Rebekah

About Rebekah

Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel and the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham's brother (Gen.22.23). She became the wife of Isaac after a servant of Abraham was sent to find a suitable bride for him (Genesis 24). Rebekah was a beautiful woman and was chosen by God to be Isaac's wife (Gen.24.15-67). She was barren for many years, but Isaac prayed for her, and she conceived twins (Gen.25.21). During her pregnancy, the Lord revealed to Rebekah that two nations were in her womb and that the older would serve the younger (Gen.25.23). Rebekah gave birth to Esau and Israel (or 'Jacob') (Gen.25.24-26). She favored Jacob over Esau and helped him deceive Isaac into giving him the firstborn's blessing (Genesis 27). This led to a conflict between the brothers, and Jacob had to flee to escape Esau's anger (Gen.27.41-45). Rebekah's deception had consequences for the family, but God's plan for Jacob prevailed. Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died and was buried near Bethel (Gen.35.8). Rebekah died and was buried in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham and Sarah were also buried (Gen.49.31). In the New Testament, Paul uses Rebekah's story to illustrate God's sovereignty in election (Rom.9.10-12).

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.