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Laban wanted Jacob to have an exclusive relationship of legal marriage with his daughters only. But in fact he provided to additional women to Jacob as concubines. Also, the OP is mistaken if it presumes that Abraham had many wives simultaneously. He married Keturah only after Sarah had died. Reading the last verse of Gen. 24 together with the verse of Gen. 25, we find:

[Isaac] took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother. Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Hagar, on the other hand, is said to have acted as a "wife" but her status was that of a concubine, for she remained Sarah's slave. (Genesis 25:12) Her position was the same as Bilhah and Zilpah, the slaves of Rachel and Leah, who were Jacob's concubines even though they were also called "wives" (Genesis 30:9, Genesis 30:4).

Thus Laban's action in insisting that Jacob "marry" only his daughters demanded a similar standard to that of Abraham - who did not actually marry Hagar and married Ketubah only after Sarah died. Abraham did not have more than one legal wife at the same time.

Laban wanted Jacob to have an exclusive relationship of legal marriage with his daughters only. But in fact he provided to additional women to Jacob as concubines. Also, the OP is mistaken if it presumes that Abraham had many wives simultaneously. As Sarah's slave, Hagar was not his legal wife, just as Bilhah and Zilpah were not the legal wives of Jacob. Moreover Abraham married Keturah only after Sarah had died. Reading the last verse of Gen. 24 together with the verse of Gen. 25, we find:

[Isaac] took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother. Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Hagar, on the other hand, is said to have acted as a "wife" but her status was that of a concubine, for she remained Sarah's slave. (Genesis 25:12) Her position was the same as Bilhah and Zilpah, the slaves of Rachel and Leah, who were Jacob's concubines even though they too were called "wives" (Genesis 30:9, Genesis 30:4).

Thus Laban's action in insisting that Jacob marry only his daughters demanded a similar standard to that of Abraham - who did not actually marry Hagar and married Ketubah only after Sarah died. Abraham did not have more than one legal wife at the same time.

Laban wanted Jacob to have an exclusive relationship of legal marriage with his daughters. But the OP is mistaken if it presumes that Abraham had many many wives simultaneously. He married Keturah only after Sarah had died. Reading the last verse of Gen. 24 together with the verse of Gen. 25, we find:

[Isaac] took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother. Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Hagar is said to have acted as a "wife" but her status was that of a concubine for she remained Sarah's slave. (Genesis 25:12) Her position was the same as Bilhah and Zilpah, the slaves of Rachel and Leah, who were Jacob's concubines even though they were also called "wives" (Genesis 30:9, Genesis 30:4).

Thus Laban's action in insisting that Jacob "marry" only his daughters was not much different from that action of Abraham - who did not actually marry Hagar and married Ketubah only after Sarah died. He did trick Jacob into marrying both of this daughters, but Abraham did not have more than one legal wife at the same time.

Laban wanted Jacob to have an exclusive relationship of legal marriage with his daughters only. But in fact he provided to additional women to Jacob as concubines. Also, the OP is mistaken if it presumes that Abraham had many wives simultaneously. He married Keturah only after Sarah had died. Reading the last verse of Gen. 24 together with the verse of Gen. 25, we find:

[Isaac] took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother. Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Hagar, on the other hand, is said to have acted as a "wife" but her status was that of a concubine, for she remained Sarah's slave. (Genesis 25:12) Her position was the same as Bilhah and Zilpah, the slaves of Rachel and Leah, who were Jacob's concubines even though they were also called "wives" (Genesis 30:9, Genesis 30:4).

Thus Laban's action in insisting that Jacob "marry" only his daughters demanded a similar standard to that of Abraham - who did not actually marry Hagar and married Ketubah only after Sarah died. Abraham did not have more than one legal wife at the same time.

Laban wanted Jacob to have an exclusive relationship with his daughters. But the OP is mistaken if it presumes that Abraham had many Abraham had many wives simultaneously. He married Keturah only after Sarah had died. Reading the last verse of Gen. 24 together with the verse of Gen. 25, we find:

[Isaac] took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother. Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Hagar is said to have acted as a wife but her status was that of a concubine for she remained Sarah's slave. (Genesis 25:12)In other words, her position was the same as Bilhah and Zilpah, the slaves of Rachel and Leah, who were Jacob's concubines even though they were also called "wives" (Genesis 30:9, Genesis 30:4).

Thus Laban's action in insisting that Jacob "marry" only his daughters was not much different from that action of Abraham - who did not actually marry Hagar and married Ketubah only after Sarah died.

Laban wanted Jacob to have an exclusive relationship of legal marriage with his daughters. But the OP is mistaken if it presumes that Abraham had many many wives simultaneously. He married Keturah only after Sarah had died. Reading the last verse of Gen. 24 together with the verse of Gen. 25, we find:

[Isaac] took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother. Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Hagar is said to have acted as a "wife" but her status was that of a concubine for she remained Sarah's slave. (Genesis 25:12) Her position was the same as Bilhah and Zilpah, the slaves of Rachel and Leah, who were Jacob's concubines even though they were also called "wives" (Genesis 30:9, Genesis 30:4).

Thus Laban's action in insisting that Jacob "marry" only his daughters was not much different from that action of Abraham - who did not actually marry Hagar and married Ketubah only after Sarah died. He did trick Jacob into marrying both of this daughters, but Abraham did not have more than one legal wife at the same time.