旧约 - 创世记(Genesis)第30章

And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.
And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
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.
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.
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.
And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.
And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
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.
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 of such shall be my hire.
So shall my righteousness answer for me in 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.
And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
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.
And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
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.
And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
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.
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.
But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
创世记第三十章   第 30 章 

  创 30:3> 面对困苦,做法各异;我,是靠自己,还是…… 

  30:3 以色列人的三位伟大祖先亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的妻子都在怀孕生子的事上有困难,但他们对困境的反应各有不同:亚伯拉罕纳撒拉的使女夏甲为妾,给自己生孩子,结果为家庭带来嫉妒和苦毒;以撒祷告神,结果蒙神垂听,妻子利百加怀孕,生了双生子;雅各则效法他的祖父,从妻子的使女而得孩子,造成悲哀痛苦的后果。 

  创 30:4-13> 拉结利亚相争竞,为私利而妄行;你问我会如此?这…… 

  30:4-13 拉结与利亚陷于残忍的争竞中。她们想多生儿女,就将自己的使女给丈夫为妾。虽然这是当时认可的习俗,但如果雅各聪明的话,就不会纳妾了。社会认同的做法,并不一定是智慧的正路。在行动之前想想对自己和别人的后果,我们就会避免很多悲剧的发生。你现在做的事,会不会在将来为你带来麻烦呢? 

  创 30:22-24> 前路暗淡人心焦,我主声音不见临──这时,你还要倚靠神吗? 

  30:22-24 神终于垂听拉结的祷告,使她怀孕生子。但可惜她已将使女辟拉给雅各作妾,且为他生了孩子。事不顺遂而情况又不见好转时,要信靠神并不容易,可是倚靠自己的结果更差。不要以为神已经忘记了我们,要抵挡这种试探,拿出忍耐和勇气,等候神工作。 

  创 30:27> 当人都在偶像群中寻求人生方向的时候,你呢? 

  30:27 拉班说他从占卜中得知,神祝福他是因为雅各,换句话说,拉班认为他的偶像使他得到这个启示。 

  雅各的儿女 

  创 30:37-43> 财富的增添是神的恩典,我是否明白并心存感恩? 

  30:37-43 我们并不确切知道雅各使用的是什么方法,或这方法有何奥妙。有人认为这是牧人的传说:羊在交配时,鲜明的印记会影响羊的后代。但雅各的羊群增多最可能的原因,是他挑选会繁殖的羊和神应许供应给他。──《灵修版圣经注释》