THE WORD OF ELOHIM
GENESIS
Chapter 30
When Rachel saw that she had borne Ya’akov no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Ya’akov, “Give me children or I shall die.” Ya’akov was incensed at Rachel, and said, “Can I take the place of Elohim, who has denied you fruit of the womb?” She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah, consort with her that she may bear on my knees and that through her, I too may have children.” So she gave him her maid Bilhah as concubine, and Ya’akov cohabited with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Ya’akov a son. And Rachel said, “Elohim has vindicated me; indeed, He has heeded my plea and given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan. Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Ya’akov a second son. And Rachel said, “A fateful contest I waged with my sister; yes, and I have prevailed.” So she named him Naphtali.
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Ya’akov as concubine. And when Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Ya’akov a son, Leah said, “What luck!” So she named him Gad. When Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Ya’akov a second son, Leah declared, “What fortune!” meaning, “Women will deem me fortunate.” So she named him Asher.
Once, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben came upon some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son’s mandrakes?” Rachel replied, “I promise, he shall lie with you tonight, in return for your son’s mandrakes.” When Ya’akov came home from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night. Elohim heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore him a fifth son. And Leah said, “Elohim has given me my reward, for having given my maid to my husband.” So she named him Yissaskar. When Leah conceived again and bore Ya’akov a sixth son, “Leah said, “Elohim has given me a choice gift; this time my husband will exalt me, for I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. Last, she bore him a daughter, and named her Dinah.
Now Elohim remembered Rachel; Elohim heeded her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and said, “Elohim has taken away my disgrace.” So she named him Yehoseph, which is to say, “May Yehovah add another son for me.”
After Rachel had borne Yehoseph, Ya’akov said to Laban, “Give me leave to go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you that I may go; for well you know what services I have rendered you.” But Laban said to him, “If you will indulge me, I have learned by divination that Yehovah has blessed me on your account.” And he continued, “Name the wages due from me, and I will pay you.” But he said, “You know well how I have served you and how your livestock has fared with me. For the little you had before I came, has grown to much, since Yehovah has blessed you wherever I turned. And now, when shall I make provision for my own household?” He said, “What shall I pay you?” And Ya’akov said, “Pay me nothing! If you will do this thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flocks: Let me pass through your whole flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted animal—every dark colored sheep and every spotted and speckled goat. Such shall be my wages. In the future when you go over my wages, let my honesty toward you testify for me; if there are among my goats any that are not speckled or spotted or any sheep that are not dark colored, they got there by theft.” And Laban said, “Very well, let it be as you say.”
But that same day he removed the streaked and spotted he-
Ya’akov then got fresh shoots of poplar, and of almond, and plane, and peeled white stripes in them, laying bare the white of the shoots. The rods that he had peeled he set up in front of the goats in the troughs, the water receptacles that the goats came to drink from. Their mating occurred when they came to drink, and since the goats mated by the rods, the goats brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted young. But Ya’akov dealt separately with the sheep; he made these animals face the streaked or wholly dark colored animals in Laban’s flock. And so he produced special flocks for himself, which he did not put with Laban’s flocks. Moreover, when the sturdier animals were mating, Ya’akov would place the rods in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they mated by the rods; but with the feebler animals he would not place them there. Thus the feeble ones went to Laban and the sturdy to Ya’akov. So the man grew exceedingly prosperous, and came to own large flocks, maidservants, and menservants, camels and asses.