Jacob had intercourse with Rachel also, and he loved her more than Leah. Then he worked for Laban another seven years.

Esau hated Jacob, because his father had given Jacob the blessing. He thought, "The time to mourn my father's death is near; then I will kill Jacob."

"Suppose a man has two wives and they both bear him sons, but the first son is not the child of his favorite wife.

and have hated Esau and his descendants. I have devastated Esau's hill country and abandoned the land to jackals."

"You cannot be a slave of two masters; you will hate one and love the other; you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

"Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my disciples.

"Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well.

Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal.

Abram's wife Sarai had not borne him any children. But she had an Egyptian slave woman named Hagar,

(SEE 20:17)

The LORD blessed Sarah, as he had promised,

and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born.

Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the LORD for her. The LORD answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant.

But Rachel had not borne Jacob any children, and so she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I will die."

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "I can't take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children."

Then God remembered Rachel; he answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children.

At that time there was a man named Manoah from the town of Zorah. He was a member of the tribe of Dan. His wife had never been able to have children.

The LORD's angel appeared to her and said, "You have never been able to have children, but you will soon be pregnant and have a son.

And even though he loved Hannah very much he would give her only one share, because the LORD had kept her from having children.

So it was that she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, and explained, "I asked the LORD for him."

I asked him for this child, and he gave me what I asked for.

The LORD did bless Hannah, and she had three more sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up in the service of the LORD.

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a real blessing.

They had no children because Elizabeth could not have any, and she and Zechariah were both very old.