A30 Sisters Leah And Rachel Poem by Simple Simon

While Leah had more children born,
Poor Rachel craved for one;
Rachel, jealous of her sister,
Was burning with anger.

She told Jacob, 'Give me children
Or, I'll die for want of one.'
He said, 'I'm not God
To give you a child.'

Her slave girl she sent.
In her place the girl went
And slept with Jacob then
This way she had a son.

Rachel was happy and said,
'At last, my prayer God heard.
He has given me a son
My battle I've finally won.'

Leah had her own children
Reuben, Simeon, Levi,
Judah, Issachar, Zebulin
And a daughter Dinah.

She had two more sons
Gad and Asher, born
To her slave girl later,
To compete with her sister.

Rachel had two sons
Dan and Naphtali
By her slave girl,
And her own son, Joseph.

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

After Joseph was born,
Jacob went to Laban,
And said, 'With my children
And wives, let me return.'

Laban said, 'By divination,
And with your association,
I had the mercy of the Lord,
For which I owe your demand.'

'Name your wages for that
And I shall repay my debt.'
Jacob said, 'I'm not in need
Of any wages indeed.'

'Black lambs and speckled goats-
These are the only ones-my wants,
Rest of the animals in your flock
I'll leave them for you to take.'

Laban played a trick
By removing from his flock
Those animals marked black
Or spots white and dark.

Jacob took care of the rest,
And his own flock, he built
Black, strong and spotted
As he earlier wanted.

The strong ones joined Jacob's flock,
While the weak ones Laban took.
Thus, Jacob became very wealthy,
With his animals grown healthy.