Leah was the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel.
She became the wife of Jacob, who had deceived his father Isaac into giving him the blessing meant for Esau (Genesis 27:5–40). To escape Esau's anger and find a wife (Genesis 27:46–28:2), Jacob went to his uncle Laban in Mesopotamia (Genesis 27:43; 28:2). He fell in love with Rachel, Laban's younger daughter, and agreed to work for Laban for seven years to marry her (Genesis 29:17–18).
When the wedding came, Laban tricked Jacob by giving him Leah, the older daughter, instead of Rachel (Genesis 29:21–25). Laban justified this by saying that the older daughter must be married first (Genesis 29:26). Leah was described as having "weak-eyed," while Rachel was "shapely and beautiful" (Genesis 29:17).
Jacob worked for another seven years to marry Rachel, whom he loved deeply (Genesis 29:20). Leah, who was not favored as Rachel was, had six sons and a daughter before Rachel had any children (Genesis 29:31–30:22):
Rachel's inability to have children was a significant sorrow for her, and she even traded mandrakes, a plant believed to ensure conception, with Leah to try to conceive (Genesis 30:14–17).
Leah's sons became important in Israel's history. Her son Levi became the ancestor of the priests, and her son Judah was the ancestor of the royal line from which Jesus Christ descended (Genesis 3:15; 12:2–3; 2 Samuel 7:16; Matthew 1:1).