Discovery BoxGenesis 24:15-16 
Context24:15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah 1 with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 2 24:16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. 3 She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up.
Genesis 24:46
Context24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water.
Genesis 24:67
Context24:67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah 4 into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her 5 as his wife and loved her. 6 So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. 7
Genesis 27:42
Context27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 8 she quickly summoned 9 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 10
Genesis 38:18
Context38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. 11 She became pregnant by him.
Genesis 38:23-26
Context38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things 12 for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. 13 I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
38:24 After three months Judah was told, 14 “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, 15 and as a result she has become pregnant.” 16 Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word 17 to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” 18 Then she said, “Identify 19 the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright 20 than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her 21 again.
1 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out!” Using the participle introduced with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator dramatically transports the audience back into the event and invites them to see Rebekah through the servant’s eyes.
2 tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out – [she] who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham – and her jug [was] on her shoulder.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “And the young woman was very good of appearance, a virgin, and a man she had not known.” Some argue that the Hebrew noun translated “virgin” (בְּתוּלָה, bÿtulah) is better understood in a general sense, “young woman” (see Joel 1:8, where the word appears to refer to one who is married). In this case the circumstantial clause (“and a man she had not known”) would be restrictive, rather than descriptive. If the term actually means “virgin,” one wonders why the circumstantial clause is necessary (see Judg 21:12 as well). Perhaps the repetition emphasizes her sexual purity as a prerequisite for her role as the mother of the covenant community.
4 tn Heb “her”; the referent has been specified here in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “Rebekah”; here the proper name was replaced by the pronoun (“her”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Heb “and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her.”
7 tn Heb “after his mother.” This must refer to Sarah’s death.
8 tn Heb “and the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah.”
9 tn Heb “she sent and called for.”
10 tn Heb “is consoling himself with respect to you to kill you.” The only way Esau had of dealing with his anger at the moment was to plan to kill his brother after the death of Isaac.
11 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
12 tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
13 tn Heb “we will become contemptible.” The Hebrew word בּוּז (buz) describes the contempt that a respectable person would have for someone who is worthless, foolish, or disreputable.
14 tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”
15 tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.
16 tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”
17 tn Heb “she was being brought out and she sent.” The juxtaposition of two clauses, both of which place the subject before the predicate, indicates synchronic action.
18 tn Heb “who these to him.”
19 tn Or “ recognize; note.” This same Hebrew verb (נָכַר, nakhar) is used at the beginning of v. 26, where it is translated “recognized.”
20 tn Traditionally “more righteous”; cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT “more in the right.”
sn She is more upright than I. Judah had been irresponsible and unfaithful to his duty to see that the family line continued through the levirate marriage of his son Shelah. Tamar fought for her right to be the mother of Judah’s line. When she was not given Shelah and Judah’s wife died, she took action on her own to ensure that the line did not die out. Though deceptive, it was a desperate and courageous act. For Tamar it was within her rights; she did nothing that the law did not entitle her to do. But for Judah it was wrong because he thought he was going to a prostitute. See also Susan Niditch, “The Wronged Woman Righted: An Analysis of Genesis 38,” HTR 72 (1979): 143-48.
21 tn Heb “and he did not add again to know her.” Here “know” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
