Rebekah, Rebecca - All the Women of the Bible - Bible Gateway Scripture References— Genesis 22:23; 24; 25:20-28; 26:6-35; 27; 28:5; 29:12; 35:8; 49:31; Romans 9:6-16 Name Meaning—Rebekah is another name with an animal connection. Although not belonging to any animal in particular, it has reference to animals of a limited class and in a peculiar condition. The name means a “tie rope for animals” or “a noose” in such a rope. Its root is found in a noun meaning a “hitching place” or “stall” and is connected with a “tied-up calf or lamb,” a young animal peculiarly choice and fat. Applied to a female, the figure suggests her beauty by means of which men are snared or bound. Thus another meaning of Rebekah is that of “captivating.” If, then, Rebekah means “a noosed cord,” the loop was firmly around Isaac’s neck.

When Isaac took her as his bride he forgot his grief for his dead mother, and lived happily with his wife for twenty years during which time they had no children. Family Connections—Rebekah is first mentioned in the genealogy of the descendants of Nahor, Abraham’s brother ( Genesis 22:20-24 ). When the pilgrims set out from the Ur of the Chaldees, Nahor was one of the party, and settled down at Charran where Terah, his father, died. Among Nahor’s sons was Bethuel who, by an unknown wife, became the father of Rebekah, the sister of Laban. Rebekah married Isaac the son of Abraham, by whom she had two sons, Esau and Jacob. The story of Isaac and Rebekah as a love lyric full of romance and tender beauty has been retold times without number, and is a charming record that never loses its appeal. Such an idyllic narrative is almost too familiar to need rehearsal, and too simple to require comment, yet because it constitutes one of the most romantic scenes in the Bible, its “moving scenes, so fresh and artless in their old world simplicity” have a pertinent appeal for present-day society.

Ancient Bible histories with their arrestive characters and remarkable sequence of events and fortunes never fail to leave an indelible imprint on our hearts. The chapter recording how a wife was found for Isaac ( Genesis 24 ) presents a link in the chain of events leading up to— That far-off Divine event To which the whole creation moves. Through the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, Abraham saw that day of Christ in which the church should become the Bride of Christ. Almost two millenniums after the days of the patriarch whom God spoke of as His “friend,” there were those who considered it a privilege to belong to the race having Abraham as its fountainhead. To be “a son of Abraham” or a lineal descendant of such a grand, great old divine was an honor, but Isaac enjoyed a still greater advantage for Abraham was his own natural father. What a rich dowry of blessing must have been Isaac’s because of such a close relationship. He had the inspiration of his father’s godliness, and the benefit of his prayers and wise counsels—even in the matter of securing the right kind of wife.

Abraham’s opposition to idolatry is seen in his request that the partner for his son, Isaac, must not be “of the daughters of the Canaanites” ( 24:3 ). As he had refused a grave for his wife, Sarah, amongst the sepulchers of the Hittites ( Genesis 23 ), so a wife for their son must not be sought among their daughters. Thus it came about that Abraham’s trusted, godly servant, Eliezer, was divinely guided to Haran where Nahor, Abraham’s brother settled. Too feeble to make the journey himself, Abraham gave his servant the most careful instructions, and impressed upon him the solemn significance of his mission. Confident as to the result of the search for a suitable wife for Isaac, Abraham assured the earthly seeker that he would be guided by God’s angel. Eliezer, the intelligent, prudent, obedient and praying servant went forth.

Seeking a sign of divine guidance, not to prove God’s faithfulness, but for his own direction in the choice of a woman of character as a wife for his master’s son, the servant came to Nahor’s well at Nahor, and saw in Rebekah who had come to draw water the answer to his prayer and quest. Eliezer lost no time in telling Rebekah who he was, and from whom he had come, and the purpose of his search. He revealed his tact in the way he wooed and won the heart of Rebekah. The gifts he bestowed upon her and the good things he said of his master, secured the favor of Rebekah’s family who gave its consent to the proposed marriage. Faced with instant departure from her dear ones, Rebekah is given her choice—“Wilt thou go with this man?” Without hesitation, feeling that she, too, was following the leading of God, as Eliezer had, Rebekah replied in a firm voice, “I will go.” The caravan set out for Abraham’s home, and now we come to a superb touch in the romantic story. Isaac was out in the fields at eventide for his usual period of meditation.

He saw the approaching camels and sensed the success of Eliezer in the choice of a wife. Reaching Isaac, Rebekah, according to custom, veiled her face, and the end of this exquisite poem of the meeting of bride and bridegroom is stated in most expressive terms—“Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her.” Marrying “sight unseen” is a most dangerous venture, but in this case it was successful because “the angel of the Lord” had directed the events leading up to the union. When Rebekah saw the handsome, mild-mannered and meditative Isaac, her heart went out to him. As for Isaac, a man of forty, and some twenty years older than Rebekah, he instantly loved the most beautiful woman he beheld, and she remained his only love. Some matrimonial matches have been described as “Lucifer Matches,” because of clash of temperament and temper, but the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah was certainly one “made in heaven.” There would be fewer broken homes if only young people looking for partners would seek the guidance of God as the servant of Abraham did.

We agree with Alexander Whyte when he says of the ancient record of the circumstances leading to the securing of a wife for Isaac— A sweeter chapter was never written than the twenty-fourth of Genesis.... The picture of aged Abraham swearing his most trusty servant about a bride for his son Isaac; that servant’s journey to Padan-aram in the far east; Rebekah, first at the well, and then in her mother’s house; and then her first sight of her future husband—that long chapter is a perfect gem of ancient authorship. As with other pairs in the Bible, it is hardly possible to separate Isaac from Rebekah whose lives were so closely knit together. Yet let us see if we can sketch a portrait of Rebekah herself. Her Character As a damsel, that is, a maiden around twenty years of age, Rebekah was “fair to look upon,” meaning that she had an unaffected Oriental beauty. She was a virgin, and had a childlike simplicity. There was no trace of wantonness in her. As with her mother-in-law, Sarah, beauty carried its dangers.

During his sojourn in Gerar, Isaac feared lest the physical charms of his wife might excite the desire of the king of Gerar and so he lied. Thus Isaac passed Rebekah off as his sister—a course of action which might have had dire consequences ( Genesis 26:6-16 ). He fell into the same error as his father before him (see href="/id/36333831-4538-3044-2D42-3136362D3332">Sarah ). Andrew Fuller says, “The falls of those that have gone before us are like so many rocks on which others have been split; and the recording of them is like placing buoys over them for the security of future mariners.” But in the story of Isaac the buoy served no beneficial purpose. Beautiful Rebekah had been taken by Abimelech, but one day as he looked out of the window he saw Isaac caressing Rebekah, and he knew that he had been deceived. Isaac’s untruthfulness was discovered, and the heir of God’s promises was rebuked by a heathen king for his lying and deception.

In the providence of God, Abimelech, an idolater, was made the protector of the child of promise (see Psalm 17:13 ). As “an amiable and lovely girl,” as her name suggests, she was industrious, for although she was a member of a family of standing she was not afraid to soil her hands. The hard work of drawing and carrying water, the provision she made for Eliezer’s camels, and the meal she prepared, speak of Rebekah as one who did not shun domestic duties. That she was a woman of faith is evident from what Paul says of her as being the recipient of a direct revelation from the Lord regarding universal blessing through her favorite Jacob ( Romans 9:12 ). Rebekah’s best qualities come out in the simple yet heartwarming narrative describing her response to Eliezer’s approach, in her service to him, and in her willingness to believe and act upon all he had told her.

In his remarkable cameo of Rebekah, George Matheson uses the following terms or expressions—“a fine manner” &--;“remarkable tact”—“a sunbeam to her household”—“a very beautiful young woman, with the gift of physical charm which was apt to produce self-consciousness”—“the gift of intellectual sympathy”—“Rebekah’s morning ray is a ray of sympathetic insight.” Modest and meek, frank and open, ready kindness, great energy and faith, graciousness matching her physical charm, describe Rebekah. When she became a mother she revealed how masterful and clever she could be—a direct contrast to Isaac who was probably more simple, slow of wit, and mild of manner than his wife. The lines of Wordsworth can express Isaac’s feelings when for the first time he gazed upon the lovely Rebekah and came to experience her comforting love as she filled the empty place in his heart because of his mother’s death. She was a phantom of delight When first she gleamed upon my sight; A lovely apparition, sent To be a moment’s ornament; Her eyes as stars of twilight fair, Like twilight’s, too, her dusky hair.

But all things else about her drawn From May-time and the cheerful dawn. A dancing shape, an image gay, To haunt, to startle, and waylay. I saw her upon nearer view, A spirit, yet a woman too! Her Children Motherhood came to Rebekah somewhat late in life when Isaac was an aging man. For twenty years she had been childless, and conscious of God’s promise that the Abrahamic Covenant could not be broken, Isaac entreated God that his long barren wife might conceive. He graciously answered his earnest intercession ( Genesis 25:19-34 ). As his prayer was in the line of God’s purpose, it was sure of an answer ( 1 John 5:14 ). The years of waiting on the part of Isaac and Rebekah show that God has His own time for the fulfillment of His purpose. Like coral strands beneath the sea, So strongly built and chaste, The plans of God, unfolding, show No signs of human haste. In an age of almost universal polygamy, Isaac took no handmaid, concubine, or second wife.

Rebekah and he were bound together by the bonds of a mutual affection, and although childless, yet became the parents of two sons who were destined to be the progenitors of different nations. But when Rebekah became the mother of twins—the first of two Bible women mentioned as giving birth to twins—the other was Tamar ( Genesis 38:27 )—somehow she changed and was a different character from the young bride who rode south so gaily to meet her lover in Canaan, as our next glimpse of her will show. The opposite characters of Rebekah’s twins, Esau and Jacob, brought into sharp focus the dark side of their mother. As Esau was the first to emerge from her womb he had the precedence and was thus the heir of two things, namely “the sovereignty and the priesthood, of the clan—the birthright and the blessing. The birthright was the right of succession....

The blessing was something to be given during the lifetime of the father.” We learn that as the boys grew, “Esau was a cunning (skillful) hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” At the time of their birth, Jacob seized his brother’s heel—an incident prophetic of the day when he would supplant Esau. Often in children there are characteristics predictive of the manner of adults they will be. The divergence of Rebekah’s twins in temperament, inclination, occupation, and religious aspirations is most apparent. Esau was wrapped in a raiment of hair, a rough man of the wilderness, a clever hunter with something of the wild daring spirit of the modern Bedouin. Jacob was the opposite of his brother. He preferred a fixed abode, to dwell in his tent rather than roam the desert. Esau was probably more brilliant, attractive, forceful, daring than his twin brother. Jacob, in spite of his weaknesses and mistakes was the finer character, and on the whole truer to the Lord and more fitted to possess the blessing of the birthright.

Further, there was the difference of regard on the part of Isaac and Rebekah toward their two sons that resulted in sorrow and separation. Isaac loved Esau, but the love was somewhat sensual. He loved his son “because he did eat of his venison.” Such love is of a carnal nature, for love in its highest sense has regard not so much to what the loved one gives as to what he or she is. Rebekah loved Jacob, not because he was more of a “homebody” than his brother, or possessed a more loving nature than he, but because Jacob was the Lord’s preference ( Romans 9:13 ). Esau thought so lightly of the birthright that he was willing to sell it for a mess of pottage, and be guilty, thereby, of the sin of profanity ( Hebrews 12:16 ). Jacob, however, recognized the solemnity of the birthright and wished to possess it. Esau thought of it as of no more value than a mouthful of food, but Jacob knew something of the sacred significance of the birthright and was therefore a more fit channel through which the blessing of God could flow to the seed of Abraham.

As Rebekah is often blamed for the partiality or favoritism she manifested for Jacob, it may be profitable to consider the matter of preference in family life. When parents single out one of their children as a favorite and shower more love and attention upon that one than the rest, such an unwise and unnatural course inevitably results in jealousy and strife. Although Isaac found “in Esau that strong practical nature, and energetic character which distinguished the woman he so dearly loved; and Rebekah saw in the gentle Jacob a replica of the father who had so strangely attracted her that first day when she met him meditating in the fields at evening,” the partiality was absolutely indefensible and led to lying and deception on Rebekah’s part. What else can be expected but confusion and trouble when there is a crossing of purposes between parents concerning their children? Was the root-cause of Rebekah’s unnatural and unmotherly preference of Jacob over Esau and her treatment of Esau as though he was not, the lack of deep love for her husband, and that union of moral and spiritual ideas and ideals characteristic of every true marriage? We are certainly told that Isaac loved Rebekah, but not that she loved Isaac.

Somehow we feel that if husband and wife had been one in all things in that ancient home, Rebekah would have been more concerned about Jacob’s character than his prosperity. But Isaac was partial to Esau and Rebekah partial to Jacob—which favoritism resulted in Esau leaving home, and Jacob fleeing from it. Rebekah’s record therefore shows that while Isaac was faithful to her, she was unfaithful to Isaac in a twofold way. First, she cheated Esau, her oldest son, and Isaac’s pet out of his birthright. Then she cheated Esau out of his father’s blessing, which prerogative had the effect of a testamentary bequest.

Comparing the chapter of the romantic meeting of Isaac and Rebekah ( Genesis 24 ) with its perfection of writing, and the dark chapter of Rebekah’s deception ( Genesis 28 ), Alexander Whyte says, “That the ship was launched on such a golden morning only the more darkens the surrounding gloom when she goes to the bottom.” Then dealing with the secret alienation that developed between Isaac and Rebekah, the same renowned expositor adds— When the two twin-brothers were brought up day after day and hour after hour in an atmosphere of favouritism, and partiality, and indulgence, and injustice, no father, no mother, can surely need to have it pointed out to them what present misery, and what future wages of such sin, is all to be seen and to be expected in that evil house. One result of Rebekah’s preference for Jacob was the spite and the sight of Esau going out and grieving his parents by marrying two ungodly women. Esau was forty years old when he did this &--;the same age at which Isaac married Rebekah.

His parents must have seen in the foreign wives he brought home the firstfruits of the devil’s garden they had sowed for themselves. “Their great grief would seem to have been almost the only thing the two old people were at one about by that time.” Esau had seen little in his mother to admire and respect; therefore he was never in any mood to please her. What a different story would have been written if Esau’s home had been “without partiality”! Her Chicanery Chicanery is described as the act of one who deliberately deceives, and this was Rebekah’s sin. The destiny of her favorite son, Jacob, was strongly influenced by his mother’s strong-mindedness, and thus she became the authoress of the treacherous plan to deprive Esau of his father’s blessing. Isaac is old, feeble and blind, and informs the members of his household that the time has come to give Esau, officially, what was left to him after selling his birthright, namely, the blessing which carried with it the recognition of his headship, the ratification of the birthright.

So Isaac told his favorite son to take his bow and arrow and go into the fields, hunt for his much-liked venison, and make a savory meal. At that time, and for centuries in the Orient, a meal taken together was a common symbol of a saved pledge when father and son partook together. In such an hour of sacred fellowship the father bestowed upon the elder son his rank and place. Rebekah overheard, and her deceitful heart was stirred to action. She set about to thwart her husband’s purpose. Her favorite son must not be displaced, and her hopes for him dashed to the ground, by the impetuous hunter whom Isaac loved. Cunningly she devised the plan of impersonation. While Esau was out in the fields hunting, Rebekah told Jacob to go to a flock nearby and bring two kids for her to dress and cook and pass off as venison. While cautious about his mother’s duplicity, he had no conscience against it. What made Jacob hesitant was the fact that his brother was a hairy man, while his own skin was smooth, and that if his father felt him and sensed the deception, he would not bless him, but curse him.

Rebekah, however, was equal to this fear of Jacob, and he followed the counsels of his treacherous mother. He put the skin of the kids upon his hands and upon his neck, thus making himself feel and smell like Esau, and so deceived his aged, blind father. Doubtless Rebekah stood nearby in convenient concealment to see how her ill-conceived ruse would succeed. Smelling Esau’s clothes, and feeling the false hairy hands, Isaac was a little doubtful and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” But reassured by the repeated lies of Jacob, the deceived father bestowed the unalterable blessing upon his son, and Jacob, by fraud, became the father of Israel’s race. To his discredit, he played the role successfully which his mother had drilled into him with masterly skill. Covetous of the sacred, patriarchal blessing for her favorite son, Rebekah felt she had to resort to duplicity to gain her ends, and in doing so she prostituted parental authority.

“My son obey my voice” ( Genesis 27:8 ), and Jacob the misguided son obeyed, and in his subsequent career bore the bitter fruit of his conduct when Laban deceived him regarding Rachel. A deceiver Jacob was Full of craft and guile; Thro' long years he bore his guilt, Unrepentant all the while. Samuel Morely once said, “I am much what my mother has made me.” It was so in a wrong sense in the life of Jacob, for as in the case of Athaliah, “his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly” ( 2 Chronicles 22:3 ). The thoroughness with which Jacob carried out his mother’s plan of deception is surely one of the worse features of the narrative. Fearful of the failure of his mother’s plot, Jacob said, “I will bring a curse upon me and not a blessing.” But Rebekah replied, “Upon me be thy curse, my son, only obey my voice.” The future scheming life of Jacob, however, was but the extension of the deceitful qualities of his mother, and both suffered as the result of adopting false methods to accomplish right ends.

When Esau found that he had been robbed of his blessing through the cunning scheme of his mother, he became a remorseless avenger and swore the death of his brother who was forced to flee for his life to Haran, some 500 miles away. Rebekah never saw the face of her much-loved son again. To add to her reproach she had to endure the grief of seeing her other son marry heathen women. Esau’s heathen wives caused Rebekah to be weary of her life ( Genesis 27:46 ). Esau received a promise from his father that he would be the progenitor of a great nation—the Edomites—and much misery accrued to Israel because of Edom. The wrath of Esau’s enraged blood boiled in the blood of Herod the Idumean on the day he reviled the Man of Sorrows. There are some writers who try to justify the actions of Rebekah by saying that she was prompted to take the course she did concerning Jacob because of the prediction that, “the elder shall serve the younger,” but God had no need of trickery and deceit to fulfill His promise.

Ambitious for her son, Rebekah sacrificed the love of her husband, the loss of the esteem of her elder son, and the peace of her soul, for the idolized son whose face she never saw again. Without doubt, Jacob was the divinely-appointed heir of Abraham ( Genesis 25:23 ), and Rebekah seeking to overrule the purpose of Isaac in his blessing of Esau, resorted to deceit to accomplish the will of God. Her guiding principle was, “Let us do evil that good may come” ( Romans 3:8 ), but wrong is never right ( James 1:20 ). Esau had sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, and Rebekah catered to Isaac’s carnal appetite in order to accomplish a divine purpose. Had she laid aside “all guile, and hypocrisies” ( 1 Peter 2:1 ), and reasoned with her husband about the solemn issue at stake she would have been saved from the disgrace which her worldly policy brought upon her own head and from the sorrow others had to endure. Almost the last picture we have of Rebekah is when she tearfully witnessed the hasty departure of her favorite son.

“A strong-minded, decisive girl had grown into an autocratic matriarch,” and ends her days a brokenhearted woman. When she died we are not told. Isaac, although much older than Rebekah, was still living when Jacob returned to Canaan over 20 years later. It is assumed that she died during Jacob’s long absence, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah near Hebron ( Genesis 49:31 ). A fitting epitaph for her grave would have been, “Died of a broken heart.” The only monument Rebekah has is to be found in the Anglican marriage service of The Book of Common Prayer where we read— That as Isaac and Rebekah lived faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them. While she may have been faithful during the first 20 years of marriage while she was childless, Rebekah, by her unjustifiable treacherous and wholly inexplicable intervention for her favorite son, stained her solemn marriage. Reviewing Rebekah’s life and character what are some of the warnings to heed?

Are we not forcibly reminded that love which seeks success at the cost of truth and righteousness is of the earth, earthy? The devil’s maxim is, “Nothing succeeds like success.” But from God’s standpoint nothing succeeds which does not follow the way of truth and honesty. Then, while she had physical beauty, her domination of Jacob and her scheme to deceive her husband revealed the lack of the beauty of a godly character. Further, Rebekah is a warning to all parents that there should be no favorites in the family; that all alike should be dear to them. If there is partiality for any in a family, it should only be for those who are weak and helpless. Another warning bell is that when a wife conspires against her husband, or vice versa, they are guilty of a baseness which language cannot describe. When one partner finds that he has been betrayed by the other, the world becomes a blank.

The mind has a thousand eyes The heart but one, JACOB: steals from Esau, meets an Angel, Dinah raped, sale of Joseph Bible study ideas for moreJacob - lies, lies, lies Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebecca, twin brother of Esau, husband of the sisters Rachel and Leah, and father of the twelve sons who became the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel Rachel, his beloved wife, mother of Joseph and Benjamin; she died giving birth to Benjamin Leah her older sister, also married to Jacob. The unloved wife who bore her husband six sons and a daughter. Joseph, favored son of Jacob Labin, father of Rachel and Leah The birth of Esau and Jacob Rebecca, wife of Isaac, bore twin sons, Esau and Jacob. When they were born they seemed to be scrambling for first place: Esau came first, but Jacob came out holding onto Esau's tiny heel. They were in competition from the start. But they were quite different in personality. Jacob was a thinker, a man who preferred to stay close to home. Esau was a man's man, a hunter and farmer. As the old saying goes, one was an 'arty', the other was a 'hearty'.

Theft of the Birthright and Blessing Jacob hated being second in line. He always wanted the birthright - the eldest son was entitled to twice the inheritance that any of his brothers got when their father died. One day when Esau came in from the fields, famished with hunger and exhausted, Jacob refused to give him the food he was cooking unless Esau renounced the birthright of the eldest son and gave it to him. Esau probably didn't take him too seriously, and when Jacob insisted he gave in, to get his hands on the food. He swore an oath that Jacob would have the birthright of the eldest son. Their father Isaac loved Esau better than Jacob, but Jacob was his mother's favorite. She decided that he, not Esau, would be a better leader of the tribe, and she primed Jacob on how to steal the Blessing from Esau - the Blessing of the tribal leader had ritual and legal significance, naming the next leader of the tribe. Rebecca waited until Isaac's eyesight was failing badly, then she disguised Jacob so that Isaac mistook him for Esau.

Jacob was a willing partner to the trickery, disguising his voice, skin and clothing so that Isaac would think he was speaking to Esau. The old man then gave the Blessing not to the son he favored, but to Jacob. Read the Bible Text Jacob's dream Knowing that Esau would be enraged by what he had done, Jacob fled. He took his mother's advice and set off for Padan-Aram, where her family still lived. On the journey he stopped one night and lay down to sleep, laying his head on a flat stone. While he was asleep he had a strange dream that affected him deeply. He dreamed he saw a ladder reaching from the earth up to heaven, and angels were going up and down the ladder. Then God stood beside him and spoke, telling Jacob that this land should be his, and that he would have innumerable descendants. Then Jacob woke up, and was afraid. God was in this place, and Jacob had somehow stumbled on a place that joined heaven and earth. Next morning he took the stone he had used as a pillow and set it up as an altar, pouring oil on it to sanctify it. He called the place Bethel.

Marriage with two sisters Then he set out again on his journey to his mother's family. He came to a well where some shepherds were watering their flocks. A young girl wanted to draw water from the well, and Jacob learnt from the shepherds she was Rachel, a cousin of his, daughter of his mother's brother Laban. He was smitten. He rolled the stone away from the lid of the well for her and she took him to meet his relatives. Laban had two daughters, Leah and Rachel. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, and said so. But he had no bride price, and Laban demanded that Jacob work for him for seven years to pay the bride price for Rachel. This Jacob did, and at the end of the seven years he prepared to marry Rachel. But Laban tricked him into marrying Lead instead - the face of the bride was hidden during the wedding, and once they'd had sexual intercourse in the darkness of the wedding night, there was no going back. Of course when Jacob found out he'd been tricked he was white-hot with anger. He had tricked his father Isaac but now had been tricked in turn by his uncle.

He demanded to be given Rachel, and was so threatening that Laban agreed - on condition that Jacob work another seven years for her. This he did - but the anger inside him rankled, and he planned a way to get even. Read the Bible Text This paintings by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel is labelled 'Jacob, Joseph'. On the left side sits Jacob - and the face given him by Michelangelo suits the deceitful man in Genesis very well. Beside him is a rather sickly Rachel (she dies at the birth of her second son) with her first son Joseph. On the right side is Leah 'of the beautiful eyes', blessed with many sons and a daughter Dinah (far right), whose life will be ruined when she is raped by a man who professes to love her. Be wary of information on art websites that tells you the 'Joseph' referred to in this painting is Joseph, husband of Mary of Nazareth, and that the female figure on the right is Mary of Nazareth. Comments like this are made by art historians who do not seem to have read the Old Testament stories on which Michelangelo based his Lunettes.

Escape from Laban Jacob now had four wives - two full wives in Leah and Rachel, and their two maids Zilpah and Bilhah. He loved Rachel, but she did not seem able to conceive. Leah on the other hand was fertile. She had six sons and a daughter, Dinah, in rapid succession. Zilpah had two sons, as did Bilhah. Finally Rachel had a son whom she called Joseph. Meanwhile, Jacob and Laban had worked uneasily together. Neither trusted the other, with good reason. When the full bride price had been paid, Jacob asked Laban if he could leave and return to his native country. Laban prevaricated, but they came to an arrangement. Laban's flocks would consist of all the animals who were white. Jacob could have all the animals who were spotted or dark - these were not as valuable as the white animals. Laban thought he had made a bargain, but Jacob took steps to stop the white animals breeding, and put the strong male animals with the spotted or black females, so that he bred a stronger and more numerous flock. He had outwitted Laban.

Figurines from Ur, southern Mesopotamia, 5,000-4,000BC One day, without any farewell, Jacob gathered up his wives, children and flocks, and left. Rachel, who had never forgiven her father for tricking Jacob into marrying Leah, stole the household gods - small statuettes that represented the spirit of her family, similar to the lares and penetes of the Romans. This might seem a petty action, but these statuettes guaranteed legal title to all Jacob had taken from Laban. Jacob did not know she had done this. When he found out three days later, Laban pursued them - to get back his flocks and the statuettes. When they met each one accused the other of cheating - and each one was right. But they agreed to a truce, with each one staying on his own side of an agreed landmark. Laban looked for the statuettes, know they must be in Jacob's camp, but Rachel hid them in a saddlebag then sat on them. She had her menstrual periods, she told her father - and by tribal law this meant he would be unclean if he touched the place where she had been sitting.

He could not search the saddlebags, and so she had her revenge on her father. Read the Bible Text Wrestling with the Angel Jacob moved on. As he approached his home territory, he knew there would be a confrontation with Esau, his wronged brother. He heard that Esau had set out looking for him, and was afraid. Cautiously he sent flocks of animals as a sweetener to appease Esau, then waited to see what would happen. He also sent his wives and children away, so that they would be safe. Jacob Wrestling with an Angel, Gauguin That night, standing alone by the River Jabbok, a solitary man approached Jacob and began to wrestle with him. They wrestled and fought all night, but neither could get the upper hand. Then the stranger struck Jacob in the hollow of his thigh, and Jacob's hip was dislocated. But Jacob held on. The stranger told him to let go, but Jacob demanded a blessing before he would do so. 'What is your name?' asked the stranger. 'Jacob'. 'Now it is no longer Jacob, but Israel', said the stranger. Jacob knew that he had seen God face to face - and lived.

But Esau was still coming, and Jacob had to deal with that. He prepared for the worst, but to his amazement Esau ran to meet him, embracing him and welcoming him. He held no grudges - in fact, throughout the story he is consistently more likable than Jacob. They wept together, and were reunited as brothers, Esau having forgiven his brother completely. Read the Bible Text The rape of Dinah Jacob continued on to the city of Shechem, where he bought land. His family began the process of settling there, and the women began to visit the local women and make friends with them. On one of these visits Jacob's daughter Dinah was molested by the son of the local ruler, Shechem son of Hamor. Molested is too gentle a word. The young girl was raped. Strangely, Shechem seems to have fallen deeply in love with her at the time - the Bible says 'his soul was drawn to her'. He persuaded his father Hamor to ask for her hand in marriage. Nowhere in this story is Dinah's reaction described. Jacob knew what had happened, but his sons did not - they were away in the fields at the time.

When they heard about it they were very angry, but Hamor met with them and told them his sons wanted to marry Dinah, and that this could be the beginning of friendship between the inhabitants of the city and the new settlers. There could be intermarriage, trade and friendship between the groups. But Jacob's sons held onto their anger, and made a condition: that Shechem could only be accepted by them if he was circumcised. Not only Shechem, but every male among Shechem's people. Probably to their surprise, Shechem was more than willing to fall in with their request. There is something rather plaintive in his desire to please Dinah's brothers. He seems truly to have loved Dinah. He persuaded all the men of the city to accept the newcomers as equals, and to be circumcised. He himself led the way. But a few days later, when all the men of the city had been newly circumcised and were in pain with the wound, the sons of Jacob attacked them and the city, killing and looting, stealing the wives and children of the city and taking all the loot they could.

They killed Hamor and Shechem and took Dinah out of Shechem's house where she had gone to live. Jacob was aghast. He himself has been a trickster, but not a murderer. Now the tribe was in real trouble, with a whole new set of enemies. His sons' grisly acts had destroyed the harmony that might have been. Hastily Jacob pulled up roots and fled, taking his family and all they could carry to Bethel where they would be safe. Read the Bible Text The sale of Joseph After they had been in Bethal awhile they set out again, but Rachel was heavily pregnant, and not strong. She had a difficult labor, gave birth to a son called Benjamin, then died. Jacob had lost the woman he loved more than any other. Joseph's Coat Brought to Jacob, Giovanni Andrea de Ferrari Her son lived on - Joseph, and Jacob loved him more than any of his other sons. He favored Joseph in many ways - there is a hint of this in the mention of the long-sleeved coat Jacob gave to Joseph.

Heavy work cannot be done in a long-sleeved coat, so the fact that Joseph gave him this article of clothing meant that Joseph was not expected to do any of the heavy, tedious work of a tribesman or farmer. Unfortunately Joseph's sons were well aware of this, and grew jealous of Joseph. One day when they were well away from Jacob and the rest of the tribe, Joseph's brothers saw a chance to kill him - to get rid of him permanently. Only one of them spoke out against the plan - Reuben, the eldest son of Leah. He suggested that instead of killing him they imprison Joseph in one of the empty water cisterns - he meant to come back later and free his brother. Eventually they ended up selling Joseph as a slave to a passing trader. Jacob was heartbroken when they went back and told their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph, Overseer of Pharaoh's Graneries, Alma Tadema Only many years later did he find out the truth, when he and his sons went to Egypt and met Joseph, not dead at all but doing very well indeed for himself. Jacob died happy, knowing that his son Joseph was successful and respected.

His final request was that Joseph return him to his homeland, to be buried with his ancestors, and Joseph honored this final request. Jacob in the Bible Was Father of the 12 Tribes of Israel By Jack Zavada Updated August 08, 2016. Jacob was one of the great patriarchs of the Old Testament, but at times he was also a schemer, liar, and manipulator. God established his covenant with Jacob's grandfather, Abraham . The blessings continued through Jacob's father, Isaac , then to Jacob and his descendants. Jacob's sons became leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel . The younger of twins, Jacob was born holding on to his brother Esau 's heel. His name means "he grasps the heel" or "he deceives." Jacob lived up to his name. He and his mother Rebekah cheated Esau out of his birthright and blessing. Later in Jacob's life, God renamed him Israel, which means "he struggles with God." In fact, Jacob struggled with God his entire life, as many of us do. As he matured in faith , Jacob depended on God more and more.

But the turning point for Jacob came after a dramatic, all-night wrestling match with God. In the end, the Lord touched Jacob's hip and he was a broken man, but also a new man. From that day forward, Jacob was called Israel. And for the rest of his life he walked with a limp, demonstrating his dependence on the Lord. Jacob finally learned to give up control to God. Jacob's story teaches us how an imperfect person can be greatly blessed by God--not because of who he or she is, but because of who God is. Accomplishments of Jacob in the Bible Jacob in the Bible account fathered 12 sons, who became leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel. One of them was Joseph, a key figure in the Old Testament. His name is frequently associated with God in the Bible: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob persevered in his love for Rachel. He proved to be a hard worker. Jacob's Strengths Jacob was clever. Sometimes this trait worked for him, and sometimes it backfired on him. He used both his mind and strength to build his wealth and family. Jacob's Weaknesses Sometimes Jacob made his own rules, deceiving others for selfish gain.

He did not trust God to work things out. Even though God revealed himself to Jacob in the Bible, Jacob took a long time to become a true servant of the Lord. He favored Joseph over his other sons, leading to jealousy and strife within his family. Life Lessons The sooner we trust God in life, the longer we will benefit from his blessings. When we fight God, we are in a losing battle. We often worry about missing the will of God for our life, but God works with our mistakes and bad decisions. His plans cannot be upset. Hometown Canaan. References to Jacob in the Bible Jacob's story is found in Genesis chapters 25-37, 42, 45-49. His name is mentioned throughout the Bible in connection with God: "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Occupation Shepherd, prosperous owner of sheep and cattle.

Family Tree: Sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali Daughter: Dinah Key Verses Genesis 28:12-15 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.

I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." ( NIV ) Genesis 28:20-22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (NIV) Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." (NIV) Rebekah | Jewish Virtual Library Tweet The biblical matriarch Rebekah was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob . Rebekahs father was Bethuel, who was the son of Abrahams brother Nahor. Information about Rebekah comes from Genesis chapters 24-28. When Abraham wanted to find a wife for Isaac, he sent his servant to his hometown of Aram-Naharaim.

The servant came to a spring and prayed to God. He proposed a sign  the first woman to give water to both him and his camels would be the one who would be right for Isaac. Immediately, Rebekah approached him and, when he asked for a drink, she ran to the spring and brought water for both him and his camels. The servant went with Rebekah to her house, where he received permission from her father and her brother, Laban, to take Rebekah to Canaan as a wife for Isaac. Isaac married Rebekah when he was 40 years old. According to Genesis, he was only comforted after his mothers death when he married Rebekah and took her into his mothers tent. Rebekah was barren for 20 years. Isaac prayed for her, and, finally, she became pregnant with twins. She had a difficult pregnancy and asked God about her children. He answered that her two sons would become two nations and the older would serve the younger. She gave birth and named the firstborn twin Esau and the second Jacob. Possibly because of the prophecy, Rebekah favored Jacob.

At one point, there was a famine in Canaan and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar to find food. Rebekah was beautiful and Isaac was scared to tell the people there she was his wife. Instead, he claimed she was his sister. After some time, Abimelech saw them together and confronted Isaac who admitted that he had been scared to tell anyone that Rebekah was his wife. Abimelech then proclaimed to the people that anyone who hurt Isaac or Rebekah would be put to death. When Isaac was old, he instructed Esau to hunt and prepare a meal and then Isaac would bless him. Rebekah overheard this and told Jacob to pretend he was Esau in order to receive the blessing. Rebekah prepared a dish for Isaac, clothed Jacob in Esaus clothes and covered his hands and neck with skins so he would feel as hairy as his brother. The plan worked and Jacob received the blessing from Isaac. When Esau realized what happened, he planned to kill his brother. Rebekah found out and advised Jacob to run to her brother Labans house in Haran until Esau got over his anger.

The bible does not write when Rebekah died, but only that she was buried in the Cave of Machpelah . Sources: Encyclopedia Judaica ; Genesis , The Jewish Publication Societys translation, New York: 1985. Rebekah | Women of the Bible Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Women of the Bible Wiki Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected.

Rebekah with the Servant Esau, Jacob Relatives Bethuel (father), Laban (older brother), Milcah (grandmother), Abraham (grand uncle/father-in-law), Sarah (half-grand aunt/mother-in-law), Judith (daughter-in-law), Bashemath (daughter-in-law), Mahalath (daughter-in-law), Adah (daughter-in-law), Aholibamah (daughter-in-law), Leah (niece/daughter-in-law), Rachel (niece/daughter-in-law), Jochebed (great granddaughter), Miriam (great-great granddaughter), Aaron (great-great grandson), Moses (great-great grandson), David (descendant), Jesus Christ (descendant) Grandchildren from Jacob Reuben, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, Issachar, Zebulun, Simeon, Dan, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin, Dinah Grandchildren from Esau Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, Korah Rebekah (Rebecca) was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. She was also the sister of Laban and the aunt of Jacob's future wives: Rachel and Leah .

Rebekah first watered the camels of Abraham's servant who was sent to find a bride for his son Issac. Rebekah then left her home with the servant and married Isaac. Rebekah later became the mother of Jacob and Esau and she helped Jacob deceive Issac into giving Jacob the family blessing instead of Esau. Contents Edit Rebekah is first mentioned in Gen. 22: 23 as the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son. When Abraham was getting very old, he sent his oldest servant to find a wife for his son Issac, from among the women of Abraham's home land. So the servant went out and stopped at a well to water his camels and he prayed that God would show him the proper woman for Issac by allowing the right one to give him a drink and to water his camels for him. Before he finished speaking, Rebekah, who was very beautiful in appearance (Gen. 24: 16) came out and filled up her pitcher, and the servant asked if he could have a drink from her pitcher. Rebekah quickly gave the pitcher to him so that he could drink and she also watered his camels.

Afterwards, the servant gave her a golden nose ring and two bracelets and he asked whose daughter she was and she replied her father was Bethuel and she offered him straw, feed and lodging in her home. After the servant praised God, Rebekah ran home to tell her mother what she had seen. The Wife of Issac Edit After hearing Rebekah's story, her brother Laban ran out to greet the servant and he invited him to stay at their home. After they ate, the servant told Rebekah's family of his mission and of his meeting with Rebekah and he requested that Rebekah come with him to be Isaac's wife. Laban and Bethuel then allowed Rebekah to go and the servant praised the Lord and gave Rebekah silver and gold jewelry and clothes and he gave gifts to Laban and her mother. The next day the servant requested to leave with Rebekah, but her family protested that she should stay ten more days, then she could go, but the servant pleaded with them, so they decided to ask Rebekah what she wanted to do and she decided to go then.

So after a blessing from her family Rebekah took her nurse and her maids and rode on camel until she saw Isaac in the fields meditating. She asked the servant whom he was and he told her it was his master, so Rebekah took a veil and covered herself (Gen. 24: 65). Then after the servant reported to Isaac what had happened, Isaac took Rebekah into Sarah's tent and she became his wife and he loved her. The Mother of Jacob and Esau Edit Isaac was forty when he married Rebekah. Issac pleaded with God to give Rebekah children, and the Lord heard his request and granted it and Rebekah conceived. However, "the children struggled together within her" and Rebekah worried about what was wrong, so she went to ask the Lord. God told her that she had two nations, two people, or two sons within her womb and that one (Jacob) would be stronger than the other (Esau). When Rebekah gave birth the fisrt son to come out was Esau and the second, Jacob. Isaac loved Esau, but Rebekah favored Jacob more.

In Gerar Edit Sometime after the birth of Esau and Jacob, there was a famine and Isaac and his family went to the king of the Philistines, King Abimelech. When Abimelech asked Isaac of Rebekah, he told them that she was his sister, so that he might not be killed because of her beauty. However, a long time later, Abimelech saw Isaac showing love to his wife, and he told Isaac to tell the truth, which he did confess that Rebekah was not his sister, but his wife. Helping Jacob Edit When Isaac became old and he could not see, he told Esau to gather food for him so that he might bless his son, but Rebekah wanted Jacob to receive the family blessing instead. So she dressed him up in Esau's clothes and she put fur on him and prepared food for Isaac and sent Jacob to deceive Isaac. However, when Jacob received the blessing instead of Esau, Rebekah feared for Jacob's life and she told Jacob to flee to her brother Laban's house. Sometime later, Rebekah's nurse Deborah died and was buried. Rebekah's death is not mentioned in the Bible.

New Testament Edit Rebekah was mentioned by Paul in one of his letters to the churches in Romans 9: 10-12 about Rebekah being conceived through their ancestor Isaac and God's answer to Rebekah's prayer by saying to her "The older shall serve the younger". Trivia Edit Rebekah means "to tie" Rebekah was the first women in the Bible to be mentioned first by a well (others include Rachel and The Samaritan Woman ) Rebekah is Isaac's second cousin. Family Rebekah's family consisted of Laban, her brother, the father of Rachel and Leah, and her sons Jacob (the father of Israel) and Esau (the father of Edom).

Quotes Edit "Drink my lord." -Rebekah offering the servant a drink "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." -Rebekah giving the servant's camels water "I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah's son, whom she bore to Nahor." -Rebekah telling the servant about her family "Thus this man spoke to me." -Rebekah telling Laban about the servant "I will go." -Rebekah agrees to go to Issac "Who is this man walking in the field to meet us." -Rebekah sees Issac "If all is well, why am I like this." -Rebekah wondering about her pain “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves.

Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.” -Rebekah instructing Jacob about the blessing “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” -Rebekah easing Jacob's worries “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there.

Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?” -Rebekah telling Jacob to flee “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?” -Rebekah worries for Jacob Gallery Rebekah - Wife of Isaac and Mother of Esau and Jacob Share By Jack Zavada Rebekah was assertive in a time when women were expected to be submissive. This quality helped her become Isaac 's wife but caused trouble when she pushed one of her sons ahead of the other. Abraham , father of the Jewish nation, did not want his son Isaac to marry one of the pagan Canaanite women in the area, so he sent his servant Eliezer to his homeland to find a wife for Isaac. When the servant arrived, he prayed that the right girl would not only offer him a drink of water from the well, but offer to water his ten camels too. Rebekah came out with her water jar and did exactly that! She agreed to go back with the servant and became Isaac's wife. In time, Abraham died.

Like her mother-in-law Sarah , Rebekah was also barren. Isaac prayed to God for her and Rebekah conceived twins. The Lord told Rebekah what would happen to her sons: "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." (Genesis 25:24, NIV ) They named the twins Esau and Jacob . Esau was born first, but Jacob became Rebekah's favorite. When the boys grew up, Jacob tricked his older brother into selling his birthright for a bowl of stew. Later, as Isaac was dying and his eyesight had failed, Rebekah helped Jacob deceive Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau. She put goatskins on Jacob's hands and neck to imitate Esau's hairy skin. When Isaac touched it, he blessed Jacob, thinking it was really Esau. Rebekah's deception caused strife between Esau and Jacob. Many years later, however, Esau forgave Jacob.

When Rebekah died, she was buried in the family tomb, a cave near Mamre in Canaan, the resting place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, and her daughter-in-law Leah. Rebekah's Accomplishments: Rebekah married Isaac, one of the patriarchs of the Jewish nation. She bore two sons who became leaders of great nations. Rebekah's Strengths: Rebekah was assertive and fought for what she believed was right. Rebekah's Weaknesses: Rebekah sometimes thought God needed her help. She favored Jacob over Esau and helped Jacob deceive Isaac. Her trickery led to a split between the brothers that has caused turmoil to this day. Life Lessons: Impatience and lack of trust made Rebekah interfere with God's plan. She did not consider the consequences of her action. When we step out of God's timing, we can sometimes cause a disaster we have to live with. Hometown: Key Verses: Genesis 24:42-44 "When I came to the spring today, I said, 'LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come.

See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, "Please let me drink a little water from your jar," and if she says to me, "Drink, and I'll draw water for your camels too," let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master's son.'" ( NIV ) Genesis 24:67 Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. (NIV) Genesis 27:14-17 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

(NIV) Women of the Torah - Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel Are the Bible's Matriarchs < Continued from page 1 Sisters Leah and Rachel join Sarah and Rebekah to complete the set of matriarchs among women of the Torah. They were daughters of Jacob's uncle Laban and thus their husband's first cousins as well as his wives. This close kinship would be frowned upon if not outlawed in contemporary times because of what is now known about the possibility of reinforcing familial genetic defects. However, as multiple historical sources have pointed out, marriage practices in biblical times were designed to serve tribal needs to preserve bloodlines, and so close kinship marriages were permitted. Beyond their close kinship, the story of Leah, Rachel and Jacob (Genesis 29 and 30) turns on a fundamental tension in their family dynamic that gives insight into the tragic nature of family feuds. Leah's Marriage Was Made By Deception Jacob had fled to his uncle's household after he deprived his brother Esau of the firstborn's blessing from their father Isaac (Genesis 27).

continue reading below our video 10 Best Universities in the United States But the tables were turned on Jacob after he worked for seven years to gain Laban's younger daughter, Rachel, as his wife. Laban deceived Jacob into marrying his firstborn daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel, and Jacob only discovered he'd been tricked after his wedding night with Leah. Having consummated their marriage, Jacob couldn't back out and he was furious. Laban placated him by promising he could marry Rachel a week later, which Jacob did. Laban's trickery may have gained Leah a husband, but it also set her up as a rival to her sister Rachel for their husband's affections. Scripture says that because Leah was unloved, Yahweh endowed her with fertility, with the result that she gave birth to six of Jacob's 12 sons -- Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun – and to Jacob's only daughter, Dinah. According to Genesis 30:17-21, Leah gave birth to Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah after she had reached menopause.

Leah is not only a matriarch of Israel; she's a metaphor for how highly fertility was prized in ancient times. The Sisters' Rivalry Gave Jacob a Big Family Sadly, Rachel whom Jacob loved was childless for many years. So in an episode reminiscent of Sarah's story, Rachel dispatched her maid, Bilhah, to be Jacob's concubine. Once again, there is an apparent reference to the ancient cultural practice of surrogacy in Genesis 30:3 when Rachel tells Jacob: "Here is my maid, Bilhah. Consort with her, that she may bear on my knees and that through her I too may have children." Learning of this arrangement, Leah tried to maintain her status as senior matriarch. She dispatched her maid, Zilpah, to be Jacob's second concubine. Both concubines bore children to Jacob, but Rachel and Leah named the children, another sign that the matriarchs maintained authority over the surrogacy practice. Bilhah gave birth to two sons whom Rachel named Dan and Napthali, while Zilpah mothered two sons whom Leah named Gad and Asher.

However, Bilhah and Zilpah are not included among the women of the Torah considered matriarchs, something scholars interpret as a sign of their status as concubines rather than wives. Finally, after Leah had borne her third post-menopausal child, Dinah, her sister Rachel gave birth to Joseph, who was his father's favorite. Rachel later died giving birth to Jacob's youngest son, Benjamin, thus ending the sisters' rivalry. Patriarchs and Matriarchs Are Buried Together All three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, claim the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Bible as their ancestors. All three faiths hold that their fathers and mothers in the faith – with one exception -- are buried together in the Tomb of the Patriarchs located in Hebron, Israel. Rachel is the one exception to this family plot; tradition holds that Jacob buried her in Bethlehem where she died. These ancestor stories show that the spiritual progenitors of Judaism, Christianity and Islam were not model human beings. By turns they were distrustful and devious, often jockeying for power within their family structures according to the cultural practices of ancient times.

Nor were they paragons of faith, for they often manipulated their circumstances to try to achieve what they understood as God's will according to their own timetables. Nonetheless, their faults make these women of the Torah and their spouses all the more accessible and in many ways, heroic. Unpacking the many cultural hints in their stories brings biblical history to life. Women of the Torah Sources: Huwiler, Elizabeth, Biblical Women: Mirrors, Models and Metaphors (Cleveland, OH, United Church Press, 1993). Stol, Marten, Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: its Mediterranean setting (Boston, MA, Brill Academic Publishers, 2000), page 179. The Jewish Study Bible (New York, Oxford University Press, 2004). ﻿All About the Bible,

Question: According to the Bible, who was the son of Isaac and Rebeckah, the twin brother to Esau, the husband of Leah and Rachel, and the father of Joseph?
Answer: Jacob