The setting of these stories is prior to the 'exodus' from Egypt and is the device to place the Israelites in Egypt in the first place. A younger son, Joseph, is sold to be a slave in Egypt, but rises to political power (like in any good musical). His hostile brothers have to approach him in a famine to beg for food, not knowing who he is. They are punished but this is a device to bring Joseph's father Jacob to Egypt. Since Jacob was clearly not called Israel, God renames him Israel to provide appropriate legitimacy. 'Israel' as an entity does not refer to the Omride dynasty (8th century BCE?) in opposition to the kings of Judah in Jerusalem, but to all the tribes, listed as tribes in Genesis 49 - the situation after the Babylonian exile. Narrative cycles also read this greater Israel back into the reigns of David and Solomon, but with no historical or archaeological evidence to support this.
Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, Rachel being the favorite but Leah producing most children. The sons they bore bear the names of the major tribes, on the assumption that these individuals were the ancesters of the tribes. This story binds them into a kinship network, to become allies rather than enemies. Only Joseph does not bear a tribal name - this goes to his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Levi, through a tribe, hold no territory since they are itinerant priests.
Rachel and Leah illustrate polygynous families. There were jealousies, between their children if not between themselves. Joseph, son of Rachel, was perceived to be a favorite, wearing his coat of many colours. The marriage story has two interesting points. First, Rachel and Leah are first cousins to Jacob. Their father, Laban, was said to be the brother of Rebecca Jacob's mother. The marriage was arranged without consulting the girls. Secondly, Jacob asked to marry Rachel, worked for seven years to pay the bride price, but was given Leah instead, since she was older. After negotiation, he married Rachel shortly after. Marrying cousins is not uncommon, even today, as a means of keeping girls within the wider family so that by bearing children they build up their own family and not someone elses. Laban was Haran based, to the north, and not in Palestine. We don't know whether an old tradition lies behind this; but the arrangement serves to demonstrate that Jacob did not intermarry and so damage legitimacy. The tribes were kin to northerners, 'sojourners' (as said about Abraham) in a foreign place. Archaeology does not prove this, but it is true that pig bones are not found in the bronze age settlements in the north Galilee hills, whatever that may mean. Whether or not there was an older tradition, the legitimacy theme, Jacob being renamed as Israel, and the naming of the sons, are essential features of the post-exilic fiction. There may have been a real Jacob, Rachel and Leah in the second millenium (although I doubt it) - but that is all we can say since the detail is a story from around the fifth century BCE.
Shechem
A note about Genesis 34, where the prince of Shechem rapes Dinah daughter of Jacob in the countryside and asks to marry her. The main condition of the marriage is that all Shechem's men are circumcised, so that a kinship is created. Shechem here represents the indigenous settled population. After the circumcision, when they were feverish, the Israelite troups massacred them. As Laban tricked Jacob, so the Israelites tricked Shechem. The story serves two purposes. On legitimacy, an indigenous intermarriage would have polluted the race. Intermarriage was disallowed after the exile to keep the nation pure. This story illustrates the danger and might have been written to support the policy. Second, Deuteronomy, the policy constitution of the return from exile, advocates the massacre or genocide of local people through holy war (chapter 20). This again could be a proof-text of that policy.
Tamar
In Genesis 38, Tamar becomes a widow who should then be married to her dead husband's brother (levirate marriage). This retained her and her child-bearing potential within the family. In this story, Onan the husband's brother did not wish to produce heirs for his brother who would have precedence over his own sons. Tamar therefore through trickery dressed as a prostitute and slept with Judah her father-in-law. Now pregant, she could prove paternity. Her behaviour was deemed legitimate because it was not only her right but the family duty to arrange for her to become pregnant. Her child was legitimate, and her behaviour had protected the legitimate line. Deuteronomy has a detailed law (chapter 24) on levirite marriage; this story also becomes a proof-text.
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