*Sacred Scripture* Rebecca at the Well – Pellegrini

When Rebecca offers water to him, Abraham’s servant realizes that she is the woman meant to be Isaac’s wife. Artwork by G. Pellegrini.

Genesis 24

What was Rebekah known for in the Bible?

Rebecca (/rɪˈbɛkə/) appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Abraham called his oldest servant to him and asked him to search for a wife for Isaac

It was the custom in Abraham’s day for parents to choose wives or husbands for their children. Abraham wanted to find a good wife for his son Isaac. This would be difficult. Abraham lived in Canaan and did not want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman because the Canaanites worshipped false gods. Abraham wanted Isaac to marry a righteous woman who would help him remain faithful to the living God and who would teach their children the truth. Only in this way could the priesthood remain with Abraham’s descendants. Without the Priesthood they could not receive the special blessings the Lord had promised them.

Abraham called his oldest servant to him and asked him to search for a wife for Isaac. He said, “I want thee to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that thou shalt not choose a wife for Isaac from the Canaanite women. But thou shalt go to my home country of Mesopotamia, and there among my own people thou shalt choose a wife for him.”

The trusted servant knew this was a very serious and important assignment and asked, “What if the woman chosen will not follow me back to this land? Should I not take Isaac with me, so the woman and her family can approve of him?”

Abraham answered, “Beware, do not take Isaac with thee.” Abraham did not want Isaac to go into another land, where he might be tempted to remain. The Lord had given the land of Canaan to Abraham and his family as an inheritance, and Abraham wanted them to stay there.

Abraham told his servant, “The Lord shall send his angel before thee, and he will help thee find a wife for Isaac.”

With that understanding, the servant gave his hand to Abraham and promised to do as he had been instructed.

The servant began his journey with a caravan of ten camels and a number of men to assist him. He traveled to Mesopotamia, to the city where Nahor lived. There he made his camels kneel outside the city beside a well of water. It was evening, and many women were getting water at the well. The servant did not know anyone. Nor did he know how to find the woman the Lord had chosen to be Isaac’s wife. He needed help, so he prayed, saying; “O Lord, behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. Let it come to pass that the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Let down thy pitcher that I may drink’, and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also’—let this be the woman that is to be Isaac’s wife.”

Before he had finished praying, a beautiful young woman approached. Her name was Rebekah, and she was not only beautiful, but also virtuous and lovely. She loved the Lord and tried to keep his commandments. Because of this, Rebekah was blessed by the Lord.

As Rebekah turned from the well with her water pitcher filled, the servant ran to meet her. “Let me drink a little water from thy pitcher,” he said.

“Drink my lord,” she replied. Then when she had given him a drink, she offered, “I will draw water for thy camels also.” This was the very sign the servant had prayed for, so he knew Rebekah was the woman the Lord had chosen to be Isaac’s wife.

After the camels had been given water to drink, the servant asked Rebekah, “Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee, is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?”

Her answer brought great joy to the servant. She told him she was the daughter of Bethuel and a granddaughter of Nahor. The servant knew that Nahor was Abraham’s brother and realized he had been led to the house of Abraham’s relatives. He bowed his head and thanked the Lord.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/24

Painting-Rebecca at the Well

Artist-Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini

Summary-Genesis 24

This painting captures a pivotal moment in a story taken from the Book of Genesis (24). Abraham had sent a servant to his homeland to find a bride for his son, Isaac. The servant came to a well, and waited for a woman kind enough to provide both him and his 10 camels with water: this woman would be the perfect bride for Isaac.

In the painting, an elegantly dressed woman looks calmly at the servant, her hand resting on a water pitcher – she seems only a little surprised at his request. This is Rebecca, Isaac’s future wife, who drew water for the servant and all of his animals. The servant offers her several pieces of jewelry as a reward for her kindness, which spill out of the open box in front of him. Pellegrini has emphasized Rebecca’s luminous, pale skin and the golden curls of her hair, which contrast with the tanned complexion of the balding servant.

Pellegrini’s characteristic use of long, energetic brushstrokes and his confident application of paint can be appreciated in the bunched-up folds of Rebecca’s blue dress and cream bodice and in the servant’s deep red drapery, which add a vibrancy and rich texture to the scene. The handle of the pitcher has been described in just a few strokes, and the stone face in the bottom-right corner built up in loosely applied paint. The woman and the hairy camels just behind the main figures are also painted with freely applied strokes of paint, but in slightly paler tones and in thinner layers, giving the impression that they are further away. Thinner still are the layers of paint that describe the pinkish cloudy sky.

Pellegrini, the brother-in-law of Venetian portraitist Rosalba Carriera, travelled to England in 1708 and established himself as one of the most sought-after decorative painters in Europe. He stayed for five years and this picture was probably painted during that time.