Matriarchs of Genesis: Rebekah

Rebekah may be my most favorite matriarch in the Genesis narrative. She is portrayed as a strong character, who makes decisions that are followed through, drives the narrative, pulls the strings... I think she is great! In fact, I think is one of the few female characters within the narrative to truly outshine and out perform the male characters within her story.  She is portrayed as being stronger and smarter than her father, Isaac, Esau, and even Jacob.

Her father asked her opinion about whether she wants to journey to a foreign land to marry Isaac. He allowed her to have the final decision rather than dictating to her what she had to do. An unusual custom when fathers typically made all the decisions for their daughters.

Narrative seems to imply that Isaac was not much of an even match for her. Even when Isaac takes a chapter from his father's book of trying to pass Rebekah off as his sister, it doesn't work out for him at all. King Abimelech sees Isaac and Rebekah together almost immediately and thus Rebekah's chastity within her marriage is never questioned. Later in the narrative, Rebekah receives a direct message from God describing the twin brothers that will be born to her. Special because it is the mother, the woman, Rebekah who receives the message and not the father, the man, Isaac.

Finally, it would be wrong to state that Rebekah did not control her household. It may have been Isaac's household, but it was Rebekah who ultimately exerted the dominant influence over everything. Her quick actions and plans resulted in her favored son, Jacob, receiving the blessing that meant for his older brother. She was instrumental in hoodwinking Isaac, pushing Esau out of the picture, and establishing Jacob as the one to get it all. Interestingly, Esau does not retaliate against Rebekah, but reserves all his anger towards Jacob and his parents as a whole.

In my opinion, Rebekah is one of the strongest female characters within the entire biblical narrative. She was not perfect, but she commanded her family with strength and authority that is unmatched by few others...