Genesis 29:27
Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
After Jacob had served seven years for Rachel, Laban deceived him by giving him Leah instead. The arrangement was that Jacob complete Leah's bridal week and then also receive Rachel, in return for serving yet another seven years. At that time a suitor who had no money or other valuable property could pay for a wife by serving her father for a set time, with the length of service measured by the required dowry, and such service tested his ability, faithfulness, and affection before marriage. In the case of Leah and Rachel, Laban kept for himself the dowry that custom would have given to his daughters.
Because Laban insisted that Leah not be discarded, Jacob was left in a painful position in which he retained Leah while also marrying Rachel, whom he loved more. The arrangement prolonged his labor for Laban and joined the sisters in marriage in a way that set the stage for rivalry and jealousy. Jacob thus rendered twice seven years of service for Rachel's sake, and his love made the hard toil feel light, revealing a deep and abiding love that lasted through his long and troubled life, so that at his death her loss alone was recalled.