Study Desk

and said, "God has given me what I paid for, because I gave my slave girl to my husband." So Leah named her son Issachar.

Then God remembered Rachel and answered her prayer, making it possible for her to have children.

Give me my wives and my children and let me go. I have earned them by working for you, and you know that I have served you well."

Jacob answered, "You know that I have worked hard for you, and your flocks have grown while I cared for them.

When I came, you had little, but now you have much. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. But when will I be able to do something for my own family?"

You both know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father,

He has treated us like strangers. He sold us to you, and then he spent all of the money you paid for us.

If you find anyone here who has taken your idols, that person will be killed! Your relatives will be my witnesses. You may look for anything that belongs to you and take anything that is yours." (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban's idols.)

I have worked for you now for twenty years. During all that time none of the lambs and kids died during birth, and I have not eaten any of the male sheep from your flocks.

Any time an animal was killed by wild beasts, I did not bring it to you, but made up for the loss myself. You made me pay for any animal that was stolen during the day or night.

I worked like a slave for you for twenty years—the first fourteen to get your two daughters and the last six to earn your flocks. During that time you changed my pay ten times.

Jacob stayed there for the night and prepared a gift for Esau from what he had with him:

But Jacob went to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his animals. That is why the place was named Succoth.

He bought a part of the field where he had camped from the sons of Hamor father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver.

He told his father, Hamor, "Please get this girl for me so I can marry her."

When Jacob's sons heard what had happened, they came in from the field. They were very angry that Shechem had done such a wicked thing to Israel. It was wrong for him to have sexual relations with Jacob's daughter; a thing like this should not be done.

Marry our people. Give your women to our men as wives and take our women for your men as wives.

Ask as much as you want for the payment for the bride, and I will give it to you. Just let me marry Dinah."

"These people want to be friends with us. So let them live in our land and trade here. There is enough land for all of us. Let us marry their women, and we can let them marry our women.

Jacob's sons came upon the dead bodies and stole everything that was in the city, to pay them back for what Shechem had done to their sister.