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Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
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and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram.
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Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran.
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When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
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Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it.
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Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear
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Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram
Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.
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Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?” “We’re from Harran,” they replied.
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Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?” “Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”
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When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
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Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud.
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As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things.
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Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month,
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Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”
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So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
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Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”
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But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her.
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When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”
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And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
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Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
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Jacob’s Children
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
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When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
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Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
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So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,
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Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
