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Jacob's Children
But because Jacob was slighting Leah, Jehovah let her have a child, while Rachel was barren. So Leah became pregnant and had a son, Reuben (meaning "God has noticed my trouble"), for she said, "Jehovah has noticed my trouble--now my husband will love me." She soon became pregnant again and had another son and named him Simeon (meaning "Jehovah heard"), for she said, "Jehovah heard that I was unloved, and so he has given me another son." Again she became pregnant and had a son, and named him Levi (meaning "Attachment") for she said, "Surely now my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!" Once again she was pregnant and had a son and named him Judah (meaning "Praise"), for she said, "Now I will praise Jehovah!" And then she stopped having children.
Rachel, realizing she was barren, became envious of her sister. "Give me children or I'll die," she exclaimed to Jacob.
Jacob flew into a rage. "Am I God?" he flared. "He is the one who is responsible for your barrenness."
Then Rachel told him, "Sleep with my servant-girl Bilhah, and her children will be mine." So she gave him Bilhah to be his wife, and he slept with her, and she became pregnant and presented him with a son. Rachel named him Dan (meaning Justice"), for she said, "God has given me justice, and heard my plea and given me a son." Then Bilhah, Rachel's servant-girl, became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. Rachel named him Naphtali (meaning "Wrestling"), for she said, "I am in a fierce contest with my sister and I am winning!"
Meanwhile, when Leah realized that she wasn't getting pregnant anymore, she gave her servant girl Zilpah to Jacob, to be his wife, and soon Zilpah presented him with a son. Leah named him Gad (meaning "My luck has turned!"). Then Zilpah produced a second son, and Leah named him Asher (meaning "Happy"), for she said, "What joy is mine! The other women will think me blessed indeed!"
One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel begged Leah to give some of them to her.
But Leah angrily replied, "Wasn't it enough to steal my husband? And now will you steal my son's mandrakes too?"
Rachel said sadly, "He will sleep with you tonight because of the mandrakes."
That evening as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me tonight!" she said; "for I am hiring you with some mandrakes my son has found!" So he did. And God answered her prayers and she became pregnant again, and gave birth to her fifth son. She named him Issachar (meaning "Wages"), for she said, "God has repaid me for giving my slave-girl to my husband." Then once again she became pregnant, with a sixth son. She named him Zebulun (meaning "Gifts"), for she said, "God has given me good gifts for my husband. Now he will honor me, for I have given him six sons." Afterwards she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
Then God remembered about Rachel's plight, and answered her prayers by giving her a child. For she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. "God has removed the dark slur against my name," she said. And she named him Joseph (meaning "May I also have another!"), for she said, "May Jehovah give me another son."
TEXT SOURCE:
(Genesis 29:31-35, 30:1-24) The Children's Living Bible, ©1970
Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187
TITLE SOURCE: The New Student Bible, ©1992 Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan
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