Rebekah was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. She was chosen by God to continue Abraham’s descendants.
Rebekah and Isaac
After Sarah died, Abraham sought a wife for his son Isaac . Abraham did not want Isaac to marry a woman from Canaan, who served other gods. So he sent his oldest servant to his homeland to find a woman among his relatives ( Genesis 24: 1-4 ).
Look here: who was Abraham in the Bible?
When the servant arrived in the city, he prayed to God, asking for a sign to find out who the right woman was. At that moment God gave him the sign he had asked for: a girl drew water from the well for him and his ten camels ( Genesis 24: 19-21 ). The girl was called Rebeca and was related to Abraham.
The servant gave gifts to Rebekah and she told her family everything, who received the servant in her home. The servant explained that he was looking for a wife for Isaac and asked to take Rebekah. Rebeca’s family consented but wanted some time to say goodbye. The servant wanted to leave soon, so Rebeca was asked if she wanted to go. Rebeca said yes, without hesitation, so they left ( Genesis 24: 57-59 ).
When they were arriving, a man came to meet him. Rebeca asked the servant who he was and he said it was Isaac. So Rebeca covered herself with a veil, out of modesty. Isaac married Rebekah and loved her very much ( Genesis 24: 65-67 ).
Discover Isaac’s story here .
Rebeca and Jacob
Rebeca could not have children, so Isaac prayed and, 20 years later, she became pregnant. There were twins inside Rebeca, who pushed inside her belly. Rebeca asked God what was going on. He revealed to him that his two sons would become two nations and that the oldest would serve the youngest ( Genesis 25: 22-23 ).
When Rebeca gave birth, the first child was called Esau, which means hairy. The second son came out clinging to his brother’s heel. He got the name Jacob. Esau became Isaac’s favorite because he hunted and his father liked to eat his game. Jacob, who was more relaxed and more at home, was Rebeca’s favorite ( Genesis 25: 27-28 ). This caused many problems in the family.
See also: who was Jacob?
When Isaac was old and blind, he called Esau to give him the blessing of an older son. When Esau went out to hunt for food to receive his father’s blessing, Rebekah called Jacob to take the blessing by mistake . She prepared food for Isaac, dressed Jacob in his brother’s clothes, and placed kid skins in his arms to look like Esau ( Genesis 27: 15-17 ). Jacob took the food to his father and deceived him, receiving the eldest son’s blessing.
Rebeca heard that Esau was angry and wanted to kill Jacob. Then she told Isaac that Jacob needed a wife. The women in the region were idolaters and caused problems, so Rebekah asked to send Jacob to her land to find a wife among his relatives, just as Abraham’s servant had done ( Genesis 27:46 ).
Rebeca saved Jacob’s life but she never saw him again. Because of her mistake, Rebeca was left without her favorite son in her old age. But in the end, God used this whole situation to bless Jacob, who became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel
