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Bible Dictionaries
Rebecca
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or (Ῥεβέκκα)
Rebecca, the wife of Isaac, received a Divine oracle before the birth of her twin sons, Esau and Jacob, foretelling her that she would be the mother of two nations or peoples, of whom the elder would serve the younger (Romans 9:10-12, from Genesis 25:24-26). St. Paul uses this tradition as illustrating a mysterious principle which he observed in the operation of Divine grace. Even within the family of Abraham, to whom the promises were given, God more than once made choice, rejecting Ishmael and accepting Isaac, loving Jacob and hating Esau (Romans 9:7; Romans 9:13). In the OT those preferences were regarded as purely arbitrary, Jahweh having the right to do as He pleased with any mother’s sons; but the Apostle discerns in His sovereign decrees a gracious design which embraces all mankind-‘the purpose of God working by means of election’ (ἡ κατʼ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις). See Jacob and Esau.
James Strahan.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Rebecca'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/r/rebecca.html. 1906-1918.
