Genesis 37 - 41

The Bible takes care to give the genealogy of both Ishmael and Esau (father of the Edomites).  Interestingly, one of Esau's wives, Bashemath, is Ishmael's daughter.  The Ishmaelites are noted as being people who drive camel caravans into and out of Egypt to trade spices and fragrance, much as the latter-day Arabs.

Motherhood in Genesis.  Rebecca's conniving and trickery for her favorite, Jacob's benefit is not seem as being wrong.   Leah sees her bearing of sons as a way to win her husband's heart, but it doesn't work.  Rachel experiences infertility early on and, desperate for children, tells Jacob to give them to her "lest I die".  She finally does have two sons, but dies giving birth to the second, Joseph.

Joseph's brothers, other than Reuben and Benjamin, appear to be jealous, vindictive, murderous scumbags.  (Genesis 37)

Genesis 38 - Judah marries a Canaanite woman and has Onan, who doesn't want to ejaculate in his dead brother's wife as suggested by his Dad.  Yahweh didn't like this so he killed Onan.  Supposedly the brother, Er, was wicked and so Yahweh killed him.  Er's wife, Tamar, was promised a third son as husband, but it didn't happen, so she dressed up as a prostitute and got her father-in-law, Judah, to screw her for a young goat so that she could get pregnant!  Judah didn't recognize her and gave her his signet and rod as surety for the goat but when he went to deliver the goat, she had disappeared.  Later, when it was revealed that Tamar the widow, his daughter-in-law, was pregnant, he called for her to be burned!  I assume this is the earliest mention of a proposed honor killing in the Bible.  When she brought out his signet, cord and staff, he realized that he was wrong not to marry her off to the third son as promised.  Honor killing averted!  She gave birth to his progeny.  Tamar's tribal affiliation is not mentioned, but maybe this is a way around having Judah's progeny descended from Canaanites.

Joseph seems to be the only really decent person so far in the Bible.  He works hard, refuses to screw Potiphar's wife out of loyalty to his boss, helps his fellow prisoners, has a creative, practical mind, and makes wise decisions on saving grain for a rainy day.