Study Desk

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."

But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! "What have you done to me?" Jacob raged at Laban. "I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?"

"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."

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.

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."

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."

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!"

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.

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!"

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."

Rachel named him Dan, for she said, "God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son."

Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, "I have struggled hard with my sister, and I'm winning!"

Leah named him Gad, for she said, "How fortunate I am!"

And Leah named him Asher, for she said, "What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me."

So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You must come and sleep with me tonight!" she said. "I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found." So that night he slept with Leah.

And God answered Leah's prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

She named him Issachar, for she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife."

Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.

She named him Zebulun, for she said, "God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons."

And she named him Joseph, for she said, "May the Lord add yet another son to my family."