1And Rachel having perceived that she bore Jacob no children, was jealous of her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children; and if not, I shall die.

2And Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said to her, Am I in the place of God, who has deprived thee of the fruit of the womb?

3And Rachel said to Jacob, Behold my handmaid Balla, go in to her, and she shall bear upon my knees, and I also shall have children by her.

4And she gave him Balla her maid, for a wife to him; and Jacob went in to her.

5And Balla, Rachel's maid, conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

6And Rachel said, God has given judgment for me, and hearkened to my voice, and has given me a son; therefore she called his name, Dan.

7And Balla, Rachel's maid, conceived yet again, and bore a second son to Jacob.

8And Rachel said, God has helped me, and I contended with my sister and prevailed; and she called his name, Nephthalim.

9And Lea saw that she ceased from bearing, and she took Zelpha her maid, and gave her to Jacob for a wife; and he went in to her.

10And Zelpha the maid of Lea conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

11And Lea said, It is happily: and she called his name, Gad.

12And Zelpha the maid of Lea conceived yet again, and bore Jacob a second son.

13And Lea said, I am blessed, for the women will pronounce me blessed; and she called his name, Aser.

14And Ruben went in the day of barley-harvest, and found apples of mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Lea; and Rachel said to Lea her sister, Give me of thy son's mandrakes.

15And Lea said, Is it not enough for thee that thou hast taken my husband, wilt thou also take my son's mandrakes? And Rachel said, Not so: let him lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes.

16And Jacob came in out of the field at even; and Lea went forth to meet him, and said, Thou shalt come in to me this day, for I have hired thee for my son's mandrakes; and he lay with her that night.

17And God hearkened to Lea, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18And Lea said, God has given me my reward, because I gave my maid to my husband; and she called his name Issachar, which is, Reward.

19And Lea conceived again, and bore Jacob a sixth son.

20And Lea said, God has given me a good gift in this time; my husband will choose me, for I have born him six sons: and she called his name, Zabulon.

21And after this she bore a daughter; and she called her name, Dina.

22And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and he opened her womb.

23And she conceived, and bore Jacob a son; and Rachel said, God has taken away my reproach.

24And she called his name Joseph, saying, Let God add to me another son.

25And it came to pass when Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my place and to my land.

26Restore my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart, for thou knowest the service wherewith I have served thee.

27And Laban said to him, If I have found grace in thy sight, ¹²¹I would augur well, for the Lord has blessed me at thy coming in.

28Appoint ¹²²me thy wages, and I will give them.

29And Jacob said, Thou knowest in what things I have served thee, and how many cattle of thine are with me.

30For it was little thou hadst before my time, and it is increased to a multitude, and the Lord God has blessed thee ¹²³since my coming; now then, when shall I set up also my own house?

31And Laban said to him, What shall I give thee? and Jacob said to him, Thou shalt not give me anything; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again tend thy flocks and keep them.

32Let all thy sheep pass by to-day, and separate thence every grey sheep among the rams, and every one that is speckled and spotted among the goats—this shall be my reward.

33And my righteousness shall ¹²⁴answer for me on the morrow, for it is my reward before thee: whatever shall not be spotted and speckled among the goats, and grey among the rams, shall be stolen with me.

34And Laban said to him, Let it be according to thy word.

35And he separated in that day the spotted and speckled he-goats, and all the spotted and speckled she-goats, and all that was grey among the rams, and every one that was white among them, and he gave them into the hand of his sons.

36And he set a distance of a three days' journey between them ¹²⁵and Jacob. And Jacob tended the cattle of Laban that were left behind.

37And Jacob took to himself green rods of storax tree and walnut and plane-tree; and Jacob peeled in them white stripes; and as ¹²⁶he drew off the green, the white stripe which he had made appeared alternate on the rods.

38And he laid the rods which he had peeled, in the hollows of the watering-troughs, that whensoever the cattle should come to drink, as they should have come to drink before the rods, the cattle might conceive at the rods.

39So the cattle conceived at the rods, and the cattle brought forth young speckled, and streaked and spotted with ash-coloured spots.

40And Jacob separated the lambs, and set before the sheep a speckled ram, and every variegated one among the lambs, and he separated flocks for himself alone, and did not mingle them with the sheep of Laban.

41And it came to pass in the time wherein the cattle became pregnant, conceiving in the belly, Jacob put the rods before the cattle in the troughs, that they might conceive by the rods. ¹²⁷

42But he did not put them in indiscriminately whenever the cattle happened to bring forth, but the unmarked ones were Laban's, and the marked ones Jacob's.

43And the man became very rich, and he had many cattle, and oxen, and servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.