Rebekah #33

Rebekah is the wife of Isaac, the mother of the twins Esau and Jacob, and the second of the matriarchs of Israel. Her story, told in Genesis 24 to 27, begins with an act of generous hospitality at a well and continues with the family conflict over the blessing that shaped the nation.

Biblical Significance

Abraham sends his servant to his relatives in Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac. At the well outside the town, the servant prays that the young woman who offers water to him and his camels will be the one God has chosen. Rebekah, a granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor, does exactly this, drawing water for all ten camels (Genesis 24:15-27). Her family agrees to the marriage, and when they ask whether she will go, she answers simply, “I will go” (Genesis 24:57-58). Isaac meets her in the field, takes her as his wife, and loves her (Genesis 24:62-67).

For twenty years she is childless until Isaac prays, and when she conceives twins, they struggle within her. She inquires of the LORD and is told, “Two nations are in thy womb… the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:19-26). The oracle is central to how the later story is read. Paul cites it as an example of God’s purpose in election, which he links with God’s calling and not with human works (Romans 9:10-13).

The Blessing

Years later, when Isaac is old and blind and plans to bless Esau, Rebekah overhears and arranges for Jacob to receive the blessing instead, dressing him in Esau’s clothing and covering his arms with goatskins (Genesis 27:1-17). The text presents both the fulfillment of the earlier oracle and the family deception that surrounds it, and it does not stop to excuse anyone’s conduct. Learning that Esau plans to kill Jacob, Rebekah sends Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran, telling Isaac she is weary of the local women (Genesis 27:41-46).

Legacy

Genesis does not record Rebekah’s death, but her burial in the cave of Machpelah alongside Isaac is mentioned later (Genesis 49:31). Readers see in her a figure of decisive action, hospitality, and faith, and also of the costs of favoritism within a family. Her story is a reminder that in Genesis, God’s purposes move forward through flawed people, and that the ones who carry the promise are rarely the ones one would expect.