THREAD: I want to talk about Rebekah, the mother of Jacob, from Genesis 27. I have often seen two readings of her character. In one reading, she’s a manipulative woman who thwarts the plans of a godly man out of her own selfish interests. 1/13

In the second reading, she’s ignored; Jacob gets all the credit for her plan. In either case, she’s overlooked or looked down upon. But I want to suggest that this is a grievous error. 2/13

In Genesis 27, seeing that her husband is nearing death and plans to bless Esau, not Jacob, she concocts a plan. After successfully convincing Jacob to join the plot, she works to deceive Isaac, her husband, a man with failing sight, into believing he is blessing Esau. 3/13

By the end of the narrative, readers see that her plan was successful. But many readers with whom I interact presume that the narrative evaluated her negatively because she was deceitful. Behind that, though, readers might wonder, Why is she doing this in the first place? 4/13

The first obvious place to go is Gen 25:28. There, readers are told that Isaac loves Esau, “because he was fond of game” (NRSV), but that “Rebekah loved Jacob.” This verse gives us deeper motivation. But WHY did she love Jacob? No reason is given. 5/13

At this point, I’ve seen readers become repulsed that she would love Jacob, which presumes a comparative: MORE THAN Esau. This can surely be explored, but for now, I’m still interested in the Why?. For that, we must back up to Gen 25:19–23. 6/13

This is a moving, often-overlooked narrative. We are told that Rebekah was barren, so Isaac prayed for her and YHWH listened. But after becoming pregnant, Rebekah experiences turmoil. Turns out, she was pregnant with twins. 7/13

What happens next is crucial: in vv. 22–23, experiencing this turmoil, SHE goes before YHWH. Notice: the text doesn’t mention THEY (her and her husband), only SHE, a (a) woman and (b) a foreigner. 8/13

From the perspective of the narrative, she, and she alone, experiences what comes next: YHWH tells her she’s pregnant with twins, and that the older will serve the younger. The narrative never indicates that she shares this info with her husband. 9/13

So she gives birth, Jacob is the younger, so she loves him, because he is the one YHWH has chosen. It’s not arbitrary. And she risks her life to prevent Esau from receiving the blessing because of this. 10/13

Rebekah, a foreign woman, demonstrates faithfulness to the word of YHWH. This is what motivates her. 11/13

And all of this is in contrast to Isaac, whose main motive for loving Esau is because he “is fond of game.” 12/13

So...STOP HATING ON REBEKAH. That is all. Thanks. 13/13