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Rebekah was Bethuel's daughter. She was the wife of the patriarch Isaac, who was Abraham's son. She was the mother of Jacob and Esau. Abraham had sent his servant to Haran to find a suitable wife for Isaac. The servant prayed to the Lord for help in finding a wife for Isaac. And the Lord guided him to find Rebekah. The servant and Rebekah returned to Canaan. Rebekah had a difficult time conceiving children.
However, after Isaac prayed, Rebekah conceived and later gave birth to twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau was Isaac's favorite son. Rebekah, however, favored Jacob. She helped Jacob to deceive Isaac and to get Isaac's blessing that had been intended for Esau. Esau later learned about this and vowed to kill Jacob.
To protect Jacob, Rebekah sent Jacob to live with her family in Haran. Rebekah was very beautiful. In fact, Isaac told a Philistine king that Rebekah was his sister, rather than his wife. He did this because he was afraid that people might lust so strongly for Rebekah that they would kill him if they knew he was her husband. (A similar event happened to Abraham and Sarah).
After Rebekah died, she was buried in the cave of Machpelah in Hebron. This is the place were Abraham, Sarah and Isaac were buried. She is regarded as the second matriarch of the Jewish people. Her story is found in Genesis, chapters 24-27.
Next person in the Bible: Rehoboam, or Roboam, King of Judah
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