1 Vendo Raquel que não dava filhos a Jacó, teve inveja da sua irmã e disse a Jacó: Dá-me filhos, ou senão morro.2 Então se acendeu a ira de Jacó contra Raquel, e perguntou: Acaso estou eu em lugar de Deus, que te há negado o fruto do ventre?3 Respondeu ela: Eis a minha serva Bila recebe-a por mulher; para que ela dê à luz sobre os meus joelhos, e eu também seja dela edificada.4 Assim lhe deu a Bila, sua serva, por mulher, e Jacó esteve com ela.5 Concebeu Bila e deu à luz um filho a Jacó.6 Então disse Raquel: Julgou-me Deus e também ouviu a minha voz e deu-me um filho; portanto lhe chamou Dã.7 Concebeu outra vez Bila, serva de Raquel, e deu à luz um segundo filho a Jacó.8 Disse Raquel: Com grandes lutas tenho lutado com minha irmã, e tenho prevalecido; e chamou-lhe Naftali.9 Vendo Lia que ela tinha cessado de ter filhos, tomou a Zilpa, sua serva e deu-a a Jacó por mulher.10 Zilpa, serva de Lia, deu a Jacó um filho.11 Disse Lia: Afortunada! e chamou-lhe Gade.12 Depois Zilpa, serva de Lia, deu a Jacó um segundo filho.13 Então disse Lia: Feliz sou eu! pois as filhas me chamarão feliz; e chamou-lhe Aser.14 Foi Rúben nos dias da ceifa do trigo e achou mandrágoras no campo, e trouxe-as a Lia, sua mãe. Então disse Raquel a Lia: Dá-me das mandrágoras de teu filho.15 Respondeu-lhe Lia: Porventura é pouca coisa teres-me tirado meu marido? queres tirar também as mandrágoras de meu filho? Prosseguiu Raquel: Portanto ele se deitará contigo esta noite pelas mandrágoras de teu filho.16 Vindo Jacó do campo à tarde, saiu-lhe Lia ao encontro e disse: Hás de dormir comigo, porque certamente te aluguei pelas mandrágoras de meu filho. E com ela deitou-se Jacó aquela noite.17 Ouviu Deus a Lia, e ela concebeu e deu a Jacó um quinto filho.18 Então disse Lia: Deus deu-me o meu pago, porque dei a minha serva a meu marido; e chamou-lhe Issacar.19 Concebendo Lia outra vez, deu a Jacó um sexto filho.20 E disse: Deus tem-me dado um bom dote; desta vez morará comigo meu marido, porque lhe tenho dado seis filhos: e chamou-lhe Zebulom.21 Depois disto deu à luz uma filha, e chamou-lhe Diná.22 Lembrou-se Deus de Raquel, ouviu-a e fê-la fecunda.23 Ela concebeu, deu à luz um filho e disse: Tirou-me Deus o opróbrio;24 e chamou-lhe José, dizendo: Dê-me Jeová ainda outro filho.25 Tendo Raquel dado à luz a José, disse Jacó a Labão: Despede-me para que eu vá ao meu lugar e à minha terra.26 Dá-me minhas mulheres e meus filhos, pelos quais te hei servido, e deixa-me ir; pois tu sabes o meu serviço, com que te hei servido.27 Respondeu-lhe Labão: Se tenho achado graça aos teus olhos, fica comigo; pois tenho alcançado por experiência que Deus me abençoou por amor de ti.28 Proseguir: Determina-me o teu salário, que to darei.29 Respondeu-lhe Jacó: Tu sabes como te hei servido, e como tem passado o teu gado comigo.30 Porque era pouca coisa que tinhas antes da minha vinda, e tem-se multiplicado em multidão; Jeová te há abençoado por onde quer que eu fui. Agora, pois, quando farei eu provisão também para minha casa?31 Perguntou-lhe Labão: Que te darei? Respondeu-lhe Jacó: Não me darás nada; se me fizeres isto tornarei a apascentar o teu rebanho e guardá-lo.32 Passarei hoje por todo o teu rebanho, separando dele os salpicados e malhados, e todos os que são negros entre as ovelhas e todos os malhados e salpicados entre as cabras; e isso será o meu salário.33 Assim responderá por mim a minha justiça, no dia de amanhã, quando vieres ver o meu salário, que está diante de ti; todo o que não for salpicado e malhado entre as cabras e negro entre as ovelhas, esse, se for achado comigo, será tido por furtado.34 Disse Labão: Oxalá que seja conforme a tua palavra.35 Ele separou naquele mesmo dia os bodes listrados e malhados e todas as cabras salpicadas e malhadas, todos que tinham algum branco e todos os negros entre as ovelhas, e os entregou às mãos de seus filhos;36 pôs o espaço de três dias de jornada entre si e Jacó, e Jacó apascentava o restante dos rebanhos de Labão.37 Jacó tomou umas varas verdes de álamo, de aveleira e de plátano; e descascando-as em riscas brancas, fez aparecer o branco que nelas havia.38 As varas que descascara pôs em frente dos rebanhos no fundo dos tanques de água aonde vinham a beber, e conceberam quando vinham a beber.39 Os rebanhos concebiam diante das varas, e pariam listrados, salpicados e malhados.40 Separou Jacó os cordeiros, e fez os rebanhos olhar para os listrados e para os negros do rebanho de Labão; pôs o seu rebanho à parte, e não o ajuntou ao rebanho de Labão.41 Todas as vezes que concebiam as ovelhas fortes, punha Jacó as varas diante dos olhos do rebanho no fundo dos tanques para que concebessem entre as varas;42 mas, quando o rebanho era fraco, não as punha: assim as fracas eram de Labão, e as fortes de Jacó.43 O homem aumentou sobremaneira as suas posses e teve grandes rebanhos, servos, servas, camelos e jumentos.

1 Rachel had not borne Jacob any children. As a result, she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob: »Give me children, or I will die.«2 Jacob became angry with Rachel. He said: »I cannot take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children.«3 She said: »Here is my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. This way I can become a mother through her.«4 Then Rachel let Jacob marry Bilhah. Jacob slept with Bilhah.5 They had a son.6 Rachel named him Dan, because she said: »God has answered my prayers. He has vindicated me and given me a son.«7 Bilhah and Jacob had a second son.8 Rachel said: »I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won!« So she named the boy Naphtali.9 When Leah realized she could not have any more children, she let Jacob marry her servant Zilpah.10 They had a son.11 Leah said: »How fortunate. She called him Gad.«12 Leah’s slave Zilpah gave birth to her second son for Jacob.13 Leah said: »I am happy, for women will call me blessed. So she named him Asher.«14 During the wheat harvest Reuben went out into the fields. He found some mandrake plants. He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah: »Please, give me some of your son’s mandrake plants.«15 Leah replied: »Is it not enough that you took my husband? Are you also going to take my son’s mandrake plants?« Rachel responded: »Very well, Jacob can go to bed with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrake plants.«16 Jacob came in from the fields that evening. Leah went out to meet him. »You are to sleep with me,« she said. »You are my reward for my son’s mandrake plants.« So he went to bed with her that night.17 God answered Leah’s prayer. She became pregnant and gave birth to her fifth son for Jacob.18 Leah said: »God has given me my reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.« So she named him Issachar.19 She became pregnant again and gave birth to her sixth son for Jacob.20 Leah said: »God has presented me with a wonderful gift. This time my husband will honor me, because I have given him six sons.« So she named him Zebulun.21 Later she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.22 Then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb.23 So she conceived and gave birth to a son. She said: »God has taken away my reproach.«24 She named him Joseph. She said: »May Jehovah give me another son.«25 When Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban: »Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country.26 »Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you. Let me depart. For you know how much service I have done for you.«27 But Laban said: »If now it pleases you, stay with me. I have observed that Jehovah has blessed me on your account.«28 He continued: »Name your wages, and I will pay.«29 Jacob responded: »You know how much work I have done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care.30 »The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. Jehovah has blessed you wherever I have been. When may I do something for my own family?«31 Laban asked: »What should I give you?« Jacob answered: »Do not give me anything. Instead, do something for me. Then I will go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again.32 »Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled and spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted and speckled goat. They will be my wages.33 »My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that is not speckled or spotted or any lamb that is not black will be considered stolen.«34 Laban answered: »I agree; we will do as you have said.«35 Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats every one with white on it, and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them that same day.36 They moved away from Jacob with this flock as far as he could travel in three days. Jacob took care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.37 Jacob took green branches of poplar storax, almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them.38 He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink.39 So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.40 Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban’s flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban’s.41 When the strongest of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods.42 When the flock was feeble, he did not put them in. That way the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.43 He became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.