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Rebecca Empowering To Women Analysis

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Rebecca is the mother of Jacob, who becomes the ancestor of all of Israel (Encyclopedia in Jewish women’s archive). Rebecca is first introduced in the Bible when Abraham’s servant is searching for a wife for Isaac, and chooses Rebecca after she gives him water for him and his camels. Rebecca willingly went with the servant back to Canaan and became Isaac’s wife (The Good News Bible, Gen. 24). Rebecca is empowering to women because she does what she wants to do and does not let the will of her husband dictate her actions. Rebecca makes her own decisions, even if in a patriarchal society women were supposed to be subservient to the men in their family. For instance, when the mother and brother of Rebecca ask her to stay for ‘a week or ten days’, Rebecca says that she would like to go with the servant of Abraham to Isaac (Gen. 24.55-59). Rebecca knows what she wants to do and doesn’t let others influence her decision. She is very independent and willing to take risks. As shown through how women …show more content…

In that time period, women were supposed to always obey their husbands, but Rebecca didn’t follow the strict gender roles of that society. For instance, in the Old Testament, the patriarch, which in this case is Isaac, was supposed to give the first born a blessing and certain rights or things the other siblings wouldn’t get. This tradition represented leadership over the family and could not be revoked (Gale). Because Rebecca prefered Jacob, the second born, she helped him deceive Isaac into giving him the first born rights (Gen. 27). It is very rare to come across a story in which a female character is so essential in the Bible. Rebecca basically took control of the family destiny and lineage, since Jacob would soon become the ancestor of all of Israel (Jewish Women’s archive). Because of Rebecca’s integral role in Hebrew history as a result of this, she is very empowering to

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