Vayetzei

28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 28:12 And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God ’s angels were going up and down the ladder. 28:13 And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “ I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 28:15 Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 28:16 When Jacob woke up, he thought, “ Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.” 28:17 And he was afraid and said, “ How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!” The Stone of Bethel 28:18 Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it, 28:19 and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “ If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear, 28:21 so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God. 28:22 And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God ’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”

29:1 Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 29:2 He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. 29:4 “ My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. 29:5 “Do you know Laban the grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked. “We know him,” they replied. 29:6 “ Is he well?” Jacob inquired. “ Yes,” they answered, “ and here comes his daughter Rachel with his sheep.” 29:7 “ Look,” said Jacob, “ it is still broad daylight; it is not yet time to gather the livestock. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.” 29:8 But they replied, “ We cannot, until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.” 29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 29:10 As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban ’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 29:12 He told Rachel that he was Rebekah ’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened. Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel 29:14 Then Laban declared, “ You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month, 29:15 Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 Now Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. 29:17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.

29:18 Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “ I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “ Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.” 29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her. 29:21 Finally Jacob said to Laban, “Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and I want to sleep with her.” 29:22 So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. 29:24 And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant. 29:25 When morning came, there was Leah! “ What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?” 29:26 Laban replied, “ It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older. 29:27 Finish this week ’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.” 29:28 And Jacob did just that. He finished the week ’s celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29:29 Laban also gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. 29:30 Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 29:32 And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “ The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.” 29:33 Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “ Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon. 29:34 Once again Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “ Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi. 29:35 And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “ This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children. 30:1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “ Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob. 30:2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?” 30:3 Then she said, “ Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.” 30:4 So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her, 30:5 and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son. 30:6 Then Rachel said, “ God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan. 30:7 And Rachel ’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 30:8 Then Rachel said, “ In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali. Gad and Asher 30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 And Leah ’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 30:11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. 30:12 When Leah ’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, 30:13 Leah said, “ How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

30:14 Now during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “ Please give me some of your son ’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, “ Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son ’s mandrakes as well?” “ Very well,” said Rachel, “ he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son ’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “ You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son ’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah 30:17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob. 30:18 Then Leah said, “ God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 30:19 Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 30:20 “God has given me a good gift,” she said. “ This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun. 30:21 After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. Joseph 30:22 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, 30:23 and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said. 30:24 She named him Joseph, and said, “ May the LORD add to me another son.” Jacob Prospers 30:25 Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “ Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland. 30:26 Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you, that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.” 30:27 But Laban replied, “ If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”

30:28 And he added, “ Name your wages, and I will pay them.” 30:29 Then Jacob answered, “ You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care. 30:30 Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?” 30:31 “ What can I give you?” Laban asked. “ You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks. 30:32 Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages. 30:33 So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.” 30:34 “ Agreed,” said Laban. “ Let it be as you have said.” 30:35 That very day Laban removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat — every one that had any white on it — and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons. 30:36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban ’s flocks. 30:37 Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 30:38 Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 30:39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban ’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban ’s animals. 30:41 Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. 30:43 Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. 31:1 Now Jacob heard that Laban ’s sons were saying, “ Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father ’s expense.” 31:2 And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed. 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “ Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.” 31:4 So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were, 31:5 and he told them, “ I can see from your father’s countenance that his attitude toward me has changed; but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength. 31:7 And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me. 31:8 If he said, ‘ The speckled will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, ‘ The streaked will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore streaked offspring. 31:9 Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. 31:10 When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. 31:11 In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘ Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘ Here I am.’ 31:12 ‘ Look up,’ he said, ‘ and see that all the males that are mating with the flock are streaked, spotted, or speckled; for I have seen all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up and leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’” 31:14 And Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we have any portion or inheritance left in our father’s house? 31:15 Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? Not only has he sold us, but he has certainly squandered what was paid for us. 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you.”

31:17 Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels, 31:18 and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land in Canaan. 31:19 Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols. 31:20 Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away. 31:21 So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates, and headed for the hill country of Gilead. Laban Pursues Jacob 31:22 On the third day Laban was informed that Jacob had fled. 31:23 So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “ Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” 31:25 Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well. 31:26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “ What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war! 31:27 Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps. 31:28 But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing. 31:29 I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘ Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 31:30 Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?” 31:31 “ I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “ for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. 31:32 If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols. 31:33 So Laban went into Jacob ’s tent, then Leah ’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah ’s tent and entered Rachel ’s tent. 31:34 Now Rachel had taken Laban ’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing. 31:35 Rachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols. 31:36 Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “ What is my crime?” he said. “ For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me? 31:37 You have searched all my goods! Have you found anything that belongs to you? Put it here before my brothers and yours, that they may judge between the two of us. 31:38 I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock. 31:39 I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night. 31:40 As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 31:41 Thus for twenty years I have served in your household — fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks — and you have changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.” Jacob’s Covenant with Laban

31:43 But Laban answered Jacob, “ These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne? 31:44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.” 31:45 So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar, 31:46 and he said to his relatives, “ Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. 31:48 Then Laban declared, “ This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “ May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other. 31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” 31:51 Laban also said to Jacob, “ Here is the mound, and here is the pillar I have set up between you and me. 31:52 This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me. 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. 31:55 Early the next morning, Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and daughters and blessed them. Then he left to return home. 32:1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “ This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.