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What was the age of Rebecca when she was married off to Isaac? According to Rabbis in medieval history, she was no older than three 3-years-old. The Rabbis deduced this age number for Rebecca, from the Bible itself. A second early source, puts her age at 10.
Whenever Rabbi Rashi (or others) is quoted as saying that Rebecca was 3-years-old when she was married off, missionaries and other Christians dismiss this, and claim that this is only quoted from a man in the 11th century. There is no evidence that Rebecca was 3-years-old when married off in the Bible, they claim.
Even I, was surprised that Rashi, one of the most respected Rabbis would come to the conclusion that she was three, when married off to Isaac. This made me ask myself, why would an eminent scholar of such high calibre say that she was three when married off? Is there truth to what he is saying? This made me read, and reread the Genesis account, over and over again. Why did he came to the conclusion for her age at the time of her marriage? The clues he gave were the mount Moria incident with Isaac, and the time of Sarah’s death and her age.
We will endeavour to look into the account in Genesis a little closer, and see what appropriate age it gives for Rebecca when she was married off.
In order to find Rebecca’s age of marriage, we have to delve into the Bible itself. We are told that God had promised Sarah will bear a child, and he will be named Isaac:
“15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? WILL SARAH BEAR A CHILD AT THE AGE OF NINETY?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only
Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.[d] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom SARAH WILL BEAR TO YOU BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR.” 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.” – Genesis 17:15-22 (NIV)
The above text tells us that Sarah was around 90 or 91-years-old when she gave birth to Isaac. Sarah died at the age of 127, as Genesis 23 reports:
“The Death of Sarah
23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.” – Genesis 23:1-2 (NIV)
Since Sarah gave birth to Isaac at 90 (or 91), Isaac would have been around 36 (or 37) when her mother had died.
This would mean that Isaac was 36 or 37-years-old when his father tried to sacrifice him on Mount Moria:
“22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.” 19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.” – Genesis 22:19 (NIV)
This proves that Rebecca was born when Isaac was in his late 30s (37), just before the death of Sarah. Five verses down after Abraham and Isaac’s incident of sacrifice, we are told Rebecca was born:
“20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 BETHUEL BECAME THE FATHER OF REBEKAH. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.” – Genesis 22:20-24 (NIV)
Straight after the birth of Rebecca we find out the death of Sarah, when she was 127 years old:
“The Death of Sarah
23 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.” – Genesis 23:1-2 (NIV)
Some facts on what we have read so far:
1. Sarah gave birth to Isaac at the age of 90 (Genesis 17).
2. Sarah died at the age of 127 (Genesis 23:1-3)
3.The incident on Mount Moria (Genesis 22) and the birth of Rebecca happened at the same time, when Isaac was 36 (or 37) years old, same time when Sarah died (Genesis 23:1-3).
4. The verses all looked together tells us that Isaac was 37-years-old when Rebecca was born.
This fact that Isaac was sacrificed in his 30s is well attested by nearly all ancient sources and Rabbis [1].
Rabbi Shim’on said (2nd Century):
“Rabbi Shim’on said
“We have learned that the expression ‘And it came to pass in the days of denotes sorrow, while the expression ‘And it came to pass’ even with ‘in the days of’ is still tinged with sorrow.
‘And it came to pass after,’ after the lowest of all the higher spheres. Which is that? Devarim. As Moses said: ‘I am not a man of devarim’ (Exodus 4:10). And who came after this sphere? ’Elohiim tested Abraham.’ The Deviser of Evil came to accuse him in the presence of the Blessed Holy One. Here we must reflect:
‘Elohim tested Abraham.’ The verse should read: ‘tested Isaac,’ for ISAAC WAS ALREADY THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS OLD and his father was no longer responsible for him. If Isaac had said, ‘I refuse,’ his father would not have been punished. Why, then, is it written: ‘Elohim tested Abraham,’ and not ‘Isaac’?
(ZOHAR: The Book of Enlightenment [Translation and Introduction by Daniel Chanan Matt, Preface by Arthur Green, Paulist Press, 1983], page 71 – 72)
Genesis Rabba 55:4
“… Isaac retorted: ‘All that thou didst lend to the Holy One, blessed be He, was three drops of blood. But lo, I am now THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS OLD, yet if God desired of me that I be slaughtered, I would not refuse.’ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘This is the moment!’ Straightway, God did prove Abraham.” (Midrash Rabbah, Translated Into English with notes, Glossary And Indices Under the Editorship of Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman, B. A., PH. D. And Maurice Simon, M. A., with a forward by Rabbi Dr. I. Epstein, B. A., PH.D., D.LIT. [The Soncino Press, London, Third Impression 1961, Printed in England by Stephen Austin And Sons, LTD., Hertford, Translated by Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman B.A., PH.D.], volume 1, page 485)
Rabbi Abraham Cohen De Herrera (1570 – 1635 AD):
“… On the other side, however, there is the quality of rigor and Justice, not spreading the influence of blessings, goodness, and life to any man unless, having tried him and proved him by singular means, it finds him worthy and just, going to the extreme lengths to which it subjected ISAAC, WHO WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG MAN OF 37 YEARS allowed himself to be bound by an old man of 137 and placed on the altar, stretched his neck toward his father’s lethal blade…” (Abraham Cohen De Herrera: Gate of Heaven – Translated from the Spanish with introduction and Notes by Kenneth Krabbenhoft (Tr.),[Koininklijke Brill, NV, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2002], page 56 – 57)
Rabbi Rashbam (1085 – 1158 AD):
“ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, whenever we find the construction אחר הדברים האלה what follows is conceptually immediately following what has been reported immediately before. Examples are found in 15,1 after Avraham had killed the four kings who had taken Lot captive. At that time G’d had told him not to be afraid of any repercussions. We also find such a construction in verse 20 of our chapter where the Avraham was informed of the birth of Rivkah after we heard that Yitzchok had been born. We find a similar construction also in Esther 3:1 where Mordechai told Esther and she told the king about the assassination plot by Bigtan and Teresh. The event occurred around the time when Haman was promoted and wanted to kill Mordechai and the Jewish people. The fact that he had saved the king’s life became the immediate cause of Mordechai’s rise in the king’s esteem. [if I understand the author correctly, he wants to tell us that although sequentially the matters related are not immediate chronologically, the Torah or Scriptures use the formulation to trace them to events which occurred some time back. YITZCHOK (ISAAC) WAS AT LEAST 37 YEARS OLD BEFORE AVRAHAM HEARD ABOUT THE BIRTH OF RIVKAH (REBECCA). Similarly, if the king had rewarded Mordechai for his part in discovering the plot immediately, history might have taken a different course. Ed.] Here too, the words mean that what follows occurred after Avraham and Avimelech had concluded their covenant according to which until the fourth generation Avraham’s descendants would not register a claim against lands owned by the Philistines at this time. G’d became very angry at this high-handed action by Avraham, seeing that he had given away lands which were part of what G’d had promised to Avraham and his descendants at the “covenant of the pieces” in chapter 15. We know that a condition of that covenant had been not to allow a single soul of the Canaanites to survive in that land, according to both Deuteronomy 20:16 as well as according to Joshua 13:3 and 15,45-47. Clearly lots had been cast concerning the lands owned by the 5 Philistine rulers, and who was to settle in those lands after the conquest. As a result of Avraham’s high-handed action. (Genesis 22:1 – Rabbi Rashbam, online source)
Targum Jonathan on Genesis 22:1
“And it was after these things that Izhak (Isaac) and Ishmael contended; and Ishmael said, It is right that I should inherit what is the father’s because I am his firstborn son. And Izhak (Isaac) said, It is right that I should inherit what is the father’s, because I am the son of Sarah his wife, and thou art the son of Hagar the handmaid of my mother. Ishmael answered and said, I am more righteous than thou, because I was circumcised at thirteen years; and if it had been my will to hinder, they should not have delivered me to be circumcised; but thou wast circumcised a child eight days; if thou hadst had knowledge, perhaps they should not have delivered thee to be circumcised. Izhak (Isaac) responded and said, Behold now, today I am thirty and six years old; and if the Holy One, blessed be He, were to require all my members, I would not delay. These words were heard before the Lord of the world, and the Word of the Lord at once tried Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Behold me.(Targum Jonathan on Genesis 22:1, online source)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:
“Jewish Tradition found a fertile subject in the ‘aḳêdah, or binding, of Isaac. The following passage from the Targum of Palestine is a good example of Haggadah (i.e. legend, or explanatory tradition): “And they came to the place of which the Lord had told him. And Abraham builded there the altar which Adam had built, which had been destroyed by the waters of the deluge, which Noah had again builded, and which had been destroyed in the age of divisions [i.e. the dispersion of the peoples]. And he set the wood in order upon it, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And Isaac answered and said to his father, Bind me properly, lest I tremble from the affliction of my soul, and be cast into the pit of destruction, and there be found profaneness in thy offering. Now the eyes of Abraham looked on the eyes of Isaac; but the eyes of Isaac looked towards the angels on high, and Isaac beheld them, but Abraham saw them not. And the angels answered on high, Come, behold how these solitary ones who are in the world kill the one the other; he who slays delays not; he who is to be slain reacheth forth his neck. And the Angel of the Lord called to him, &c.”
“According to Jose ben Zimra, the idea of tempting Abraham was suggested by Satan who said, ‘Lord of the Universe! Here is a man whom thou hast blessed with a son at the age of one hundred years, and yet, amidst all his feasts, he did not offer thee a single dove or young pigeon for a sacrifice’ (Sanh. 87b; Gen. R. LV.). In Jose ben Zimra’s opinion, the ‘aḳedah took place immediately after Isaac’s weaning. This however is not the general opinion. According to the Rabbis, the ‘aḳedah not only coincided with, but was the cause of the death of Sarah, who was informed of Abraham’s intention while he and Isaac were on the way to Mount Moriah. THEREFORE ISAAC MUST THEN HAVE BEEN THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS OLD (Seder ‘Olam Rabbah, ed. Ratner, p. 6; Pirke R. El. XXXI.; Tanna debe Eliyahu R. XXVII.).” Jewish Encycl. s.v. Isaac.
“The Jews implore the mercy of God by the sacrifice of Isaac, as Christians by the sacrifice of Christ” (Mayor, Ep. James, p. 97). The merits of Isaac’s submission were regarded as abounding to the credit of the whole race; e.g. “For the merit of Isaac who offered himself upon the altar, the Holy One, blessed be He, will hereafter raise the dead” (Pesikta Rab. Kahana, p. 200, ed. Buber). Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, online source)
Christian and non-Christian commentaries.
Adam Clarke commentary:
“…Rabbins that he was thirty-six; but IT IS MORE PROBABLE THAT HE WAS NOW ABOUT THIRTY-THREE, the age at which his great Antitype was offered up; and on this medium I have ventured to construct the chronology, of which I think it necessary to give this notice to the reader.” (The Holy Bible, Old And New Testaments. The Text. A Commentary And Critical Notes; Designed As a Help to a better Understand of the sacred writings: by Adam Clarke, LL. D. F.S.A., &c. The Old Testament. [New-YorkL Published By T. Mason & G. Lane, For The Methodist Episcopal Church, At The Conference Office, 200 Mulberry-Street. James Collord, Printer. 1837.], volume 1, (Genesis to Deuteronomy), page 138)
Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible agrees with Adam Clarke’s statement on Isaac’s age:
“How old was Isaac at the time of this event? Some would make him only a little over three years of age, but the ability to carry an ass-load of wood up a mountain refutes that idea. Willis thought he was about twelve, but that is taken care of by the same load of wood. Keil thought he was a young man; and Kline thought he was a strong man. The answer given by Adam Clarke to this question is perceptive:
“Josephus supposed that Isaac was now twenty-five; some Rabbis say that he was thirty-six; but it is MORE PROBABLE THAT HE WAS ABOUT THIRTY-THREE, the age at which his great Antitype was offered up.”[16]
WE BELIEVE THAT THIS CONCLUSION BY CLARKE IS TRUSTWORTHY. (Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, Genesis 22:5-6 – online source)
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible:
“…Genesis 22:6. Abraham took the wood, and laid it upon Isaac— Hence it appears, among other circumstances, that Isaac must have been full-grown at this time. … It appears probable that he was more: there were about THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS from his birth to the death of Sarah; so that it is not unlikely, that in age, as well as in bearing the wood, on which he was to be sacrificed, he represented Christ, who bore his own cross, and was ABOVE THIRTY YEARS OLD. It is also observed, that Isaac, being of this age, must have voluntarily submitted to be bound and sacrificed by his father, as so old a man could not have had strength sufficient, had Isaac resisted. …” (Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible, Genesis 22:6 – online source)
Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical:
“Starke: (Moses does not relate the peculiar time of this severe test of Abraham’s faith. Some place it in the thirteenth, others in the fifteenth, and still others in the thirty-fifth or thirty-seventh year of Isaac. Because in this whole transaction Isaac was a type of Christ, and he finished the work of redemption, through his death, in the thirty-third, or according to others the THIRTY-FOURTH, YEAR OF HIS AGE, IT MAY WELL BE THOUGHT THAT IN THIS YEAR ALSO ISAAC WAS LED OUT AS A SACRIFICE.” (Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical – Genesis 22, online source)
Gospel scholar David J. Ridges:
“We must not overlook Isaac’s role in this test of faith. Isaac would have been strong and vigorous, probably INTO HIS THIRTIES at this time, while Abraham would have been quite elderly, unable to carry out this command of the Lord without Isaac’s willing cooperation. We will quote from the Old Testament student Manual on this:
‘Isaac voluntarily submitted to Abraham. This important parallel is often overlooked. The Old Testament does not give enough detail to indicate exactly how old Isaac was at the time of this event, but it is very likely that he was an adult. Immediately following the account of the sacrifice on Mount Moriah is recorded the statement that Sarah died at the age of 127 (see Genesis 23:1). THIS, ISAAC WOULD HAVE BEEN 37 at the time of her death. Even if the journey to Moriah had happened several years before Sarah’s, Isaac would have been in his thirties, as was the savior at the time of his crucifixion. …” (The Old Testament Made Easier, Part One: Genesis through Exodus 24 [second edition] by David J. Ridges, page 233)
Professor Jules Gleicher:
“VII. Arranging a Burial
Genesis 23:1 states that Sarah was 127 years old when died. According to Targum Yonasan, a rabbinical gloss from the second century CE, the fact that the account of Sarah’s death follows the Akedah indicates a causal connection – she died when Satan told her that Abraham had actually slaughtered Isaac (Scherman, p. 106). Sarah was ninety years old when she miraculously gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 17:17). This would make Isaac THIRTY-SEVEN at her death… It is more credible and very much less shocking to imagine a man in his thirties voluntarily submitting to be sacrificing than a mere boy or adolescent teenager.” (Political Themes in the Hebrew Scriptures [Palgrave Macmillan, 2010] by Jules Gleicher, page 41 – 42)
Associate Professor of history Alonzo L. Gaskill:
“As an example of how Isaac was a type for Christ, note that Isaac was the birthright son of a righteous father (see Genesis 21), as was Jesus (see D&C 93:21). Isaac’s birth required a miracle (see Genesis 11:30; 17:15-22), as did Jesus’ (see Luke 1:26-38). IN HIS MID-THIRTIES, ISAAC WAS OFFERED AS A SACRIFICE BY HIS FATHER. Jesus was offered up by the Father apparently sometimes during his thirty-fourth year of life. Genesis Rabbah 56:8 suggests that Isaac was somewhere between thirty-five and thirty-seven years of age; see also Victor P. Hamilton, Handbook on the Pentateuch (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1982), 108; Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1979-81), 1: 364. …” (Temple Reflections: Insights into the House of the Lord [CFI, Cedar Fort, Inc, 2016] by Associate Professor of history Alonzo L. Gaskill, page 65)
Bruce R. McConkie (1915 – 1985):
“Abraham takes Isaac, his only begotten son, up upon Mount Moriah, there to sacrifice him at the Lord’s command; and Isaac, reputed by Jewish tradition to be thirty-seven years of age at the time, submits willingly to his father’s will-all as ‘a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son’ [Jacob 4:5] (The Mortal Messiah, by Bruce R. McConkie Volume 1, page 364).
A New Chronology For Old Testament Times – Jan Van Tuyl:
“It seems that logically and mathematically, thirty-seven is the right one, and the proof follows here.
All texts agree that Isaac was born when Abraham was one hundred years (Gen 21:5; DSS: Q544; Ant. 1. 11. 1; Jas 21:1; Jub 15:17). All agree that Sarah was Isaac’s mother and that she was ten years younger than Abraham (Gen 16:16; Jub 15:17), so Sarah was ninety in the year Isaac was born. Sarah died of sorrow and a broken heart when she was sadistically and wrongly led to believe by Satan that Isaac had really been sacrificed and that of course he was now stone dead. Her age at death is readily found in the Bible: she passed away at the age of 127 years (Gen 23:1). The Book of jubilees shows that same age of 127 years (Jub 19:7). By just deducting the 90 from the 127, the correct age of 37 years for Isaac on the alter is found. By deducting these 37 years from his birth year (deducting and not adding, because this plays in the BC period, the exact time of the scene at the alter computes to be 1941 – 37 = 1904. That is the precise start year for the “about 450 years” countdown. (A New Chronology For Old Testament Times: With Solutions to Many Hitherto Unsolved Problems through the Use of Rare Texts [AuthorHouse 2012], by Jan Van Tuyl, page 222)
The above scholarly statements quite clearly coincide and agree that Isaac was in his thirties at the time of his sacrifice. Their conclusions in all, most cases, refer to Sarah’s death at 127 (in Genesis 23:1-2), as evidence of Isaac being 37 at the time of his sacrifice.
So what is the significance of Isaac’s age at the time of his sacrifice? Well, according to the Bible, Isaac was 37-years-old when he went up on Mount Moriah with his father. Rebecca was born straight after Isaac and Abraham, came down from the Mount Moriah and they went to Beersheba. Isaac was married to Rebecca when he was 40-years-old (Genesis 25:20). Since that is the case, this would mean Rebecca, was married off when she was 3 (or 4) years old. This would render Rabbi Rashi’s statement and others of Rebecca being 3-years-old when married to Isaac, as true when we look at Genesis account closely.
The following are two respected Rabbis statements who said that Rebecca was 3-years-old when she was married off. Rabbi Solomon Itzhaki (A.K.A. Rashi a well-known respected Jewish Scholar, 1040 – 1105 AD), comments on Rebecca’s age of marriage:
“1. Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 25:20 says: forty years old: For when Abraham came from Mount Moriah, he was informed that Rebecca had been born. Isaac was then thirty-seven years old, for at that time Sarah died, and from the time that Isaac was born until the “Binding” [of Isaac], when Sarah died, were thirty-seven years, for she was ninety years old when Isaac was born, and one hundred and twenty-seven when she died, as it is stated (above 23:1): “The life of Sarah was [a hundred and twenty-seven years.”] This makes Isaac thirty-seven years old, and at that time, Rebecca was born. HE WAITED FOR HER UNTIL SHE WOULD BE FIT FOR MARITAL RELATIONS-THREE YEARS-AND THEN MARRIED HER.— [From Gen. Rabbah 57:1] [Retrieved it from this website: http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8220/showrashi/true%5D
Rabbi Tobiah Ben Eliezer (1050 – 1108 AD) also confirms that she was 3-years-old when she was married to Isaac:
“Isaac was thirty-seven-years old at his binding… When Abraham returned from Mount Moriah, at that very moment Sarah died, and Isaac was then thirty-seven; and at that very time Abraham was told of Rebekah’s birth; THUS WE FIND THAT REBECCA WAS THREE YEARS OLD WHEN SHE MARRIED ISAAC.” (Pesikta Zutrata (Lekah Tov), Gen. 24., Midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch, by Rabbi Tobiah Ben Eliezer)
Rebecca’s young age is alluded too in Genesis 24:57-59. The following verse corroborates with the previous evidences shown that Rebekah, was a very young girl when she got married. She was so young that she needed a nursing woman with her when she was married off:
“Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said. 59 So they sent their sister REBEKAH ON HER WAY, ALONG WITH HER NURSE and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her.” – Genesis 24:57-60
If Rebekah was a grown woman as some have assumed, who attained full womanhood, why would she need a ‘nursing woman’ to accompany her? This very verse shows she was very young and not at an age where she can take care of herself.
Although Rabbi Rashi and other scholars have said that Rebecca was 3-years-old when married, in line what the Bible says, I personally believe she was a bit older. The age most appropriate to assign to her, in line with historical evidence of girls being married off, is that she was below the age of 10-years old [2].
Conclusion:
Looking at the Genesis account of when Isaac was born, the death of Sarah, and the incident on Mount Moriah, gives us evidence that Rebecca was born when Isaac was thirty-seven years old. This fact that he was in his thirties is supported not only from the Bible, majority of ancient Rabbis and Christian scholars have held this opinion also. Rebecca was born straight after the mount Moria incident, when Isaac was thirty-seven years old. Isaac married her when he was forty-years-old. This would mean, according to the Biblical narrative that she was three years old when she was given away in marriage to Isaac [3]. The account in Genesis 24:57-60, states that she had a “nursing” woman with her when she was given away, this again supports the Bible and Rabbi Rashi’s statements in regards to the marriage, that she was three-years-old when the marriage took place.
References:
[1] Rabbi Radak (1160 – 1235): states that Abraham was 137 years old when the incident of Mount Moriah occured. This would mean that Isaac was 37, given that Abraham had him when he was 100 years old:
“אשר אמר אליך, just as at the time when Avraham had been told to leave Charan and move to the Land of Canaan in 12,1 he had been told only to move to a country which G’d would specify later on. At that time Avraham had correctly assumed that he was to set out in the direction of the Land of Canaan. The absence of this detail in both instances was to show us the readers that instead of questioning G’d on details, Avraham set out to undertake difficult tasks without looking for any excuse to delay carrying out G’d’s instructions. It would have been so easy to ask G’d why, if he was to offer Yitzchok (Isaac) as a sacrifice, he first had to travel a long distance to the site where this was to take place. AFTER ALL, WE ARE SPEAKING ABOUT A MAN OF 137 YEARS OF AGE. Actually, if we do not err, G’d had two good reasons why He told Avraham what to do in such an ambivalent fashion. Firstly, to give Avraham additional credit for complying with a command which was wrapped in a riddle, without questioning G’d about it. If G’d had asked him to do this at once near his home, Avraham would not have had time to recover from the initial shock after hearing G’d’s instructions. If, after having had time to digest the implications of what had been asked of him, Avraham proceeded without hesitating, this is even more to his credit. The second reason why G’d worded the instructions in the manner in which the Torah records them, is to teach us that the site where this binding eventually took place is such a holy site; moreover after Avraham named the site, we know that it is one where the attribute of Justice may be changed to the attribute of Mercy due to the manner in which man relates to G’d’s commands. Not only that, but man learned that sometimes the intention behind an action is worth more to G’d than the action itself, so that the binding of Yitzchok (Isaac) rated in G’d’s eyes as if his father had actually sacrificed him.” (Rabbi Radak, commentary on Genesis 22:2, online source)
[2] A non-Biblical source, The book Jasher 22:53 says that she was 10-years-old when Rebecca was married off to Isaac:
“51 And now that his son Isaac is born to him, he has forsaken thee, he has made a great feast for all the inhabitants of the land, and the Lord he has forgotten.
52 For amidst all that he has done he brought thee no offering; neither burnt offering nor peace offering, neither ox, lamb nor goat of all that he killed on the day that his son was weaned.
53 Even from the time of his son’s birth till now, being thirty-seven years, he built no altar before thee, nor brought any offering to thee, for he saw that thou didst give what he requested before thee, and he therefore forsook thee.” – (The Book of Jasher Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel Faithfully Translated FROM THE ORIGINAL HEBREW INTO ENGLISH, SALT LAKE CITY: PUBLISHED BY J.H. PARRY & COMPANY 1887. Book of Jasher 22:53, online source)
[3] Here is a in-direct quote on Isaac’s incident with Abraham on Mount Moriah, that he was thirty-seven years old. Joseph Ibn Kaspi (1280 Arles—1345 Majorca):
“Yitzhak (Isaac) remained on Mount Moriah for three years until he reached the age of forty, & then he married Rivkah (Rebekah).” (Joseph Ibn Kaspi, Mishneh Kesef on the Torah, volume 2, page 63))
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Reblogged this on Blogging Theology.
Very interesting article ….. “20 Some time later Abraham was told, “Milkah is also a mother; she has borne sons to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel.” 23 BETHUEL BECAME THE FATHER OF REBEKAH. Milkah bore these eight sons to Abraham’s brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.” – Genesis 22:20-24 (NIV)” …. and the scholar of the Rabbi and this article conclude from this verse that Rebekah was born when Abraham and Issac returned from the attempted sacrifice. So, with the same logic : Uz, Buz, Kemuel, Aram, Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, Bethuel, Rebekah, Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah (all the brothers, the cousins, Aram & his father, and Rebekah & her father) all born on the same day … Interesting, indeed
Another amazing and extremely well researched article. It’s always a pleasure reading articles from the brothers of this website 🙂
May Allah bless you guys for all your efforts!
P.S : Be prepared for a lot of angry Christians as they start reading the article 😀
lol
Brother Paul, I didn’t find any Angry Christian here but on your website, you have got very angry people going crazy after reading the article which you shared on your website lol 😀
I’m a huge admirer of your knowledge and I watch every Speaker Corner video where you talk to other people and the recent talk with Lizzie was a great one and love your humor in it as I laughed on certain occasions watching the video 🙂
I would say, May Allah the Creator of everything blessess you in this world and in the hereafter for your efforts and the efforts of every brother doing Dawah 🙂
Peace and Blessings
Alhamdulillah!
I wish all those Christians who make the issue of Muhammad (saw) and Aisha (RA) could read this so they would making this a controversy.
I have made this suggestion already & hope they consider it. It would certainly have a million hits. And this will shut the Christians up with their snide comments about our prophet Mohammad (PUBH).
BESIDE ALL THINGS JESUS IS THE WAY AND THE TRUTH MY FRIEND.
brother i dont know from where you guys get these kind of stuffs.. Read Genesis 24 1- 30 surely a 3 or 10 year old girl can draw water from well and give to 10 camels and a man to drink. i hope you know how much water a camel can drink.. lol i wish you read bible first, before commenting to these kind of stuffs.
Three years old is definitely out of the question then. Is there anything saying she drew for the camels alone.
Jash 24:39 And they all blessed the Lord who brought this thing about, and they gave him Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel, for a wife for Isaac.
Jash 24:40 And the young woman was of very comely appearance, she was a virgin, and Rebecca was ten years old in those days.
Don’t mind Islam ,them always make a false claims,
Rebecca birth is not mentioned in Bible,
But them still claim that he was born when Sarah died,is lie,
Lots of assumptions here. Nothing is for certain. Rebekah must be some very special 2- 3 year old.
Genesis 24:15 Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. 16 The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.
17 The servant hurried to meet her and said, ‘Please give me a little water from your jar.’
18 ‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
Genesis 24:55 But her brother and her mother replied, ‘Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you[e] may go.’
56 But he said to them, ‘Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.’
57 Then they said, ‘Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.’ 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’
‘I will go,’ she said.
I think you missed the article’s evidences presented. We agree that she was anything below 10 years old. Even the ancient scholars agreed that she was very young when she was married off to Isaac.
Farfect you really have known these foolish Moslem
Let us be strong and pray that we are not curried away by their false preachings
I love your comment.
Uh we don’t have to follow any of those men. And don’t use God because he didn’t have sex with Mary. Also Mary could have been 18-19. https://books.google.com/books?id=QR7SmbfqNKYC&pg=PA17&dq=in+palestine+and+in+the+west+a+man+marries+at+30&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0yYe4rpz2AhXmgXIEHQgsAW0Q6AF6BAgJEAM Also at least Issac didn’t have sex with her until probably her late teen years.
Yes brother! Tell it like it is! And by your very reasoning, or rather lack of reasoning thereof, Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel, Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah were all born on that very day! My my, it must have been exciting for Abraham to learn of all 13 births happening in one single day! Because that is exactly what you are eluding to, your assuming that just because Abraham learned of his expanding family tree on that particular day, that Rebecca must have been born on the that day for being merely mentioned with the others. Well then, you have to be consist with that reasoning and include all of the people mentioned as being born on the same day.
I agree. To say Rebecca, who became Isaac’s wife, was 3, 5, or 10 when she accepted a marriage proposal is not plausible. If she was that age, based on when Abraham found out about her birth, is to say all those mentioned were likewise that age. But, actually, she could have been much older, as hearing about her birth does not mean she was just born. Nor hearing she had a nurse does not mean she’s young enough to be breast fed. But now is just being cared for, once past the point of needing a “wet” nurse. Girls have their Bat mitzvahs at age 12 and boys have their Bar mitzvahs at age 13, as that corresponds to when they “begin” to physically mature and reach puberty. They are considered to have reached the “age of maturity,” a time when they have developed enough understanding to be responsible for their actions. Therefore, they are called a bar/bat mitzvah, which literally means a “son/daughter of the commandment,” or a “man/woman obligated to do mitzvahs,” since they are now responsible for keeping the Torah and its mitzvahs. One of Dinah’s brothers was referred to as a man in the Torah, when he was 13 & he and an older brother killed men who raped their sister. A 12 or 13 y/o is still young – developing in mind & body, and still need their parents’ guidance. In the New Testament, typically, people are not baptized until they reach the age of accountability, usually 12 or later, based on when they hear & believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If raised young in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, they might plead to be baptized, but those who do before 12, usually can’t remember their experience when an adult, and want to be baptized again, when older. Those under 12 or 13 can be knowledgeable of the Truth, but are really too immature to understand the commitment. My daughter wanted to marry Barney when she was 3. Barney was a person in a cuddly dinosaur costume teaching kids how to be nice, and learn a myriad of other things on a kids TV show. My son wanted to marry me when he was 4. So, asking a 3 to 5 year old if they will marry someone, and expecting a valid answer, is not appropriate. God has always wanted mature people to make decisions regarding their relationship commitment to Him & his commandments, not a child. In the Old Testament, men did not go to war until age 20 – Numbers 1:44-45. God expects parents to teach their children his principles, so when they are old enough, they will want to follow them, too. In the Old & New Testaments, there are warnings of adding or taking away from the principles God wants us to live by. We must all search the scriptures to know if what we want to believe is backed up by scripture – the word of God.
You may want to keep this for future records: https://islamicarchives.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/what-is-the-minimum-age-of-marriage-according-to-jewish-law/
isaac is just some guy in bible while muslim prophet is central for quran and islam . so its kinda stupid to compare them. jesus never did any of this shit . which begs the question , is mohammed fit for being a prophet ? angry muslims and angry christians argue each other but seems like christians got a clear win atleast in this case .
No Jesus the one who broke the virgin hymen of an 10-11 years old girl causing her to bleed was a descendent of 37 years Isaac the one who married Rebekka the grand mother of your God when she was 3-10 years old! THAT’S THE COMPLETE STORY YOU WERE MISSING!!
There is a big difference between pedophile and husband.
As a Christian, I completely agree with you. That marriage was obviously sanctioned by God, just as the Prophet’s was.
Wow. So in Genesis 24, we have a three year old wandering alone during the day, unattended, possessing the size and strength to draw water from a well and carry enough to provide drink for several camels, AND possessing the linguistic and intellectual capacities sufficient to have a complex conversation with a stranger about family lineage. Is that what I’m reading here??
Hey, how long do you have to study your pedophile Talmud and your kabalah witchery before your brain has been cooked enough for that to make sense?
Please remove this theory from your post:
>An alternative in understanding this marriage without discarding and rejecting the Genesis account: There is a way (maybe) to understand this marriage, without it being as controversial as it seems. The marriage itself could have taken place, but Isaac may have waited for her to hit puberty or when she was ready for him cohabit with. Sometimes, in ancient times, marriages may have taken place, but the couple wouldn’t sleep with each other, until the other is ready and is matured. This might be the case here. For scripture tells us that Isaac was sixty years old when Rebecca gave birth to twins (Genesis 25:24-26). This would mean that Rebecca had her twins born twenty years after her marriage to Isaac.
In verse 21, the Bible says that Isaac prays God about his wife who was barrel (ie. could not give birth). Moreover it then says that Isaac intreated the Lord about this situation, which means that he asked God to solve this situation during a long period of time. And the passage continues by saying that God intreated of Isaac and was sensitive to his insistence. This language suggests that Isaac may have prayed for years and likely decades to have this situation solved.
At the very least it was clearly not Isaac’s desire to have Rebecca bear him children only when she was in her twenties. This make this alternative theory extremely speculative, especially in light of the prevalent culture in which girls consumed their marriage at a very early age. I think should at least include these elements in your comment because right now, it really looks you suddenly backtrack in the last paragraph, even though there is no reason to do so.
People will look at your post and think: “if even the man who made such a documented research backtracks”, then they will lose the courage of sticking to the fact that Isaac married Rebecca at age 3 and consumed his marriage when she was well before 10yo. By backpedaling like that, all your research may have the opposite effect you intended, it will teach people not to have the courage of standing by these conclusions. I think this alternative theory does not deserve the place that you given it in your note, as the de facto definitive balanced compromise for grown ups (this is how it looks like right now).
I love this writeup.
But can we consider the following:
1. The stories of the Bible especially in the old testament was not narrated as things that happened day after day, i.e in a daily manner. Sometimes, scores or decades of years might have passed before another incident, except on some occasions where the scripture is specific on the timing.
2. I quite agree that Isaac was grown up, though I don’t agree with the age as being 37 at the time of sacrifice, because Gen 22:12 The Lord said “lay not your hand on the LAD or BOY,” which is a term used in differentiating a male minor/infant/teenager, from a male adult. In their days, a male of 37 was no longer a lad, because he should be married already where there are no delaying factors. Eg Gen 11:10-24 many of them married at between 29 and 35.
3. Rebecca was not three years at the time of being given in marriage to Isaac, otherwise it will negate the detailed story of the servant of Abraham who went to look for wife for Isaac and found Rebecca.
Let’s carefully look at Gen 24:15 -20
15 And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16 And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. 18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. 19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
With the above passage, it is difficult to believe Rebecca was three as a three year old baby cannot talk expressively and cannot go to the stream to fetch water not to talk of taking care of cattle. I believe the Bible is silent about the age of Rebecca when she married to Isaac.
4. The information Abraham got in Gen 22:20, did not specifically tell him that Rebecca was born that period, it gave him a general view of the account of his younger brother’s marital progress. And the presence of the words “after these things or sometimes later”, suggest that some years must have passed. Don’t forget that, that portion of the scripture was only put there to let us know that it was from there Isaac and Jacob married.
Besides, the point of giving a female child to marriage when she was young and the man had to wait for her to get to puberty, was not and is not a practice in isreal and the Christendom.
In conclusion, Rebecca was not three years when she was given in marriage to Isaac.
Daniel // I quite agree that Isaac was grown up, though I don’t agree with the age as being 37 at the time of sacrifice, because Gen 22:12 The Lord said “lay not your hand on the LAD or BOY,”//
1- The Bible also calls Ishamel a Lad of 17-18 when his mum allegedly carried him on her shoulder like a baby in the middle of the desert. Does that make sense to you ?. The authors of the Bible have messed up and cinfused their readers due to attemts to supress, twist and hide things .
2- Why would you not agree with Isaax being 37 at the time of sacrifice if the narative clearly states so . His mum gave birth at had him at 90, and died age 127 this makes Isaac 37 when in sacrifice , then married at 40. Whats the problem ?
Daniel // it is difficult to believe Rebecca was three as a three year old baby cannot talk expressively and cannot go to the stream to fetch water not to talk of taking care of cattle.//
1- children her age in third world countries do some adult fit labour . They mature very fast and even now children her age in India and Africa carry tiny pitchers . You dont know how bog it was to drink from it .
Daniel // a female child to marriage when she was young and the man had to wait for her to get to puberty, was not and is not a practice in isreal and the Christendom //
1- Thats why he waited 20 years to have a child , girls in third world countries get puberty as young as 8.
You are only using false opinions. The Bible does not match your conclusions
Here is the Bible Timeline.
Genesis 17 Abraham 99 years old promised that his wife would have a child next year at the age of 90. All Males in the family at that time including Ishmael were circumcised. Ishmael was 13 years old
Genesis 18 & 19 Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the preserving alive of Lot and his two daughters.
Chapter 21 Sarah gives birth to Isaac and when he was weaned, Ishmael began mocking Isaac. She demands that the 14 year old be Driven out from the family because the son of this slave girl will not be an heir. although displeasing to Abraham, God said to Abraham ” Do not be displeased by what Sarah is saying to you about your slave girl. Listen to her, for what will be called your offspring will be through Isaac. As for the son of the slave girl, I will make a great nation out of him.
There is a more accurate translation of the King James Version called the American Standard Version which updates the 500 year old translation to 20th century English. Most modern translations agree with this version.
“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a water bottle, and gave it unto Hagar,
puting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered
in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. ”
Thus this 14 year old son was not carried upon her shoulder. The Bible text here was accurate but the translators were inaccurate.
The boy by this time was with his mother and no other interaction between him and Abraham was mentioned until Ishmael attended the funeral of Abraham. Genesis 21 34 then ends with this time indicator.
“And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long time.”
Chapter 22 Abraham’s trust and friendship with God was put to the test Genesis 22:1
Now after this the true God put Abraham to the test, andd he said to him: “Abraham!” to which he replied
“Here I am!” Then he said :”Take please , your son, your only son whom you so love, Isaac, and travel
to the land of Moriah and offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will designate
to you.
There is no indication here of the age of Isaac except that in the previous chapter it shows that it was a long time. It definitely would make Isaac a healthy young man. He could have stopped Abraham from binding him for the sacrifice, but instead Isaac submitted because of a later reference held that Abraham had so much faith in the promise that Isaac would father all the offspring according to the promise directly from God that God would ressurect him and return his son alive after the sacrifice.
Now we get to a very important scripture. Genesis 22:20. Just before this scripture it says that Abraham continued to dwell in the land. we continue:
‘After this it was reported to Abraham: “Here Milcah has also borne sons to Nahor your brother; Uz his firstborn,
Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Amram, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash,Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” Bethuel became father of
Rebekah. Milcah bore these eight to Nahor the brother of Abraham. ‘
It is important to note that his family was 300 miles away as the crow flies and 500 the normal way to get to this location. Abraham had no knowledge before this announcement that all these nephews had been born. clearly the meaning of this expression “after this”
does not mean that all these births happened after the trip to mount moriah. Rebekah was his grand neice, but she was just listed among the list of births that occured after Abraham took his Wife from the area wher Nahor lived. From the biblical account here is can not be concluded that Rebekah was born after this attempted sacrifice of Isaac
Sarah now is given attention but the account makes no mention of her death coming right after the sacrifice. it simply makes the expression that she came to the age of 127 years old and she died. It could have easily been 10 or more years later. Still after her death Abraham turned his attention to Isaac for a wife sending him with 10 camels on at least a 300 mile journey accross the desert. The man he sent saw the young women getting water for their families which would have needed large containers. Rebekah came from a large family and would need a large water container. A three year old would not have weighed as much as the water container. Not only did she give water to Abraham”s servant but she also watered his 10 camels each drinking between 10 and 20 gallons of water. She did not stop until she had satisfied all of them. Considering that 1 gallon {imperial} weiths 10 pounds. she would need at least. you do the math.
10 CAMELS X 10 GALLONS x 10 POUNDS = 1000 PLUS POUNDS OF WATER.
If she was only 3 she would have qualified to be Superman’s mother.
In the midrashic telling, Rebekah was born at the same time that Isaac, who was then twenty-six years old, was bound on the altar (Seder Olam Rabbah 1). When God was revealed to Abraham at Mount Moriah and commanded him not to sacrifice his son, He also disclosed to him, by the spirit of divine inspiration, that Isaac’s bride had already been born (Gen. Rabbah 57:1).
This would put Rebbeca at 14 years old. No timeline is actually specified in sheer biblical terms. Abraham receiving news of Children being born certainly was not a real-time event.
So you have two traditions, one where she is 14 and one where she is 3. If we use Occam’s Razor, then the one we should go with is 14 as that has the least amount of assumptions.
He was not 27 but 37. Go do your math and stop making excuses and rewritting whats written .
Your mathematics is faulty. It assumes that Rebecca was literally born around the same time that Abraham received word of her birth. That is not necessarily true. In fact, it is mostly likely not true. Genesis 22:20-24 names all the children born to Nahor. Are we to presume that Milcah gave birth to octuplets? I highly doubt it. Most likely, Rebecca was born prior to the Mount Moria incident, but Abraham only received the news of her birth after the incident. Given how long it took for news to travel back in those days, Rebecca could very well have been on the verge of adulthood. For one, she’s reported as fetching water for ten camels on her own. Show me any 3-year old girl that can do that unsupervised. She also speaks in a mature manner, not like a 3-year old child at all. Notice also that her mother and brother ask her whether or not she wants to go away with a bunch of strangers to marry some dude she’s never met. This is not the kind of decision you leave up to a 3-year old child. While I have no doubt that Rebecca was relatively young when she married Isaac by today’s standards, she can’t have been 3. Indeed, I would say 10 is the minimum possible age and that she was most likely in her early teens. This would explain why the text seems to imply that Isaac consummated the marriage almost immediately afterwards as opposed to waiting around until she was physically ready for his cock.
Hi, Geloga. Thank you for your comment. We did write in this article in the concluding part that we believe her to be between 3 to 10 when her marriage was consummated. We are both on the same page. Thanks
But Abraham did not hear news of it. It was something that was said by the author of Genesis said and the word ‘became’ is crucial as it shows that her birth happened after the Mount Moriah incident where Isaac was probably in his early or mid thirties. 33 seems the age most scholars agree Isaac was sacrificed. And anyone can pick up something from a well when they are three, when I was 4 I held up a chair from a lift.
What about the fact that Rebekah was giving water at the well, not something a 3 year old is probably capable of doing.
Also it says when she left to meet Isaac she jumped off the camel and and he took her into his tent and became his wife
Anyone can do that
interesting article.
thank you for sharing
however i disagree with the described timeline presented, that rebekah was only 3 years old when she married isaac
there is a time period within the age of sarah giving birth to isaac at 90-91 and abraham at 99-100 at the time of conception, that allows for isaac to be within a certain age and growth to be able to help sufficiently provide assistance to his father and the timeline outlined before chapter 23 gives us an understanding that bethuel begat rebekah somewheres in between the time sarah
was 99-91 and the period of her death at 127 years old.
it would leave us room to perceive events of rebekahs birth and age far beyond 3 years of age given a timeline within these events that took place,
one could say up to 30 years could have taken place between rebekahs birth during the time the biblical passage relays to us in genesis 22:23 and 23:1-2.
especially when we recognize verse 20 of chapter 22 that “it came to pass after these things took place”…
ultimately, no matter what scholary and acedemic principles are laid before us thru commentary regarding this matter, truth does not lay in the hands of men, nor does extra biblical or eisegesis belong where it is not due.
not only that but lets use common sense when observing the nature of rebekahs ability to draw water for the camels, run back and forth, have a fluency of speech and understanding that meet criteria for a lady who knows what she is asking and saying and doing. nobody knows how old she was during this time exactly- but 3 years of age is a blatant disregard for reality to keep it in context.
all together the bible doesnt tell us how old rebekah was in the context of these passages presented, but we can assume she was not 3 years old with confidence. the bible does not contradict this passage no matter how much we would like to make sense of something that it doesnt tell us.
be careful when establishing facts that are as vases without water when going to a well to draw.
it is my opinion and proper understanding that rebekah was older then 3 years of age at which time she married isaac.
read the passage and decide for yourself with care before stablishing it in stone and sharing it as truth or fact. cintinue reading on dear friends.
🙂
to God in Christ be the glory forever and ever
Jesus IS God Almighty
1Timothy 3:16
interesting article.
thank you for sharing
however i disagree with the described timeline presented, that rebekah was only 3 years old when she married isaac
there is a time period within the age of sarah giving birth to isaac at 90-91 and abraham at 99-100 at the time of conception, that allows for isaac to be within a certain age and growth to be able to help sufficiently provide assistance to his father and the timeline outlined before chapter 23 gives us an understanding that bethuel begat rebekah somewheres in between the time sarah
was 99-91 and the period of her death at 127 years old.
it would leave us room to perceive events of rebekahs birth and age far beyond 3 years of age given a timeline within these events that took place,
one could say up to 30 years could have taken place between rebekahs birth during the time the biblical passage relays to us in genesis 22:23 and 23:1-2.
especially when we recognize verse 20 of chapter 22 that “it came to pass after these things took place”…
ultimately, no matter what scholary and acedemic principles are laid before us thru commentary regarding this matter, truth does not lay in the hands of men, nor does extra biblical or eisegesis belong where it is not due.
not only that but lets use common sense when observing the nature of rebekahs ability to draw water for the camels, run back and forth, have a fluency of speech and understanding that meet criteria for a lady who knows what she is asking and saying and doing. nobody knows how old she was during this time exactly- but 3 years of age is a blatant disregard for reality to keep it in context.
all together the bible doesnt tell us how old rebekah was in the context of these passages presented, but we can assume she was not 3 years old with confidence. the bible does not contradict this passage no matter how much we would like to make sense of something that it doesnt tell us.
be careful when establishing facts that are as vases without water when going to a well to draw.
it is my opinion and proper understanding that rebekah was older then 3 years of age at which time she married isaac.
read the passage and decide for yourself with care before stablishing it in stone and sharing it as truth or fact. cintinue reading on dear friends.
by the way, Isaac was 40 years old when He took rebekah as his wife – Genesis 25:20
🙂
to God in Christ be the glory forever and ever
Jesus IS God Almighty
1Timothy 3:16
Thank you for your respectful comment. If you read all the articles on this matter we agree that she may have been older than 3. Bless
So you really think that a girl 3 years old was watering her father sheep taking care of them by herself?? You think she could have drawn enough water for all the camels that he had LOL at 3 years old? That’s gallons and gallons and gallons of water…
I think I did say that she could have been 10 years old. You seem to be not reading the same article.
Hello. This is an interesting study, I like it.
But I am puzzled : we read that Rebecca offered to water the camels of Abrahamvs servant, can a child of 3 years old be sent to fetch water? Unless the counting of years was different as today;or people grew up in supernatural manner🤔.
Thank you,
Sophie
Please do re-read the article. It is not impossible for a girl of 3-10 years old to fetch water. You may want to visit poor countries where girls from the age of 6 and onwards work, cook and clean from morning till night
That doesn’t mean they did or were expect to do heavy lifting.
I was amazed by your findings on the topic barkallahu on your knowledge.
But I have one simple question, if Rebekah was 3 years older how can she draw water for all camels isn’t it hard for 3 years old girl to do that
(Genesis Chap. 24)
———-
18 And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
19 And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw [water] for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
20 And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw [water], and drew for all his camels.
Hi, we believe she may have been between the age of 3 to 10 yrs old. You go to Africa or anywhere else in Asia and you find girls from the age of 4,5,6 yrs old working from morning till night.
I doubt they were able to carry heavy bucket of water. I doubt they were expect to that. Also she was old enough to consent making her at least 12.
If she was three, then how she was able to lift up heavy buckets of waters. She was old enough to consent. Making her at least 12. Just because her nurse went with her doesn’t mean her nurse is still nursing her. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/genesis/24-59.htm
Even if she was three. At least Issac wait until she was mature. Like a post puberty.
The claim that Rebecca was about three years old is based on the supposition that the information which came to Abraham about Milcah bearing children for Nahor was something that just happened (Gen. 22:20-24), but I disagree. There is no indication of WHEN Milcah had her children or of the EXACT time Rebecca was born. What Abraham received was just an update about his extended family situation back home not accurate time information about events. More importantly, the Bible shows that Rebecca was at least a teenager when Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, brought her to Isaac (Gen. 24:15-66). Some people push this theory of Rebecca being a little child to convince others that the Bible supports child marriage.