Study Desk

Esau prepared the food in the special way his father loved. He brought it to his father and said, "Father, I am your son. Get up and eat the meat from the animals that I killed for you. Then you can bless me."

Esau said, "His name is Jacob. That is the right name for him. He has tricked me twice. He took away my rights as the firstborn son. And now he has taken away my blessing." Then Esau said, "Have you saved any blessing for me?"

Isaac answered, "I have already given Jacob the power to rule over you. And I said all his brothers would be his servants. I have given him the blessing for much grain and wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son."

Rebekah heard about Esau's plan to kill Jacob. She sent for Jacob and said to him, "Listen, your brother Esau is planning to kill you.

Stay with him for a short time until your brother stops being angry.

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "Your son Esau married Hittite women. I am very upset about this, because they are not our people. I'll have nothing to live for if Jacob marries one of these women!"

I am setting this stone up as a memorial stone. It will show that this is a holy place for God, and I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me."

Jacob said, "Look, it is still day and long before the sun sets. It is not yet time for the animals to be gathered together for the night. So give them water and let them go back into the field."

Then Laban said, "This is wonderful! You are from my own family." So Jacob stayed with Laban for a month.

One day Laban said to Jacob, "You are a relative of mine. It is not right for you to continue working for me without pay. What should I pay you?"

Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, "I will work seven years for you if you will allow me to marry your daughter Rachel."

Laban said, "It would be better for her to marry you than someone else. So stay with me."

So Jacob stayed and worked for Laban for seven years. But it seemed like a very short time because he loved Rachel very much.

After seven years Jacob said to Laban, "Give me Rachel so that I can marry her. My time of work for you is finished."

So Laban gave a party for all the people in that place.

In the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah he had slept with, and he said to Laban, "You have tricked me. I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel. Why did you trick me?"

Continue for the full week of the marriage ceremony, and I will also give you Rachel to marry. But you must serve me another seven years."

So Jacob had sexual relations with Rachel also. And Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.

The Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, so he made it possible for Leah to have children. But Rachel did not have any children.

Then Rachel said, "You can have my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her, and she will have a child for me. Then I can be a mother through her."