Righteous Rebecca the wife of Isaac

Commemorated December 17 and the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers of Christ 

Rebecca was the wife of Isaac and the second of the four matriarchs of the Jewish people. She was the mother of Jacob and Esau. Rebecca and Isaac are one of the three “pairs” buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, together with Abraham and Sarah and Jacob and Leah.

According to the account in the Book of Genesis, Rebecca was the daughter of Bethuel and the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. She was the sister of Laban, who would later become the father of Rachel and Leah, two of the wives of Rebecca’s son, Jacob. The news of her birth was told to her great-uncle Abraham after the latter returned from the Sacrifice of Isaac.

Shortly thereafter, Abraham’s wife, Sarah, died. Abraham sought to find a wife for his son, Isaac, and asked his servant to select a girl from his own family, rather than a local Canaanite girl. On the servant’s journey, he and his aids met a young woman named Rebecca who offered water for their camels.

Thereafter, Rebecca was brought to the home of Abraham, and she and Isaac married in a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. She later gave birth to twin sons, Esau and Jacob.

Rebecca died of old age and was buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs at Hebron.