Rebecca: A 4-Act Story

Context: This is a street sign for Rivka Street in Jerusalem, in the Baka (Baq'a) neighborhood. Rivka Street is where Burekas Ima, a fantastic bakery for not only burekas but also rugelach, pita, and za'atar bread, is located (Rivka Street 17). It's also how you get to "Emanuel Judaica", the store for Yair Emanuel Judaica (one of two top places for Judaica, besides Yad LaKashish).

Rebecca “on one foot”:

Rebecca is in the Book of Genesis. She is a thoughtful, loving woman who wants a family and is willing to do what she thinks is best for her family. She happens to be the daughter of Betuel, the wife of Isaac, and the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Prologue

Act 1

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Genesis. It comes right after the story of the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac), as a foreshadowing of the next part of the story (because Sarah will die right after this), or perhaps indicating a new beginning. For those of you keeping score at home, Rebecca and Isaac are around the same age, because Abraham is old enough to be Isaac's grandfather. Rebecca is the only woman in the Bible whose birth is recorded, and it is important enough to interrupt the action.

The reason that some people think that Rebecca is 3 when she marries Isaac is because Sarah is 90 when Isaac is born (see Genesis 17:17 and Genesis 21:5). Sarah is 127 when she dies (see Genesis 23:1). This makes Isaac 37 years old when Sarah dies. Isaac is 40 when he marries Rebecca (see Genesis 25:20). So far this all works fine. The problem is that Rashi, quoting one version of Seder Olam, claims that Rebecca was born after Sarah dies. He gives no justification from this (neither does Seder Olam), and if it took that long for news to reach Abraham about Betuel being born there is no reason why it couldn't take just as long for news to reach Abraham about Rebecca being born. Moreover, there is no reason to assume that time didn't pass between the end of Chapter 23 (burying Sarah) and the beginning of Chapter 24 (finding Rebecca). As we will see, the Torah describes Rebecca as a "betulah", a sexually mature unmarried woman, when she meets Isaac. This may be why Seder Olam (1:2) has 2 versions of this section, one saying that Rebecca was 3 but the other saying that she was 14 when she married Isaac.

Fun fact: Ma'acha is not only. the name of Rebecca's aunt (Betuel's half-sister), but also the name of several other women in the Bible.

1. The daughter of King Talmai of Geshur, wife of King David, and mother of Absalom (II Samuel 3:3, I Chronicles 3:2)

2. The mother of King Achish of Gath (I Kings 2:39)

3. The daughter of Absalom, the mother of King Abijam of Judah (1 Kings 15:2), the most beloved wife of King Reheboam (II Chronicles 11:21), the mother as well of Attai, Zia, and Shlomit (II Chronicles 11:20), the grandmother of King Asa of Judah (1 Kings 15:10, see 1 Kings 15:8 and II Chronicles 13:23, 15:16), and introducer of idolatry. (1 Kings 15:13). It's also possible that her father was Uriel of Gibeah (II Chronicles 13:2), but this is contradicted 2 chapters earlier (II Chronicles 11:21-22). Rashi takes a crack at this in his comment on II Chronicles 13:2:2, as does Radak on II Chronicles 15:16.

4. The concubine of Caleb (son of Chetzron, son of Peretz, son of Judah), mother of Sheber, Tirhanah, Shaaf, Sheva (all sons), and Achsah (a daughter) (1 Chron. 2:48)

5. The wife of Machir, son of Menasseh, and the mother of Peresh and Sheresh (I Chronicles 7:16)

6. Either the wife of Gibeon (the son of Ye'i-eil), or the wife of Ye'i-eil and the mother of Gibeon (I Chronicles 8:29, 9:35), probably the mother of Avdon, Tzur, Kish, Ba'al, Ner, Nadav, G'dor, Achyo, Zechariah, Miklot (I Chronicles 8:30-32, 9:36-37)

7. Mother of Chanan (I Chronicles 11:43), one of King David's valiant warriors (I Chronicles 11:26)

8. Mother of Shephatyahu, leader of the tribe of Simeon in the time of King David (I Chronicles 27:16)

Context: This is from the Biblical Book of Genesis, right after Abraham has buried his wife Sarah. The book is Meet Rebecca from the American Girl series (it's number 1), by Jacqueline Dunbar Greene, and it's set in 1914.

Scene 1

Context: The land of Abraham’s birth is the birthplace of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. At the time, it was a matriarchal and matrilineal society. Women there were recognized as individuals with rights and not just considered property. By sending Eliezer there, Abraham ensured that Isaac’s wife would have the same ideas of her worth as a woman that Sarah had. (Paraphrase from Miki Raver’s Listen to her Voice).

​​​​​​​Scene 2

This test ensures that Isaac’s future wife is thoughtful, generous, and physically strong.

Verse 12 in this scene is one of 4 times when the shalshelet trope appears (the other 3 are Gen. 19:24 with Lot leaving Sodom, Gen. 39:8 with Joseph and Potiphar's wife, and Lev. 8:23, with Moses making Aaron high priest). This is usually seen as indicating reluctance. Perhaps because of that, Rashi postulates that Eliezer may have had a reason for not wanting to go through with this, like having a daughter who would marry Isaac (something that is not mentioned in the Torah).

Scene 3

Tikva Frymer-Kensky, in Reading the Women of the Bible, points out that Rebecca goes a step further than the servant requests and offers to draw water until the camels finish drinking. She also points out that wells in the ancient Near East were not a matter of lowering a bucket, but rather required walking down inclined slopes. Bringing enough water for 10 camels to be sated after a long journey required a lot of trips and was no small matter.

Frymer-Kensky also identifies that Rebecca could have lied and said that there was no room at her house for guests, but she chooses to be hospitable. This is one of the signs that she will fit in with the values that Isaac grew up with, such as when Abraham and Sarah took care of the (angelic) guests in Genesis 18. In fact, there are linguistic parallels to that story, such as running (to meet the guests vs. to the well), hurrying (to cook vs. lowering and also emptying her jug), and exceeding the code of hospitality (providing meat vs. giving camels their fill).

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

​​​​​​​Scene 4

Given that Rebecca’s brother and father refer to G-d (and her brother does again when talking to Jacob in Gen. 31:53) instead of Ba’al or some other god, it seems likely that Rebecca grew up worshipping the same god as Isaac.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

​​​​​​​Scene 5

We learn from this text that Rebecca has some gumption to be willing to leave everything she knows in order to go off to a person and place she has never seen. At this point, she still doesn’t even know her future husband’s name. There is a parallel to Abraham here, because he also left Mesopotamia for the land of Canaan without (recorded) hesitation.

This is the origin of the requirement that even in a Jewish arranged marriage, the woman must give consent. See Rashi on Genesis 24:58 and Genesis Rabba 60:12. It is interesting that Isaac has no say in the matter, but Rebecca does (perhaps because she’s leaving everything and everyone she has ever known).

There is some intertextual allusion here, because just before Rebecca was born, Abraham was promised that his descendants would inherit their enemies’ gates. This seems to suggest that Rebecca is the one carrying on Abraham’s role. In fact, the word “inherit” comes up again in Divine promise to Jacob (Gen. 28:4), but Isaac is never blessed with that word, only promised progeny and land. Perhaps the line of “active-ness” goes from Abraham to Rebecca to Jacob.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 6

Note that when it says “Rebecca alighted from the camel”, it literally means “she fell from her camel”, thus perhaps insinuating that she fell in love. Either way, the fact that Isaac loved her says something about their marriage.

Also, this is the first example of romantic love in the Bible, only preceded by an example of parental love at the beginning of the story of the Binding of Isaac (Gen. 22:2).

Rebecca’s presence seems to bring out the best in Isaac, as he actively brings her into his mother’s tent.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Context: This sculpture, of "Rebecca at the Well", is on the side of Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago.

What message might a synagogue be trying to send by having this on its building?

Act 2

Context: This is shortly after the story in Act 1, with an interlude for the end of Abraham's life. The book is number 6 in the American Girl "Rebecca" series.

Scene 1

In Sarah Laughed, Vanessa Ochs views this as an example of Rebecca and Isaac having a positive marriage, that without her needing to say anything, Isaac knew what Rebecca wanted and needed and took action to fulfill their shared dreams.

We are reintroducing Isaac and Rebecca now because Abraham and Sarah have died and this is the beginning of a new chapter in the story of the Jewish people.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 2

In the last scene, Isaac speaks to G-d for Rebecca. In this scene, she speaks to G-d on her own behalf.

This oracle provides Divine guidance and approval for future developments in the story.

Notice that at the end of this scene, Rebecca has not told anybody about the prophecy she receives. Had she told Isaac, things might have turned out differently.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 3

Based on Act 2, Scene 1 (Gen. 25:20), Isaac and Rebecca were married for 20 years before they had kids.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 4

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Act 3

Context: This is after the story in Act 2, with an interlude for the story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for lentil stew (Genesis 25:29-34). The book is a supplement to the American Girl "Rebecca" series; this is the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book where you get to time travel and have adventures with Rebecca.

This part of the story might be evidence for the chemistry between Isaac and Rebecca. It is clear that Isaac still loved Rebecca, even though him showing it to her put his life at stake in this section.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Act 4

Context: This is after the story in Act 3, with an interlude for Isaac's interactions with the neighbors (Genesis 26:12-33). This book is #5 in the American Girl "Rebecca" series.

Scene 1

Note that if Isaac was 60 when Esau and Jacob were born (Gen. 25:26), then Isaac is now 100 years old. This part of the story takes place in Be’er-Sheva (Gen. 26:23).

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 2

Note that the tents are not soundproof, and Rebecca had the oracle about the older one serving the younger (Act 2, Scene 2; Gen. 25:23)

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 3

We see from this text that Rebecca can be persuasive, though she does not try to persuade Isaac to change who the “firstborn” was (documents from the Syrian city of Nuzi from 1600 BCE show that this is something that fathers could do up to and including on their deathbed).

Given that Rebecca had less power in this marriage, her cunning received praise from later commentators all the way until the end of the 1800s when male Biblical scholars started condemning her. Contemporary scholars, though, are starting to view her actions through the lens of how other disadvantaged people work to survive today.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 4

According to Frymer-Kensky, this strategy comes from Rebecca’s knowledge of sheep-breeding. Shepherds will try to match orphaned sheep with ewes whose lambs have died. Sheep will only nurse their own lambs, though, so shepherds will wrap the orphan lamb in the skin of the dead lamb to fool the ewe.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 5

Remember that the tents were not soundproof. Also, Vanessa Ochs again sees this as evidence of the complementary strengths Isaac and Rebecca brought to their marriage and co-parenting, that Rebecca was better at making things happen and Isaac was better at accepting what is before him.

There are some parallels between the blessing that Isaac gives Jacob and the oracle that Rebecca receives (Act 2, Scene 2), such as a blessing of prosperity, the language of nations, and the promise of the brother serving him (also both are in poetry).

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 6

Remember that the tents were not soundproof.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 7

It is unclear if Rebecca already had wanted Jacob to find a wife from where she came from and this was a good time to persuade him to go along with that, or if Rebecca thought of this in the moment. However, she wisely doesn’t say anything to Jacob about marriage.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Scene 8

Note that here it is Rebecca who makes the same request that Abraham made — the son should marry a woman from the ancestral hometown. Hopefully this woman would have the same values as the previous generations.

This scene might give us a glimpse into how Rebecca and Isaac’s marriage went under more normal circumstances.

Rebecca is showing her skills at persuasion here — she doesn’t say anything to Jacob about marriage, and she doesn’t say anything to Isaac about the danger to Jacob if he stays. By talking about the women of the land of Canaan, that ensures that Isaac doesn’t just send Jacob to Avimelech or Ishmael, a thought that might have occurred to Isaac because Isaac was the only patriarch to not have left the area.

1. What might Rebecca be thinking during this part of the story?

2. What might Rebecca be feeling during this part of the story?

Epilogue

Scene 1

Context: This is after Jacob goes off, comes back, reunites with his brother, and his daughter Dinah is raped. Then Jacob gets a blessing from G-d that G-d will still be with him. Deborah, Rebecca’s nurse, is introduced in Act 1, Scene 5 (Genesis 24:59) as accompanying Rebecca from her family to her life with Isaac. We don’t hear of this Deborah other than those 2 verses. The commentators and rabbis of the Midrash have a field day with this verse and how it is interposed between two Divine visits to Jacob (some think that this alludes to Rebecca sending Deborah to say it’s safe to come back, some think that this is actually an allusion to the death of Rebecca, and some say that the second Divine visit was G-d comforting the mourner, among other comments on this).

Scene 2

Context: This is from the end of the Biblical Book of Genesis, at the end of Jacob’s life. He is dying in Egypt, and asking that he be buried in the Land of Israel. Rachel was not buried in the Cave of Machpelah because she died while giving birth to Benjamin and was buried on the road to Bethlehem. From this text, we learn that Rebecca did get buried with Isaac in the Cave of Machpelah.

Context: This is from The Historical Atlas of The Bible, by Dr. Ian Barnes (2006), p. 61. Places shown from Rebecca’s life include Haran (in the inset) where Rebecca was from, Gerar where Isaac claims that Rebecca is his sister, Be’er-Sheva where Rebecca gets Jacob to trick Isaac (according to Gen. 26:23), and Hebron where Rebecca is buried with Jacob in the Cave of Machpelah.

A Video about Rebecca

Context: This is a 2010 video from BimBam / G-dcast. While there is a midrash that Rebecca is 3 years old when she meets Isaac, the p’shat (plain literal meaning of the text) does not support that in any way. In fact, the Torah uses the word “b‘’tulah” to describe Rebecca, which means a woman who is sexually mature and not yet married (another version of the same midrash has her at age 14, which is much more likely for that time period). Other than that problem with this video, the video is otherwise good.

The Historical Accuracy of the Rebecca Story

From: The Bible As History, by Ian Wilson

- It has so far proved impossible to find unequivocal archeological evidence for this.

- If their utensils were mostly biodegradable animal skins and crude handmade pots, they may well have left little by which they could ever be positively identified.

- The cuneiform tablets from Nuzi in Northern Mesopotamia, dating from c. 1800 BCE explain the otherwise baffling instance in Genesis 26 in which Isaac introduces his wife as his sister to a friendly monarch he visited. The Nuzi tablets make clear that when a man married he could impart particular sanctity to this state if he adopted his wife as his sister. - This element and others strongly indicate that whatever degree of editing early Biblical books may have received at a later date, at least something of their content harked back to sometime around the very early 2nd millennium BCE.

Haran

From: The Historical Atlas of the Bible, by Dr. Ian Barnes

Haran, or Harran, was an ancient city on the main route from Nineveh to Aleppo. The name means "crossroads" and its position gave it strategic importance. Its name appears in texts from 2000 BCE and it later became an important Assyrian center. It was sacked in 763 BCE, but was rebuilt and became the last capital of Assyria after the fall of Nineveh. It was then captured by the Babylonians and was under Roman, then Islamic domination before it fell into ruins. The site is about twenty miles south-east of Urfa in modern Turkey.

Haran was a staging post in Abraham's journey from Ur to Canaan (Genesis 11:31-12:5). It was the home of Rebecca (Genesis 24) and of her nieces, Rachel and Leah, who both became Jacob's wives in Haran (Genesis 29-31). All Jacob's sons, except Benjamin, were born in Haran.

With appreciation to Miki Raver’s Listen to her Voice, Vanessa Ochs’ Sarah Laughed, and Tikva Frymer-Kensky’s ​​​​​​​Reading the Women of the Bible.

Appendix: The Story of Rebecca as Readers’ Theatre

Prologue

Narrator: Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah too has borne sons to your brother Nachor: Utz the first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram; and Chesed, Chazo, Pildash, Yidlaph, and Betuel”— Betuel being the father of Rebecca. These eight Milcah bore to Nachor, Abraham’s brother. And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore sons—Tevach, Gacham, and Tachash—and a daughter, Ma'acha.

Act 1

Scene 1

Narrator: Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and G-d had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham spoke to Eliezer, the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all that he owned.

Abraham: Put your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by G-d, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.

Eliezer: What if the woman does not consent to follow me to this land, shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?

Abraham: On no account must you take my son back there! G-d, the God of heaven—who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who promised me on oath, saying, "I will assign this land to your offspring"—will send a messenger before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall then be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son back there.

Narrator: So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him about this matter.

Scene 2

Narrator: Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out, taking with him all the bounty of his master; and he made his way to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nachor. He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw water.

Eliezer: O G-d, God of my master Abraham’s house, grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master Abraham: Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of the townspeople come out to draw water; let the maiden to whom I say, "Please, lower your jar that I may drink," and who replies, "Drink, and I will also water your camels"—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You have dealt graciously with my master.

Scene 3

Narrator: He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebecca, who was born to Betuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham’s brother Nachor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. The maiden was very beautiful—and a virgin, no man having known her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. The servant ran toward her.

Eliezer: Please, let me sip a little water from your jar.

Rebecca: Drink, my lord.

Narrator: She quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink until she had let him drink his fill.

Rebecca: I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking.

Narrator: Quickly emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether G-d had made his errand successful or not. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two gold bands for her arms, ten shekels in weight.

Eliezer: Pray tell me, whose daughter are you? Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?

Rebecca: I am the daughter of Betuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nachor. There is plenty of straw and feed at home, and also room to spend the night.

Narrator: The man bowed low in homage to G-d.

Eliezer: Blessed be G-d, the God of my master Abraham’s house, who has not withheld steadfast faithfulness from my master. For I have been guided on my errand by G-d, to the house of my master’s kin.

Scene 4

Narrator: The maiden ran and told all this to her mother’s household. Now Rebecca had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man at the spring— (30) when he saw the nose-ring and the bands on his sister’s arms, and when he heard his sister Rebecca say, “Thus the man spoke to me.” He went up to the man, who was still standing beside the camels at the spring.

Laban: Come in, O blessed of the Lord! Why do you remain outside, when I have made ready the house and a place for the camels?

Narrator: So the man entered the house, and the camels were unloaded. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the people with him. Food was also set before him.

Eliezer: I will not eat until I have told my tale.

Laban: Speak, then.

Eliezer: I am Abraham’s servant. G-d has greatly blessed my master, who has become rich—giving him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. And Sarah, my master’s wife, bore my master a son in her old age, and he has assigned to him everything he owns. Now my master made me swear, saying, "You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son." And I said to my master, "What if the woman does not follow me?" He replied to me, ‘"G-d, whose ways I have followed, will send a messenger with you and make your errand successful; and you will get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. Thus only shall you be freed from my adjuration: if, when you come to my kindred, they refuse you—only then shall you be freed from my adjuration." I came today to the spring, and I said: "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if You would indeed grant success to the errand on which I am engaged! As I stand by the spring of water, let the young woman who comes out to draw and to whom I say, 'Please, let me drink a little water from your jar,' and who answers, 'You may drink, and I will also draw for your camels'—let her be the wife whom G-d has decreed for my master’s son." I had scarcely finished praying in my heart, when Rebecca came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew. And I said to her, "Please give me a drink." (46) She quickly lowered her jar and said, "Drink, and I will also water your camels." So I drank, and she also watered the camels. I inquired of her, "Whose daughter are you?" And she said, "The daughter of Betuel, son of Nachor, whom Milcah bore to him." And I put the ring on her nose and the bands on her arms. Then I bowed low in homage to G-d and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way to get the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. And now, if you mean to treat my master with true kindness, tell me; and if not, tell me also, that I may turn right or left.

Laban and Betuel: The matter was decreed by G-d; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Here is Rebecca before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife to your master’s son, as G-d has spoken.

Narrator: When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed low to the ground before G-d.

Scene 5

Narrator: The servant brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebecca; and he gave presents to her brother and her mother. Then he and the entourage with him ate and drank; they spent the night and arose next morning.

Eliezer: Give me leave to go to my master.

Laban and Rebecca’s Mother: Let the maiden remain with us some ten days; then you may go.

Eliezer: Do not delay me, now that G-d has made my errand successful. Give me leave that I may go to my master.

Laban and Rebecca’s Mother: Let us call the girl and ask for her reply.

(Rebecca enters.)

Laban and Rebecca’s Mother: Will you go with this man?

Rebecca: I will.

Narrator: So they sent off Rebecca and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his entourage.

Laban and Rebecca’s Mother: O sister! May you grow into thousands of myriads; may your descendants seize the gates of their foes.

Narrator: Then Rebecca and her maids arose, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebecca and went his way.

Scene 6

Narrator: Isaac had just come back from the vicinity of Beer-lahai-roi, for he was settled in the region of the Negev. And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching. Raising her eyes, Rebecca saw Isaac. She alighted from the camel.

Rebecca: Who is that man walking in the field toward us?

Eliezer: That is my master.

Narrator: So she took her veil and covered herself. The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Isaac then brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he took Rebecca as his wife. Isaac loved her, and thus found comfort after his mother’s death.

Act 2

Scene 1

Narrator: This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebecca, daughter of Betuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac pleaded with G-d on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and G-d responded to his plea, and his wife Rebecca conceived.

Scene 2

Narrator: The children struggled in her womb.

Rebecca: If so, why do I exist?

Narrator: She went to inquire of G-d.

G-d: Two nations are in your womb, two separate peoples shall issue from your body; one people shall be mightier than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.

Scene 3

Narrator: When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau. Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Scene 4

Narrator: When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob became a mild man, who stayed in tents. Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste for game; but Rebecca favored Jacob.

Act 3

Narrator: There was a famine in the land—aside from the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham—and Isaac went to Avimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

G-d: Isaac, do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land which I point out to you. Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, and assign to your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your heirs— inasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws, and My teachings.

Narrator: So Isaac stayed in Gerar. The local leaders asked him about his wife.

Isaac: She is my sister.

Narrator: He was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking, “The local leaders might kill me on account of Rebecca, for she is beautiful.” When some time had passed, Avimelech king of the Philistines, looking out of the window, saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebecca. Avimelech sent for Isaac.

Avimelech: So she is your wife! Why then did you say: “She is my sister”?

Isaac: Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.

Avimelech: What have you done to us! One of the men might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.

Narrator: Avimelech then charged all the people.

Avimelech: Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall be put to death.

Act 4

Scene 1

Narrator: When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith daughter of Be’eri the Hittite, and Bas’mat daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they were a source of bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.

Scene 2

Narrator: When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his older son Esau.

Isaac: My son.

Esau: Here I am.

Isaac: I am old now, and I do not know how soon I may die. Take your gear, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open and hunt me some game. Then prepare a dish for me such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my innermost blessing before I die.

Scene 3

Narrator: Rebecca had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game to bring home, Rebecca spoke to her son Jacob.

Rebecca: I overheard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, “Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with G-d’s approval, before I die.” Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you. Go to the flock and fetch me two choice goats, and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he likes. Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may bless you before he dies.

Jacob: But my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth-skinned. If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.

Rebecca: Your curse, my son, be upon me! Just do as I say and go fetch them for me.

Scene 4

Narrator: Jacob got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared a dish such as his father liked. Rebecca then took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were there in the house, and had her younger son Jacob put them on; and she covered his hands and the hairless part of his neck with the skins of the kids. Then she put in the hands of her son Jacob the dish and the bread that she had prepared.

Scene 5

Narrator: Jacob went to his father Isaac.

Jacob: Father.

Isaac: Yes, which of my sons are you?

Jacob: I am Esau, your first-born; I have done as you told me. Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me your innermost blessing.

Isaac: How did you succeed so quickly, my son?

Jacob: Because the Lord your G-d granted me good fortune.

Isaac: Come closer that I may feel you, my son—whether you are really my son Esau or not.

Narrator: So Jacob drew close to his father Isaac, who felt him.

Jacob: The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau.

Narrator: Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; and so he blessed him.

Isaac: Are you really my son Esau?

Jacob: I am.

Isaac: Serve me and let me eat of my son’s game that I may give you my innermost blessing.

Narrator: So he served him and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank.

Isaac: Come close and kiss me, my son.

Narrator: Jacob went up and kissed him. And he smelled his clothes and he blessed him.

Isaac: Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the fields that G-d has blessed.
“May God give you Of the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth, abundance of new grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow to you; be master over your brothers, and let your mother’s sons bow to you. Cursed be they who curse you, Blessed they who bless you.

Scene 6

Narrator: No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his father Isaac—after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob—than his brother Esau came back from his hunt. He too prepared a dish and brought it to his father.

Esau: Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may give me your innermost blessing.

Isaac: Who are you?

Esau: I am your son, Esau, your first-born!

Narrator: Isaac was seized with very violent trembling.

Isaac: Who was it then, that hunted game and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I blessed him; now he must remain blessed!

Narrator: When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst into wild and bitter sobbing.

Esau: Bless me too, Father!

Isaac: Your brother came with guile and took away your blessing.

Esau: Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant me these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing! Have you not reserved a blessing for me?

Isaac: But I have made him master over you: I have given him all his brothers for servants, and sustained him with grain and wine. What, then, can I still do for you, my son?

Esau: Have you but one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father!

Narrator: Esau wept aloud.

Isaac: See, your abode shall enjoy the fat of the earth and the dew of heaven above. Yet by your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restive, you shall break his yoke from your neck.

Scene 7

Narrator: Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him, and Esau spoke to himself.

Esau: Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.

Narrator: When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebecca, she sent for her younger son Jacob.

Rebecca: Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. Now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. Stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury subsides— until your brother’s anger against you subsides—and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you both in one day!

Scene 8

Rebecca: Isaac, I am disgusted with my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like these, from among the native women, what good will life be to me?

Narrator: So Isaac sent for Jacob, blessed him, and instructed him.

Isaac: You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women. Up, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Betuel, your mother’s father, and take a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. May El Shaddai bless you, make you fertile and numerous, so that you become an assembly of peoples. May you and your offspring be granted the blessing of Abraham, that you may possess the land where you are sojourning, which God assigned to Abraham.

Narrator: Then Isaac sent Jacob off, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Betuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebecca, mother of Jacob and Esau. When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, charging him, as he blessed him, “You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women,” and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram, Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives he had, Machalat the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, sister of Neva-yot.

Epilogue

Scene 1

Narrator: Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried under the oak below Bethel; so it was named Alon-bakut.

Scene 2

Jacob: My children, I am about to be gathered to my kin. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site— there Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebecca were buried; and there I buried Leah— the field and the cave in it, bought from the Hittites.

Narrator: When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and, breathing his last, he was gathered to his kin.