LABAN. — Rebecca (v.) JACOB, MAX (v.). He lived with his Haran (v.), in Mesopotamia, where Abraham had also stayed for a time (Gen. 11:31). He kindly received Abraham’s servant Eliezer, who had come to seek a wife for Isaac among the members of the same Terahite family, and readily gave his consent, together with his father Bethuel, to the marriage of Rebecca with Abraham’s son (ibid. 24). Later, he gave refuge to his nephew Jacob, who had fled for twenty years (ibid. 29-31) to his uncle’s house to escape his brother Esau’s wrath and at the same time to find a wife among his relatives.
Upon learning of Jacob’s honesty and diligence, Laban promised to give him his daughter Rachel (v.) in marriage, on condition that he work for him for seven years—a service that could be considered the equivalent of the *mohar*, the bride-price that, according to custom, the suitor was obliged to pay to the bride’s father (cf. DB, II, col. 1495 ff.). But at the appointed time, on the evening of the wedding feast, Laban substituted his elder daughter Leah (v.) for Rachel by a ruse, since Leah, who had a defect in her eyes, was not as pleasing to Jacob. After a week, Jacob obtained the wife he preferred, Rachel, but only by agreeing to serve the cunning uncle for another seven years. When this time had elapsed, Laban, whose rapid increase in wealth was due to Jacob’s diligence, wished to keep him still longer, stipulating an agreement that would put the nephew and son-in-law in a position to establish his own property through labor. The pact was this: Jacob would tend Laban’s flock; the sheep and goats that would be born thereafter would be divided between them—Jacob chose those of the black staff, and Laban the rest. But since Jacob, through his shrewd industry, soon became the owner of numerous herds, he aroused the jealousy of his covetous uncle, who for ten times in six years tried to alter the terms of the contract; but in vain. Finally, to avoid strife between the two families, Jacob fled secretly with his wives Rachel and Leah, who also had cause to complain of their father’s avarice, taking with him the flocks that were his property. Laban, learning of his departure after three days, pursued and overtook him in Gilead. Besides settling personal and economic matters, Laban sought to recover his *teraphim* (superstitious objects of idolatrous worship), which Rachel had stolen unbeknownst to her husband. But he could not find them, for Rachel had cleverly hidden them. Uncle and nephew, after mutual recriminations, finally came to an understanding and concluded a solemn pact of friendship. On this occasion, a monument was erected, namely a heap of stones (to which Laban gave the Aramaic name *Jegar-sahadutha*, or “heap of testimony,” and Jacob the name in use in the land of Canaan, *Galeed*, or “heap of witness”): upon it a sacrifice was offered, followed by a sacrificial feast to which the relatives were invited. To seal the alliance, Laban invoked “the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor,” while Jacob swore by “the Fear of his father Isaac” (Gen. 31:43-54). While Jacob invoked only the God of Abraham and Isaac, that is, the one true God, Laban also names the God of Nahor: this suggests that he, like his ancestor Nahor (cf. Josh. 24:2), was tainted with polytheism—a suspicion confirmed by the episode of the *teraphim*. After the rite was completed, Laban parted from Jacob and returned to Haran.