Jacob paid the bride prices for Leah and Rachel through fourteen years of labor, but Laban didn't give a dowry in return. In fact, he tried to cheat Jacob out of even more labor. This could have made Leah and Rachel into purchased concubines if not for divine intervention. God extracted Leah's and Rachel's dowries from Laban without his cooperation by transferring much of his livestock to Jacob.

I have heard that Abraham and Isaac represent two poles on a continuum of love/justice with Abraham at the extreme of Love and Isaac at the extreme of Justice. Jacob had the balanced character required to deal with Laban. Genesis 31:42 + Matthew 10:16