When the dove returned to him in the evening, there was a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak! Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

(Now Laban had two daughters; the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel.

Leah's eyes were tender, but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.)

In the evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and Jacob had marital relations with her.

(Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)

In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What in the world have you done to me! Didn't I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked me?"

Jacob did as Laban said. When Jacob completed Leah's bridal week, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

Jacob had marital relations with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban for seven more years.

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to become pregnant while Rachel remained childless.

So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now."

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

Soon Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son.

Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad.

Then Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son.

Leah said, "How happy I am, for women will call me happy!" So she named him Asher.

At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Give me some of your son's mandrakes."

But Leah replied, "Wasn't it enough that you've taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes too?" "All right," Rachel said, "he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must sleep with me because I have paid for your services with my son's mandrakes." So he had marital relations with her that night.

God paid attention to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time.

Then Leah said, "God has granted me a reward because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife." So she named him Issachar.

Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time.

Then Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.

So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah to come to the field where his flocks were.

Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, "Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father's house?

So Laban entered Jacob's tent, and Leah's tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's.

Jacob looked up and saw that Esau was coming along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants.

He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them.

Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

Now Dinah, Leah's daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet the young women of the land.

The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt!

The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows.

The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine.

These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters numbered thirty-three in all.

These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.

There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."