The One Year Chronological Study Bible - Flipbook - Page 44
page 40
GENESIS 29:14b-30
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a
month, 15 Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work
for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”
16 Now 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. 18 Since 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.” 20 So 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.
21 Finally, 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. 23 But 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
EXODUS
PATRIARCH
PATRIARCH
CREATION
14b
Jacob’s Many Children • GENESIS 29:31–30:24
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.”
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.”
34 Then 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!”
35 Once 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.
30:1 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.”
4 So 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. 6 Rachel
29:17 Or Leah had dull eyes, or Leah had soft eyes. The meaning of the
Hebrew is uncertain. 29:32 Reuben means “Look, a son!” It also sounds
like the Hebrew for “He has seen my misery.” 29:33 Simeon probably
means “one who hears.” 29:34 Levi sounds like a Hebrew term that
means “being attached” or “feeling affection for.” 29:35 Judah is
related to the Hebrew term for “praise.” 30:3 Hebrew bear children
on my knees.
DIVIDED
KINGDOM
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel •
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.”
28 So 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.) 30 So Jacob slept
with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more
than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban
the additional seven years.
KINGDOM
too early to round up the animals. Why don’t
you water the sheep and goats so they can get
back out to pasture?”
8 “We can’t water the animals until all the
flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the
shepherds move the stone from the mouth of
the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.”
9 Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she
was a shepherd. 10And because Rachel was his
cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s
brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to
the well and moved the stone from its mouth
and watered his uncle’s flock. 11 Then Jacob
kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. 12 He explained
to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s
side—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel
quickly ran and told her father, Laban.
13As soon as Laban heard that his nephew
Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home.
When Jacob had told him his story, 14a Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!”
JUDGES
•
CONQUEST
JANUARY 10
