Genesis 29:1-35
29 * And Jacob trudged on, and came to the country of the Eastern Beduins.
2 And he saw there was a well out on the range, and that there were three flocks of sheep lying down by it, because they watered the flocks out of that well; and the stone was a great one on the mouth of the well,
3 and all the flocks would come together there and they would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.
4 And Jacob said to them “Where are you from, brothers?” and they said “We are from Harran.”
5 And he said to them “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” and they said “Yes.”
6 And he said to them “Is he doing well?” and they said “Yes, and there is his daughter Rachel coming with the sheep.”
7 And he said “Here it is broad daylight still, it is not time for the stock to come together: water the sheep and go pasture”;
8 and they said “We cannot until all the flocks come together and they roll the stone off the mouth of the well and we water the sheep.”
9 He was still talking with them when Rachel came with the sheep that belonged to her father, because she was shepherdess;
10 and when Jacob saw his uncle Laban’s daughter Rachel and his uncle Laban’s sheep, Jacob went up and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep.
11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept;
12 and Jacob told Rachel he was her father’s brother, because he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.
13 And when Laban heard the news about his nephew Jacob he ran to meet him and hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house.
14 And he told Laban the story of all these things; and Laban said to him “Why, you are my own flesh and blood!” and he stayed with him a month.
15 And Laban said to Jacob “Because you are my brother should you serve me for nothing? tell me what pay you will have.”
16 And Laban had two daughters, the elder named Leah and the younger named Rachel;
17 and Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was a beauty in form and feature;
18 and Jacob fell in love with Rachel, and said “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 And Laban said “It will be better for me to give her to you than to some other husband; stay with me.”
20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel and it seemed a few days to him, he loved her so.
21 And Jacob said to Laban “Give me my wife, because the time is up, and let me go in to her.”
22 And Laban brought together all the men of the place and gave a drinking-party,
23 and in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him, and he went in to her;
24 and Laban gave her, his daughter Leah, his maid Zilpah for a maid.
25 And in the morning he found it was Leah; and he said to Laban “What is this you have done to me? I served with you for Rachel, didn’t I? and why have you played this trick on me?”
26 And Laban said “Such a thing is never done in our place, to marry off the younger before the elder.
27 Complete this one’s week and I will give you that one too for the work you are to do for me seven years more.”
28 And Jacob did so and completed that one’s week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife;
29 and Laban gave his daughter Rachel his maid Bilhah for her maid.
30 * And he went in to Rachel too, and loved Rachel better than Leah, and he served with him seven years more.
31 And Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, and opened her womb, while Rachel was barren.
32 ** And Leah became pregnant and bore a son and named him Reuben, because she thought “Jehovah has raah beʽonyi, looked upon my wretched state; for now my husband will love me.”
33 And she became pregnant again and bore a son and thought “Because Jehovah has shamaʽ, heard, that I am hated, he has given me this one too,” and named him Shimʽon, Simeon.
34 And she became pregnant again and bore a son and thought “Now this time my husband will be levu, united, to me because I have borne him three sons”; consequently she named him Levi.
35 And she became pregnant again and bore a son and thought “This time I will hodah, thank, Jehovah”; consequently she named him Jehudah, Judah. And she stopped bearing.
Footnotes
^ 29:1 Lit. took up his feet and went to the country
^ 29:30 Var. loved Rachel too better
^ 29:32 Var. Reubel
^ 29:32 Lit. thought “Because Jehovah has
