Rebecca
Rebecca (Hebrew רבקה Rivkah, and Rebecca ) is a biblical person of the Jewish Torah and the Christian Old Testament. The meaning of the Hebrew name (the " bewitching ", "The Captivating, connecting creators " ) is controversial.
The events surrounding Rebekah associated with the Erzelternerzählungen in the first book of Moses (Genesis) 24-27 EU. Rebecca is the sister of Laban the Aramean Bethuel daughter ( Bethuel; genealogy in Gen 22,23 EU; 24.24 to 47 EU) and granddaughter of Milcah and Nahor ( Abraham's brother, who has remained in Mesopotamia ). She is the wife of Isaac, Abraham's son, and mother of the twins Esau and Jacob.
- 5.1 In the music
- 5.2 In the arts
Biblical narratives - Literary form
In Gen 24 EU tells how the aged Abraham sends his servant back to the land of his relatives (probably Eliezer, Gen. 15.2 EU) ( meaning the city of Harran in Syria, today Turkey ) to there one for his son Isaac to find god's faithful wife, because he does not want his son to marry a wife from Canaan, where pagan gods are worshiped. In his late-afternoon arrival in Haran the servant outsourced to a fountain in front of the city, when the women come out to fetch water there. Among them is Rebekah. The servant asks for a drink of water from her pitcher, after which they are to drink his camels. This is the sign of the servant that Rebekah is the right wife for Isaac, because in a prayer he had previously with the request turned to YHWH that certain Isaac woman should behave (Gen 24:14 EU).
In the house of Laban, Rebekah's brother, the servant announced his mission, presents valuable gifts of his master and asks for the hand of Rebekah for Isaac, which is granted to him. Also, Rebekah is satisfied with the decision and follows the servant of Abraham to Canaan. They will be accompanied by several servants (Gen 24.61 EU). In the new home she becomes the wife of the then forty year old Isaac, who wins her love (Gen 25,20 EU). For many years, the marriage remains childless because of infertility Rebekah. It was only after years of fervent prayer of Isaac, YHWH makes them pregnant (Gn 25,21 EU). As Rebecca gives birth to twins, her husband Isaac is already sixty years of age (Gen 25,26 EU).
25.25-26 gene EU tells how the birth of the twins Esau and Jacob runs out. The unusual gene in 25.22-23 EU is that Rebecca is aimed directly at the word YHWH and receives the promise of a great posterity from him. In a dream, their God prophesied that the elder, Esau would have to serve the younger Jacob. This means the future of the two -descended peoples (Gen 25,23 EU) is prefigured. From Esau, the people of Edom derives from Jacob the twelve tribes of Israel.
In Gen 26 EU the subject of endangering the ancestress occurs, which is to already be found in Abraham and Sarah. Isaac denies marriage to Rebekah in Gerar ( Philistine city) and outputs it as his sister, because he is afraid to be killed ( because of their beauty ) their sake. The fraud is detected, as Abimelech king of the Philistines, observed through the window, as both deal with each other. Abimelech is Isaac and Rebekah, contrary to expectations under special protection (Gen 26, 1-11 EU). Later there is even a covenant between the two.
In Gen 27 EU is Rebecca, as presented in Genesis 24 EU, as a very active woman. It helps her younger son Jacob with a tricked the birthright blessing to sneak by his father, passing himself off as his brother Esau. It is therefore contrary to the law, but tries on the other hand, the promise of YHWH from gene 25 to do enough.
Rebecca, a historical figure? - anachronisms
The Rebekah narrative is characterized by anachronisms. The people of the Syrians, from which Rebekah to come, can only be detected from 1300 BC. Around 1500 BC, when Rebekah said to have lived, there were no Syrians. The phylogenetic relationship between the Israelites and Arameans has been constructed by the authors of Genesis from the retrospective. Improbable also appears that Abraham's servant settled at the well and a woman approached. Under the current rules of society, men met at the gate and the women at the well. It was unusual to break these gender rules. Rebecca would have had to go away on this behavior toward the servant because any conversation with a strange man she had dishonored. 24.17-25 gene EU reported a behavior Rebekah that advances the course of the narrative, but as a " real event " is hard to imagine.
A programmatic narrative - intentions
For the reasons mentioned above it can be assumed that the story was written by Rebekah in retrospect. One assumes that it was written during the Babylonian exile or in the early post-exilic period ( 587-450 BC). It is certain that Genesis 24 through 27 are not a historical figure of the events, it is much more likely that in these narratives model figures, theological images and statements should be handed down. From the assumption of view, that the Israelite identity and the monotheistic Yahweh - worship have emerged primarily during the exile, the ancestral described in Genesis are to be understood as a programmatic model figures and form the basic foundation of Israelite identity. As for the story to Rebekah is striking how YHWH it selects as a woman of Isaac, and also in the following directs the action. This will be exemplified clear that YHWH created the history of his chosen people Israel itself.
Parallels to other people
Rebekka - the feminist counterpart of Abraham?
Compared with the Abraham story is striking that 24 to 27 similar motifs are used in gene. Just as Abraham is the model figure of the god trust and obedience, by breaking at the command of YHWH in him a still undiscovered country, even Rebekah accepts the challenge of marriage with a man she does not even know. Just as Abraham was chosen directly by God, and Rebekah was chosen directly by God at the well. Your freedom of choice and the conscious decision thereto to be Rebekah become the female counterpart of Abraham. In both stories the motives of departure into the unknown, leaving the old attachments, confidence in the guidance of God and the path to a new country are key. Rebekah is characterized as Abraham to identify with the people of Israel in exile.
Also, the blessing and promise motif represents a continuation of the Abraham narrative: given Rebekah YHWH asks for advice on the in the womb contending twins, she receives the promise of a rich offspring (Gen 25,23 EU). The blessing that Abraham learns directly from YHWH (Gen 22,17 EU), Rebekah is representative given by her family:
This is a clear link between the two is created. Rebekah is the only female wearer of God's promise.
In intervention in Rebekah's infertility is similar to Abraham's wife, Sarah, shows how YHWH is helping her. Overall, a similar image of God is passed on to the two vivid stories, YHWH is on the one hand, the urge to leave, on the other hand but also the one who prepares his blessing in the uncertainty. More generally, this means that YHWH is both challenging but also helping, blessing God.
Special Rebekah compared to the Erzmüttern Sara and Rachel
It is striking that Rebekah in the final form of literary narrative voice shares more than the other two matriarchs in the respective texts. You can choose whether to go with the servant, and Isaac wants to marry. She is described as hospitable, helpful, efficient, enduring ( drawing water at the well ) and kind-hearted. None of the other two women are so many attributes to part. In addition, Rebecca is characterized by its cleverness and cunning, which will, however, moved in the wake of the fraud to the birthright in a negative light. In the stories Isaac looks compared to his wife passively while permeated active their will. It is explicitly reported that Isaac loved his wife has (Gen 24,67 EU).
Martin Noth claims in his book " History of the Pentateuch tradition ": " women serve merely as accessories, neither their actions count, not the action of God in them; as individuals they are seen exclusively on the men out in the traditions of the faith of Israel, they are meaningless! " On closer inspection, however, this does not apply to Rebekah, because she is actively ensuring that God's promise is fulfilled through their sons (Gen 25.23 EU): It provides for the blessing of the younger Jacob, and thus for its precedence over his older brother. Furthermore, it helps Jacob to flee, which would have without this advice may be found by his brother's hand to die.
Just as Sara and Rachel Rebecca is one of the Erzmüttern the people of Israel. The in all three stories always prevailing tension between infertility and offspring promise is canceled by divine grace. All infertile women are thus significant figures. You are YHWH's direct intervention in each case cured (see also Barren in the New Testament ).
In addition, parallels between Sara and Rebecca in the hazards of the ancestress ( Gen 12 EU, 20 EU, 26 EU). Both are to be married, because their husbands who are afraid of being killed because of the beauty of their women, they spend as a sister in the risk of other men. Both are described as very beautiful women. YHWH Helping intervention is in both hazard narratives clearly (Gen 12.10 to 20 EU; 26.1 to 11 EU).
It is in all three Erzelternpaaren to endogamous marriages, because the women are from the same clan. Sara came with Abraham from Ur, Rebecca and Rachel are from the Aramaic Harran. However, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have any more than a woman who did not belong to this clan. The scheme of Rebekah's birth narrative corresponds to the same pattern as that of other matriarchs: pregnancy, announcing a birth or their immediate circumstances and the child's birth. It is also striking that all three matriarchs only bear sons and number of their children to a maximum of two. Similarly, a pregnancy does not occur until after the man who prayed for his barren woman to God and this left his encouragement. These are typical elements of the motif of the ancestress, on the one hand create tension in the story, on the other hand, lead the direct binding of the ancestors of YHWH in mind.
Representations of Rebekah
The following information about the representations of Rebekah in music and art can be found in the "Encyclopedia of Biblical people " by Martin Bocian.
In the music
The stories of Rebekah were often set to music. 1761 was a first Oratory in London, which was composed by C. Smith. It is believed that he joined Handel's music with the text, because he was his successor at the court. Other musical settings followed in 1766 by Michael Haydn ( Rebekah as a bride ), 1865 by B. Pisani with his opera " Rebecca " in Milan; 1883 was a dramatic cantata in Boston by DF Hodges; J. Barnby wrote the oratorio " Rebekah " for the music festival in Hereford and in 1881 César Franck designed a biblical scene.
In the arts
Representations Rebekah often exist in the Jakob-/Esau-Zyklen. There, for example, the encounter with the servant at the fountain, offering the potion, soaking the camels, the return journey or the encounter with Isaac, are presented. Raphael's frescoes of Isaac four - cycle in the loggias of the Vatican show Rebekah always at her favorite son.