Rebecca, daughter of Bethuel, Abraham’s nephew, was the wife of Isaac and the mother of the twins Esau and Jacob.When he saw that his son Isaac was already 40 years old and still unmarried, Abraham decided that the time had come to find a bride for his son. Forced by famine to leave the land, Abraham is fearful that Egyptians will kill him in order to take the beautiful Sarah. A. Clines. Sarai was Haron's wife and Lot's mother. The name Rebecca literally means to tie up, a noose, or frequently translated secured. God preserved Abram but Haron perished. Like Abraham before him, who called Sarah his "sister" rather than his "wife" so that the Egyptians would not kill him and take his wife, Isaac told the people of Gerar that Rebecca was his sister. Question: "Who was Laban in the Bible?" Isaac demanded that Jacob come close so he could feel him, but the goatskins felt just like Esau's hairy skin. Esau therefore took Mahalath, a daughter of Isaac's half-brother Ishmael, as another wife. International Association of Rebekah Assemblies, "Meaning and etymology of the name Rebecca (Rebekah)", United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rebecca&oldid=999334055, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles containing Classical Syriac-language text, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 9 January 2021, at 17:34. As he did, Deborah (Rebecca's nurse) died and was buried at a place that Jacob calls Alon Bachuth (אלון בכות), "Tree of Weepings" (Gen. 35:8). The bridegroom is led to the bride by two escorts and, seeing her, covers her face with a veil, like the way Rebecca covered her face before marrying Isaac. The Gerar story emphasizes that Abimelech never touched Sarah because God immediately intervened with dreams. However, in Genesis 20, when Abraham explains his wife-sister ruse to Abimelech of Gerar, he claims that Sarah is his non-uterine sister (v. 12). She understands that these goats provide the income we need to purchase fresh fish and vegetables for dinner; it is the income we used to pay the hospital fees … Rather, their God was Jehovah. If the girl had refused to follow him, Abraham stated that Eliezer would be absolved of his responsibility. There is some possibility this could be true, as Rachel was … Rebecca's death after Jacob's 20 years with Laban indicates that Jacob was 97 when his mother died and Rebecca was either 120 or 134 (based on different Midrashim mentioned earlier about her age at marriage). Please read the book of Jasher. Learn how Rebekah defied ancient customs. After Isaac sent Jacob away (to find a wife), Esau realized that his own Canaanite wives were evil in his father's eyes. And Sarai, wife of Abram was barren. Sarah’s ancestry is not clear. Abram then took his dead brother's wife as his own. (27:22). [11] Thinking that she was carrying one baby who was displaying conflicting propensities, Rebecca sought enlightenment at the yeshiva of Shem and Eber. Rebekah’s faith. This takes the right away from Haran and give it to grandson Nahor of grandpa Nahor, even explaining why Nahor's name would be replaced, (not honored as Nahor II. In Genesis, Isaac's father, Abraham had been looking for a wife for his son Isaac. It does not name Sarah’s father, even though it relates that Milcah was the daughter of Haran, Terah’s other son, and then names Haran’s other daughter, Iscah. We have the problem that Haran has Milcah, and Iscah, and son Lot. Tehillah Surprised to perceive that Esau was back so soon, Isaac asked how it could be that the hunt went so quickly. When Isaac was of age to be married, Abraham called for his most trusted servant and gave him a crucial role in this story. Abimelech called Isaac on his lie, and then warned others not to touch Rebecca. Protection and plague foreshadow Israel’s later redemption at the exodus. Meyers, Carol, General Editor. Trible, Phyllis. [3] Rebecca's brother was Laban the Aramean, and she was the granddaughter of Milcah and Nahor, the brother of Abraham. Jasher claims death in Terah's burned down house which they would not have done at any age but 75 when Abram left. Her own experience of servitude in Egypt perhaps has made her feel threatened by the Egyptian Hagar rather than sympathetic to her. The servant devised a test in order to find the right wife for Isaac. [16] The Bible states that Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. As was the custom in those days, her parents had decided for her who she would marry. It certainly enriched Abraham, who was given bride wealth for a sister, something that he would never have received as a husband. 1984, 92–116. Women in Scripture. Furthermore, in the ancient world adultery was considered a very grievous offense, possibly even worse than murder. The miracles that God performed for Sarah in Egypt have not taught him her importance. To Angie and Oscar Carillo, my Spirit parents and Grandmother Anke Otto-Wolf for being there to life my spirits in hard times. God ignores Abraham’s laughter, but reacts to Sarah’s. These were: A lamp burned in her tent from Shabbat eve to Shabbat eve, there was a blessing in her dough, and a cloud hovered over her tent (symbolizing the Divine Presence). The next woman to be featured in the Bible after Sarah is Rebecca, the wife of Abraham’s son Isaac. Sarah’s importance is certainly clear after she sees Ishmael “sporting” (NRSV, “playing”; Hebrew mezahek) at Isaac’s weaning. The promise given to Abraham was now safely secured in Isaac for the time being. As was the custom in those days, Abraham arranged for a wife from his home country and from relatives back home. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born (Genesis 25:26). She is remembered in the prophecies of Isaiah 51 (v. 2) as the ancestress of her people. Sarah and Abraham come to Israel as part of God’s promise of numerous progeny and the land (Gen 12:1–5). REBEKAH. She grew up in or near Haran, a city in Mesopotamia. Sarahs ancestry is not clear. Rebekah ( Rebecca) was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. Sarah is the wife of Abraham, the mother of Isaac, and thus the ancestress of all Israel. 30 (Fall 1981): 411–417. [18] The descriptions of the two young men hint at their opposing spiritual natures: "The lads grew up and Esau became one who knows hunting, a man of the field; but Jacob was a wholesome man, abiding in tents". The only thing left then is to clarify his statements to Abimeleck regarding his relationship to her. Before the bride and bridegroom stand under the chuppah, they take part in a special ceremony called badeken (veiling). When Gen 11:31 tells that “Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife” from Ur to Haran, it does not call Sarai Terah’s granddaughter. Abraham was one hundred years when Isaac was born (Genesis 46:5). The book of Jubulees say that יהוה gave the knowledge of Hebrew to Avraham so that he could learn some scriptures in his Father's house that were written in Hebrew. And so God acts to protect Sarah by afflicting “Pharaoh and his house with great plagues” (Gen 12:17) until he realizes the problem and sends Sarah away. The servant insisted that they ask the girl herself, and she agreed to go immediately. Rebecca (Rebekah) is the daughter of Bethuel, the well-loved wife of Isaac, mother of the twins Jacob and Esau, and the sister of Laban. Answer: Rebekah in the Bible was the wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau.We first meet Rebekah in Genesis 24:15, where she is identified as “the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.” When my daughter was in kindergarten, she was asked to talk about what her parents did for a living. Abraham seems content to keep Sarah out of the loop and to consider Ishmael the child of the promise. [13] According to tradition, Rebecca did not share the prophecy with her husband. At the age of 40 (the same age his father had been when he married), Esau took two Hittite wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath the daughter of Elon, who vexed Isaac and Rebecca to no end, as these women were also idol-worshippers. How muc h I'd have loved to discuss this and her other articles with her! According to the Midrash,[28] the plural form of the word "weeping" indicates a double sorrow, implying that Rebecca also died at this time. If Ishmael was 137 at the time of his death, this means that Jacob and Esau were 63 at the time of the blessings. HE is the solution because Terah waited to find truth in the son of his own promised wife. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Sarai is Haran’s daughter. Because Sarah’s importance to this promise is not at first obvious, the promise is immediately endangered. "[8], According to the traditional counting cited by Rashi, Isaac was 37 years old at the time of the Binding of Isaac. Thus theory also corraborates the fact that on their way to Egypt ans by the river Avraham expresses recognition of her beauty because He had never laid eyes on her as she was his brother's wife. Isaac brought her into the tent of his deceased mother Sarah, married her, and loved her. It does not name Sarahs father, even though it relates that Milcah was the daughter of Haran, Terahs other son, and then names Harans other daughter, Iscah. and Jacob answered simply, "I am" (which can be taken as "I am me", not "I am Esau"). Genesis 11 relates that Abram and his brother Nahor married Sarai and Milcah, respectively (v. 29). And this is the theory.Gen 11:28 clearly sets the stage for events that are about to happen next in the following verses. Before she sent Jacob to his father, she dressed him in Esau's garments and laid goatskins on his arms and neck to simulate hairy skin. re-bek'-a (ribhqah; Septuagint and New Testament Rhebekka, whence the usual English spelling Rebecca): Daughter of Bethuel and an unknown mother, grand-daughter of Nahor and Milcah, sister of Laban, wife of Isaac, mother of Esau and Jacob. Le-Moshe: Biblical and Judaic Studies in Honor of Moshe Greenberg. Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. She is a veteran homeschool mom of three. (Esau referred to the dish as "that red, red stuff", giving rise to his nickname, Hebrew: אדום‎ ('Edom, meaning "Red").) The realization that he has been deceived shocks Isaac, yet he acknowledged that Jacob received the blessings as sworn, by adding, "Indeed, he will be [or remain] blessed!" Sarah’s barrenness also endangers the promise and prompts her to give her handmaiden Hagar to Abraham as a surrogate womb (Gen 16:1–2), a custom known also from Mesopotamia. The voice behind FaithfulMotherhood.com is Jyn. Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, was yet another barren woman in the Bible who gave birth through God's grace. “And they called Rebekah”: Or ordered her to be called by one of the servants. The plan goes awry when the pregnant Hagar no longer acknowledges Sarah’s superiority. The great change that came into Rebekah’s life began in a way that may have seemed fairly ordinary to her. While she displayed a gentle spirit in the early recordings in thLabane Bible, there is much questionable… But when they reached the age of 13, Jacob busied himself in the house of study, while Esau busied himself with idolatry. Rebecca's brother was Laban the Aramean, and she was the granddaughter of Milcah and Nahor, the brother of Abraham. The reasoning for that age is that Sarah, who gave birth to Isaac when she was 90, died after the binding when she was 127 years old, making Isaac around 37 at that time. She was also the sister of Laban and the aunt of Jacob's future wives: Rachel and Leah. Converting the story to a younger age is why they would alter it to a house of gods. Philadelphia: Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically. Your question about Sara will be answered. As he stood at the central well in Abraham's birthplace with his men and ten camels laden with goods, he prayed to God: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Her discernment led her to make the right choice (Genesis 24:47-60). It is clear that Abram is not firstborn unless the first two are knocked out the way that childless dead firstborn Er, replacement 2nd born dead Onan, and intent-promise as Shiloh upon 3rd born Shelah. Esau was heartbroken by the deception, and begged for his own blessing. One reason why Isaac became blind in his old age was due to the smoke of the incense that these women offered to their idols.[25]. This is where perhaps thw story can unfold according to the Torah only without any other intervention from any other source; which bringa us to the question as to why would it say that Sarai is barren when she has only been taken by Avraham for a short period of time and she is already up in age. Abasi giggles at the thought of a goat building his home but Rose, who lost both her parents, never laughs. It is clearly stated that Sarai was the daughter of Haran. [9] Twenty years elapsed before they had children; throughout that time, both Isaac and Rebecca prayed fervently to God for offspring. Here again, Rebecca prophetically perceived his murderous intentions and ordered Jacob to travel to her brother Laban's house in Haran, until Esau's anger subsided. Rebecca appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau.According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Parents should not favor one child over another. After all, Sarah should understand how important she is, for God has already worked miracles for her. But dead Er has a son via father Judah with Er's wife Tamar. Abraham buys his first real property in the land of Israel, the Cave of Machpelah, in order to bury her (Gen 23:19). The theory lies on the assumption that Sarai is not daughter to Haran but another wife that Avraham's brother Haran had along with the mothwr of Lot, Milcah and Iscah and Avraham is moved to take her becuase of his kindness and also because of the knowledge of the Torah that He must take the widow of his brother as a wife, something the other brother Najor would not be interested in for not practicing the Torah or not knwing about it. 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