Posted on 09/01/2025 5:03:43 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Genesis 25 describes the infertility suffered by Rebekah (and Isaac), Isaac’s subsequent prayer and God’s affirmative response.
…Isaac is exceptional among the patriarchs for foregoing polygamy, even when faced with a barren wife. Only he relies on prayer to solve his problem.
…The biblical narratives present Rebekah in an especially active role, both in the story of her difficult pregnancy, in which she goes to consult with YHWH on her own, and in the story of the blessing of Jacob and Esau, in which she defies and manipulates her husband…
(Excerpt) Read more at thetorah.com ...
This interpretation of the little episode of Isaac praying for Rebekah puts Isaac in a somewhat more positive light than we usually think of him. Before and after his near sacrifice on Mt. Moriah, his personality an exploits are next to nothing, thus causing him to be regarded by some as as kind of a “placemark” character—important in existing just to be the fulfillment of God’s promise of posterity to Abraham, but with little else dramatic to add to the narrative, unlike the broad sweep of adventures experienced by Abraham before him and Jacob (and others) after him.
Yes! Exactly my thoughts! Genesis, and my understanding of all the personalities involved, shifts profoundly with every read! Issac is way underrated!
Yes, over the decades I’ve been reading and studying it, Genesis has been an inexhaustible source of understanding salvation history, spiritual inspiration, and just darn good stories full of human drama. Old stories, but ever new.
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