Study Desk

So Jacob worked for Laban seven years so he could marry Rachel. But they seemed like just a few days to him because he loved Rachel very much.

After seven years Jacob said to Laban, "Give me Rachel so that I may marry her. The time I promised to work for you is over."

So Laban gave a feast for all the people there.

In the morning when Jacob saw that he had had sexual relations with Leah, he said to Laban, "What have you done to me? I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel! Why did you trick me?"

So Jacob did this, and when he had completed the week with Leah, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

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

Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon and said, "The Lord has heard that I am not loved, so he has given me this son."

Then Rachel said, "Here is my slave girl Bilhah. Have sexual relations with her so she can give birth to a child for me. Then I can have my own family through her."

So Rachel gave Bilhah, her slave girl, to Jacob as a wife, and he had sexual relations with her.

Rachel said, "God has judged me innocent. He has listened to my prayer and has given me a son," so she named him Dan.

Rachel said, "I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won." So she named that son Naphtali.

Leah saw that she had stopped having children, so she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

Leah said, "I am lucky," so she named him Gad.

and Leah said, "I am very happy! Now women will call me happy," so she named him Asher.

When Jacob came in from the field that night, Leah went out to meet him. She said, "You will have sexual relations with me tonight because I have paid for you with my son's mandrakes." So Jacob slept with her that night.

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.

She said, "God has given me a fine gift. Now surely Jacob will honor me, because I have given him six sons," so she named him Zebulun.

So Jacob cut green branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them.

so the flocks mated in front of the branches. Then the young that were born were streaked, speckled, or spotted.

When the stronger animals in the flock were mating, Jacob put the branches before their eyes so they would mate near the branches.