Jacob with Laban: Leah and Rachel

At a well, in the land of the people of the east, Jacob sees Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, coming: he rolls away the large stone, waters her flock, kisses her, and weeps. Smitten, he offers to serve Laban seven years for her; those years seem to him “but a few days.” But on the wedding night, Laban brings him Leah, the older daughter. The deceiver is deceived! “It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.” Jacob receives Rachel a week later, in exchange for seven more years of service. A bitter rivalry takes hold between the two sisters: Leah, the less loved, bears Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Rachel, barren for a long time, finally gives birth to Joseph. Laban changes Jacob’s wages ten times, but God makes his flocks prosper. After twenty years, the LORD tells him: “Return to the land of your fathers.” Jacob slips away; Laban overtakes him in Gilead, and they make a covenant.