Genesis — Chapter 30
King James Version (KJV)
📖 Read the complete KJV chapter below. After verse 43, continue to 📚 Study This Chapter for explanations and memory checks.
Genesis 30:1 And Rwhen Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, RRachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
Genesis 30:2 And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, RAm I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
Genesis 30:3 And she said, RBehold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and Rshe shall bear upon my knees, that I may also Thave children by her.
Genesis 30:4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid Rto wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
Genesis 30:5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
Genesis 30:6 And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name RTDan.
Genesis 30:7 And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
Genesis 30:8 And Rachel said, With Tgreat wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name RTNaphtali.
Genesis 30:9 When Leah saw that she had Rleft bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and Rgave her Jacob to wife.
Genesis 30:10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.
Genesis 30:11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and Rshe called his name TGad.
Genesis 30:12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.
Genesis 30:13 And Leah said, THappy am I, for the daughters Rwill call me blessed: and she called his name TAsher.
Genesis 30:14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.
Genesis 30:15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.
Genesis 30:16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
Genesis 30:17 And RGod hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
Genesis 30:18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name TIssachar.
Genesis 30:19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
Genesis 30:20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; Rnow will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name TZebulun.
Genesis 30:21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, Rand called her name TDinah.
Genesis 30:22 And God Rremembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and Ropened her womb.
Genesis 30:23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath Rtaken away my reproach:
Genesis 30:24 And she called his name RTJoseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
Genesis 30:25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, RSend me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my Rcountry.
Genesis 30:26 Give me Rmy wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
Genesis 30:27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that Rthe LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
Genesis 30:28 And he said, RAppoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
Genesis 30:29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
Genesis 30:30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now Tincreased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee Tsince my coming: and now Rwhen shall I provide for mine own house also?
Genesis 30:31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:
Genesis 30:32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and Rof such shall be my hire.
Genesis 30:33 So shall my Rrighteousness answer for me Tin time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
Genesis 30:34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
Genesis 30:35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Genesis 30:36 And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
Genesis 30:37 And RJacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
Genesis 30:38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
Genesis 30:39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and Rbrought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
Genesis 30:40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.
Genesis 30:41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
Genesis 30:42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
Genesis 30:43 And the man Rincreased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 30:1–13 — Bilhah and Zilpah Bear Sons
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Rachel, distressed that she had no children, gave Bilhah to Jacob. Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. Leah later gave Zilpah to Jacob, and Zilpah bore Gad and Asher.
Key Truth: The growing family of Jacob included sons born through Bilhah and Zilpah.
Check What You Remember
1. Who was Rachel’s maid? (Genesis 30:3)
Find it in Genesis 30:3 (KJV).
2. What was Bilhah’s first son named? (Genesis 30:6)
Find it in Genesis 30:6 (KJV).
3. What was Bilhah’s second son named? (Genesis 30:8)
Find it in Genesis 30:8 (KJV).
4. Who was Leah’s maid? (Genesis 30:9)
Find it in Genesis 30:9 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 30:14–24 — Leah’s Children and Joseph Is Born
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Leah bore Issachar and Zebulun and later Dinah. God remembered Rachel, hearkened to her, and opened her womb. Rachel bore Joseph and expressed hope for another son.
Key Truth: Genesis explicitly credits God with hearing Rachel and opening her womb.
Check What You Remember
1. What did Reuben find in the field? (Genesis 30:14)
Find it in Genesis 30:14 (KJV).
2. What was Leah’s daughter named? (Genesis 30:21)
Find it in Genesis 30:21 (KJV).
3. Whom did God remember and hear? (Genesis 30:22)
Find it in Genesis 30:22 (KJV).
4. What did Rachel name her son? (Genesis 30:24)
Find it in Genesis 30:24 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Genesis 30:25–43 — Jacob’s Flocks Increase
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
After Joseph’s birth Jacob asked to return to his own country. Laban acknowledged that the LORD had blessed him for Jacob’s sake. Jacob arranged wages involving marked animals, and his possessions increased exceedingly.
Key Truth: Jacob’s years of service resulted in a large household and many livestock.
Check What You Remember
1. Where did Jacob ask to return? (Genesis 30:25)
Find it in Genesis 30:25 (KJV).
2. Who said the LORD had blessed him for Jacob’s sake? (Genesis 30:27)
Find it in Genesis 30:27 (KJV).
3. How many days’ journey separated Laban and Jacob? (Genesis 30:36)
Find it in Genesis 30:36 (KJV).
4. To whom did the stronger cattle belong? (Genesis 30:42)
Find it in Genesis 30:42 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What contrast does Jacob draw when Rachel demands children from him?
2. What exchange do Rachel and Leah agree upon concerning Reuben’s mandrakes?
3. Which progression does the text explicitly give before Joseph is named?
4. How do Laban’s and Jacob’s words connect the growth of the household’s livestock with Jacob’s wish for his own household?
5. What division of the cattle does verse 42 give after Jacob’s actions in verses 41–42?
Notes
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