Rebecca, ;
Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from
Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the
Hebrew Bible as the wife of
Isaac and the mother of
Jacob and
Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the
Aramean
The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...
from
Paddan Aram, also called
Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was
Laban the Aramean, and she was the granddaughter of
Milcah and
Nahor, the brother of
Abraham. Rebecca and Isaac were one of the four couples that some believe are buried in the
Cave of the Patriarchs, the other three being
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
and
Eve, Abraham and
Sarah
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...
, and
Jacob and
Leah.
Early life

After the
Binding of Isaac, Sarah died. After taking care of her burial, Abraham went about finding a wife for his son Isaac, who was already 37 years old. He commanded his servant (whom the Torah commentators identify as