Genesis 29:1 - 31:55
Jacob arrived at Haran, and fell in love with Laban's younger daughter Rachel. He offered to work for Laban for seven years, at the end of which he found out that he wasn't the only trickster in the family. Laban let him marry Rachel after her sister Leah, but only if he'd stick around another seven years. Jacob hated Leah, but not so much that he wouldn't father four sons on her.
Rachel eventually was annoyed that she wasn't having kids - though not through lack of trying - and had Jacob marry her handmaid Bilhah to show up Leah. Bilhah had two sons, and Leah said, "Oh, we're playing it that way, are we? Hey, Jake, here's my handmaid, Zilpah!" Zilpah gave him two sons, then Rachel pimped him out for some mandrakes and Leah had a fifth son, as well as a sixth and a daughter with no explanation given. Then God finally decided to let Rachel have a son (Joseph).
Jacob decided that eleven sons were enough for him to get started in life, and talked to Laban about going home. But Laban liked having him as a shepherd and goatherd, and they came to a weird agreement about who would get what animals based on color, and Jacob used sympathetic magic to make sure the colorations came out in his favor. This eventually pissed Laban off, and God said, "You should go back to Canaan now maybe?"
So they packed up to go, but Rachel stole Laban's idols. When Laban saw they'd all gone, he chased them down, and said, "You should've told me; we'd have had a nice going away party! And it's not nice to take my gods!" Jacob didn't know who had the idols, so he said "Hey, I'm not cool with that either; let's kill the thief!" But Rachel cunningly claimed to be menstruating to keep them from being found. So Jacob thought Laban had made the whole thing up as a pretext to chase him, but they made up and vowed friendship, and Laban went back home.
Rachel eventually was annoyed that she wasn't having kids - though not through lack of trying - and had Jacob marry her handmaid Bilhah to show up Leah. Bilhah had two sons, and Leah said, "Oh, we're playing it that way, are we? Hey, Jake, here's my handmaid, Zilpah!" Zilpah gave him two sons, then Rachel pimped him out for some mandrakes and Leah had a fifth son, as well as a sixth and a daughter with no explanation given. Then God finally decided to let Rachel have a son (Joseph).
Jacob decided that eleven sons were enough for him to get started in life, and talked to Laban about going home. But Laban liked having him as a shepherd and goatherd, and they came to a weird agreement about who would get what animals based on color, and Jacob used sympathetic magic to make sure the colorations came out in his favor. This eventually pissed Laban off, and God said, "You should go back to Canaan now maybe?"
So they packed up to go, but Rachel stole Laban's idols. When Laban saw they'd all gone, he chased them down, and said, "You should've told me; we'd have had a nice going away party! And it's not nice to take my gods!" Jacob didn't know who had the idols, so he said "Hey, I'm not cool with that either; let's kill the thief!" But Rachel cunningly claimed to be menstruating to keep them from being found. So Jacob thought Laban had made the whole thing up as a pretext to chase him, but they made up and vowed friendship, and Laban went back home.