Rebecca

This article is about the Biblical matriarch. For the given name, see Rebecca (given name). For other uses, see Rebecca (disambiguation).
"Rebekah" redirects here. For the service organization, see International Association of Rebekah Assemblies.

Rebecca
רִבְקָה‎
Abram's servant tying the bracelet on Rebecca's arm (1775) by Benjamin West
Died
unknown
SpouseIsaac
ChildrenEsau (son)
Jacob (son)
FatherBethuel
RelativesLaban (brother)
Nahor II (grandfather)
Milcah (grandmother)
Abraham (granduncle/father-in-law)
Sarah (grandaunt/mother-in-law)
Haran (granduncle/great-grandfather)
Lot (uncle)
Iscah (aunt)

Rebecca[a] (/rɪˈbɛkə/) appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim.[3] Rebecca's brother was Laban the Aramean, and she was the granddaughter of Milcah and Nahor, the brother of Abraham.[4] Rebecca and Isaac were 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.[5] Most scholars have considered Rebecca's historicity uncertain.[6]

  1. ^ "Rebecca". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  2. ^ "Meaning and etymology of the name Rebecca (Rebekah)". Abarim Publications. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  3. ^ Hamori, Esther J. (2015). Women's Divination in Biblical Literature: Prophecy, Necromancy, and Other Arts of Knowledge. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-17891-3.
  4. ^ Tuchman, Shera Aranoff; Rapoport, Sandra E. (2004). The Passions of the Matriarchs. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88125-847-9.
  5. ^ "Cave of the Patriarchs". Chabad.org. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  6. ^ Frevel, Christian (2023). History of Ancient Israel. SBL Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-62837-512-1. In sum, it cannot be proven or excluded that there have been historical persons named Abraham, Sarai, Ishmael, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Rachel, Leah, and so on.


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