ the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 ^rName your wages, and I will give it.” 29 Jacob said to him, ^s“You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, ^tand it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I ^uprovide for my own household also?” 31 He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and ^vthey shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” 34 Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. 36 And he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock.

37 Then ^wJacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. 38 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the ^xwatering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man ^yincreased greatly and ^zhad large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Why Do You Hide Yourself?