Rebekah

Rebekah was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau.

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).

A noose, the daughter of Bethuel, and the wife of Isaac (Gen. 22:23; 24:67). The circumstances under which Abraham’s “steward” found her at the “city of Nahor,” in Padan-aram, are narrated in Gen. 24-27. “She can hardly be regarded as an amiable woman. When we first see her she is ready to leave her father’s house for ever at an hour’s notice; and her future life showed not only a full share of her brother Laban’s duplicity, but the grave fault of partiality in her relations to her children, and a strong will, which soon controlled the gentler nature of her husband.” The time and circumstances of her death are not recorded, but it is said that she was buried in the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 49:31).