Study Desk

He told her that he was from her father's family. He told her that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father.

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

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?"

So Jacob did this and finished the week. Then 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.

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.

Leah gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben. She named him this because she said, "The Lord has seen my troubles. My husband does not love me. So now maybe my husband will love me."

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

Rachel saw that she was not giving Jacob any children. She became jealous of her sister Leah. So Rachel said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I will die!"

So Rachel gave Bilhah to her husband Jacob. He had sexual relations with Bilhah.

Rachel said, "God has listened to my prayer. He decided to give me a son." So she named this son Dan.

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

Leah saw that she could have no more children. So she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob.

Leah said, "I am lucky." So she named the son Gad.

Leah said, "I am very happy! Now women will call me happy." So she named that son Asher.