Rebecca is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Rebecca, also known as Rebekah, was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob, mentioned in the Book of Genesis. She enters the biblical narrative as the woman chosen to be Isaac’s wife, and she becomes the mother of two sons whose descendants would become the nations of Israel and Edom. Her story unfolds in the patriarchal setting of Genesis, where God’s covenant promises were being carried forward through Abraham’s family line.
In the New Testament, Rebecca appears only once by name, in Paul’s letter to the Romans. There, Paul is arguing that God’s purpose of election does not rest on human works or lineage alone but on His own sovereign call. To make this point, Paul reaches back to the account of Rebecca and Isaac: “And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac” (Romans 9:10). Paul then recalls that before her twin sons were born, and before they had done anything good or bad, God declared that the elder would serve the younger.
Scripture presents Rebecca as a woman woven into the unfolding of God’s covenant purposes. She is named alongside Isaac as the parents of Jacob and Esau, and her conception of the twins becomes the very setting in which God’s elective purpose is announced. The single New Testament reference to her is not incidental; it anchors Paul’s teaching about God’s calling. What Genesis records of her life—her marriage to Isaac and her motherhood of two nations—becomes, in Romans, a testimony to the sovereign will of God working through ordinary family history.
The Name
The name Rebecca comes into English through the Greek form found in the New Testament, which itself reflects the Hebrew name Rebekah. The meaning of the name is not clearly recoverable, and scholars have proposed various suggestions without reaching firm agreement. Because the etymology is uncertain, it is best to say plainly that the meaning of this name is not well established. What Scripture emphasizes is not the meaning of her name but the role she played in the line of promise.
A Closing Thought
Rebecca’s life reminds us that God often works through quiet, ordinary people to accomplish purposes far larger than they can see. She was a wife and a mother, yet through her sons God set in motion the history of nations and the line through which His promises would continue. Paul points to her not because of anything she accomplished, but because of what God declared. Whatever our station, our part in God’s story is held not by our own strength but by His faithful and sovereign hand.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: New
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- Romans 9:10 — And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;