Lives of Scripture

Rebekah's story begins in Mesopotamia, where Abraham's servant, sent to find a wife for Isaac, prayed for a sign at a well; Rebekah, a relative of Abraham, answered it precisely -- offering water to the servant and drawing enough for all ten camels (Genesis 24:12-20). She agreed to leave her family at once, traveled to Canaan, and became Isaac's wife, whom he loved and who comforted him after his mother's death (24:58-67). Barren for twenty years, Rebekah conceived after Isaac prayed for her, and when the twins struggled violently within her, she inquired of the LORD and was told, 'the older will serve the younger' (25:21-23). Isaac, echoing Abraham's own earlier failure, once passed Rebekah off as his sister out of fear among the Philistines, until Abimelech discovered the truth (26:6-11). As the boys grew, Isaac favored Esau while Rebekah favored Jacob (25:28). When Isaac, old and nearly blind, prepared to bless Esau, Rebekah overheard, and orchestrated a deception -- dressing Jacob in Esau's clothes and animal skins to fool Isaac's touch, so Jacob stole the blessing meant for his brother (27:5-29). The scheme secured God's earlier promise, but at a heavy cost: Esau's murderous rage forced Rebekah to send Jacob away to her own family for years, and Scripture never records that she saw her favored son again before she died (27:41-45; 49:31). Rebekah's life holds together genuine faith and calculated deceit, exactly as Scripture records it.