Eve

Lore & Background

Rebecca is the wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob and Esau. Her father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Her brother was Laban the Aramean. She was the granddaughter of Milcah and Nahor, the brother of Abraham. Rebecca and Isaac are one of the four couples that some believe are buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs, the other three being Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Leah. Most scholars have considered Rebecca's historicity uncertain.

In Their Own Story

After the Binding of Isaac, Sarah died. Abraham commanded his servant (whom the Torah commentators identify as Eliezer of Damascus) to journey to Aram Naharaim in Mesopotamia to select a bride for Isaac from his own family. The servant devised a test: he prayed to God, "Let the maiden to whom I say, 'Please, lower your jar that I may drink,' and who replies, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels'—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac" (Genesis 24:14). Immediately, Rebecca came to the well and offered to draw water for him and water all his camels. The servant gave her a golden necklace (Septuagint translation) or nose ring (Masoretic translation) and two golden bracelets. After the servant recounted his oath and all details, her brother Laban and her father Bethuel agreed she could return with him. Rebecca agreed to go immediately. As she left, her family blessed her: "May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes." When Rebecca saw Isaac from a distance in the fields of Beer-lahai-roi, she dismounted from her camel and covered herself with a veil. Isaac brought her into the tent of his deceased mother Sarah, married her, and loved her. According to Rashi, the three miracles that characterized Sarah's tent—a lamp burning from Shabbat eve to Shabbat eve, a blessing in her dough, and a cloud hovering over her tent—reappeared when Rebecca entered.

Reader's Guide

Rebecca was barren for twenty years after marriage. Both Isaac and Rebecca prayed fervently to God for offspring. God eventually answered Isaac's prayers and Rebecca conceived twins. During her pregnancy, the unborn twins struggled with each other. Rebecca went to inquire of God and received a prophecy: twins were fighting in her womb and would continue to fight all their lives; the older would serve the younger; "One people will be stronger than the other" has been taken to mean the two nations will never gain power simultaneously. According to tradition, Rebecca did not share the prophecy with her husband. The first child born was Esau, red and hairy all over, with his heel grasped by the hand of Jacob. The Bible states Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. Scripture notes: "Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of hunting, but Rebecca loved Jacob" (Genesis). When Isaac became blind in his old age (the Midrash says age 132; Genesis says 137), he decided to bestow the blessing of the firstborn upon Esau. Isaac sent Esau to trap and cook game for him. Rebecca overheard and realized Isaac's blessings should go to Jacob, since she was told before the twins' birth that the older would serve the younger.

Did You Know?

• Rebecca is one of the four couples that some believe are buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs, alongside Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Leah.
• According to Rashi, three miracles that characterized Sarah's tent—a lamp burning from Shabbat eve to Shabbat eve, a blessing in her dough, and a cloud hovering over her tent—reappeared when Rebecca entered the tent.
• The Talmud and Midrash explain that when Rebecca first saw Isaac in the fields of Beer-lahai-roi, he was instituting the Mincha (afternoon) prayer.
• Rebecca received a prophecy that the older twin (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob), but according to tradition she did not share this prophecy with her husband Isaac.
• The Book of Jubilees (written before 100 BCE) determines Rebecca's age at marriage as 20 years, while later rabbinical commentators have disagreed, with some interpreting her age as 3 and others as 14.