Israel

Ya'akov awoke from his sleep and said, "Truly, ADONAI is in this place - and I didn't know it!"

Ya'akov got up early in the morning, took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a standing-stone, poured olive oil on its top

Ya'akov took this vow: "If God will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear,

Continuing his journey, Ya'akov came to the land of the people of the east.

Ya'akov said to them, "My brothers, where are you from?" They answered, "We're from Haran."

When Ya'akov saw Rachel the daughter of Lavan his mother's brother, and the sheep of Lavan his mother's brother, Ya'akov went up and rolled the stone away from the opening of the well and watered the flock of Lavan his mother's brother.

Ya'akov kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

Ya'akov told Rachel that he was her father's relative, and that he was Rivkah's son; and she ran and told her father.

When Lavan heard the news of Ya'akov his sister's son, he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Ya'akov told Lavan all that had happened.

Lavan said to him, "Why should you work for me for nothing, just because you are my relative? Tell me how much I should pay you."

Ya'akov had fallen in love with Rachel and said, "I will work for you seven years in exchange for Rachel your younger daughter."

So Ya'akov worked seven years for Rachel, and it seemed only a few days to him, because he was so much in love with her.

Ya'akov said to Lavan, "Give me my wife, since my time is finished, so that I can start living with her."

Ya'akov agreed to this, so he finished her week, and Lavan gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing children for Ya'akov, she envied her sister and said to Ya'akov, "Give me children, or I will die!"

This made Ya'akov angry at Rachel; he answered, "Am I in God's place? He's the one who is denying you children."

So she gave him Bilhah her slave-girl as his wife, and Ya'akov went in and slept with her.

Bilhah conceived and bore Ya'akov a son.

Bilhah Rachel's slave-girl conceived again and bore Ya'akov a second son.

When Le'ah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah her slave-girl and gave her to Ya'akov as his wife.

Zilpah Le'ah's slave-girl bore Ya'akov a son;

Zilpah Le'ah's slave-girl bore Ya'akov a second son;

When Ya'akov came in from the field in the evening, Le'ah went out to meet him and said, "You have to come and sleep with me, because I've hired you with my son's mandrakes." So Ya'akov slept with her that night.

God listened to Le'ah, and she conceived and bore Ya'akov a fifth son.

Le'ah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Ya'akov.