Genesis: A New Translation of the Classic Biblical Stories by Stephen Mitchell

Author:Stephen Mitchell [Mitchell, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062034939
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1996-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Birth of Jacobs Children

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And when the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, He Has Seen My Suffering, for she said, “Surely the Lord has seen my suffering; now my husband will love me.”

And when Rachel found that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she grew jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”

And Jacob lost his patience with Rachel, and he said, “Do you think that I am God, who has denied you the fruit of the womb?”

And she said, “Here is my slave Bilhah: sleep with her, and I will adopt her children when she gives birth, so that through her I too may have children.” And she gave him her maid Bilhah as a concubine. And Jacob slept with her, and Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. And Rachel said, “God has vindicated me: he has heard my prayer and given me a son.” So she named him Dan, He Has Vindicated.

One day, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to Leah, “Please, give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

And Leah said, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? And now you want my son’s mandrakes too!”

And Rachel said, “All right: give me the mandrakes and I will let him sleep with you tonight.”

And when Jacob came home from the fields in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and she said, “Tonight you are coming to my tent: I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. And she conceived and bore Jacob a son. And Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because of what I gave my sister for my husband.” So she named him Issachar, He Has Rewarded.

Then God remembered Rachel and opened her womb. And she conceived and gave birth to a son; and she said, “God has taken away my humiliation.” So she named him Joseph, He Has Taken Away.

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