Hands-On Bible Sampler - Flipbook - Page 61
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embraced and kissed him and brought him
home. When Jacob had told him his story, 14Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and
blood!”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a
month, 15Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work
for me without pay just because we are relatives.
Tell me how much your wages should be.”
16Now Laban had two daughters. The older
daughter was named Leah, and the younger one
was Rachel. 17 There was no sparkle in Leah’s
eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a
lovely face. 18Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for
seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger
daughter, as my wife.”
19“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her
to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with
me.” 20So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it
seemed to him but a few days.
21Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I
have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban.
“Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”
22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. 23But that
night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given
Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)
25 But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it
was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob
raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel!
Why have you tricked me?”
26“It’s not our custom here to marry off a
younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban
replied. 27 “But wait until the bridal week is over;
then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you
promise to work another seven years for me.”
28So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A
week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave
him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Rachel a servant,
Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah.
He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.
Jacob’s Many Children
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he
enabled her to have children, but Rachel could
not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and
gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for
she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and
now my husband will love me.”
... Genesis 30
33 She
soon became pregnant again and gave
birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for
she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and
has given me another son.”
34Then she became pregnant a third time and
gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for
she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel
affection for me, since I have given him three
sons!”
35Once again Leah became pregnant and gave
birth to another son. She named him Judah, for
she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then
she stopped having children.
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30
When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any
children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or
I’ll die!”
2 Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am
I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you
from having children!”
3 Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children
for me, and through her I can have a family, too.”
4So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a
wife, and he slept with her. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. 6Rachel
named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me
a son.” 7 Then Bilhah became pregnant again and
gave Jacob a second son. 8Rachel named him
Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with
my sister, and I’m winning!”
9Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t
getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. 11 Leah
named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I
am!” 12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.
13And Leah named him Asher, for she said,
“What joy is mine! Now the other women will
celebrate with me.”
14One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben
found some mandrakes growing in a field and
brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel
begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s
mandrakes.”
15But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough
that you stole my husband? Now will you steal
my son’s mandrakes, too?”
Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with
you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”
16So that evening, as Jacob was coming home
