Debunked: Rebekah Was 3 Years Old When She Married Isaac
Muslims will try very hard to argue for any immoral cases in the Bible to make it look equally as unappealing as their Qur’an so it doesn’t fall to an inferior status. Much like a dysfunctional relationship where you’re the one who’s had enough and wants to let the other go but refuses to let go of you thinking it will still work out. That is the Qur’an to the Bible. The Qur’an wants to share the same status and appreciation as the Bible, but is still unable to rival it to that point. Unfortunately, this is yet another one of those cases where the Qur’an will fall very short of making the Bible look equally unappealing insofar that the Qur’an will look much worse in comparison.
It’s the infamous claim about Rebekah’s age of marriage to Isaac which muslims will say was 3. How inaccurate and unsupported by the scriptural evidence this statement is! Here’s why… the Bible does not explicitly say the age of Rebekah when Isaac married her. I will steelman this for the muslims.
Muslim argument:
Genesis 17:17 states that Sarah is 90 years old by the time Abraham is 100 and this is both their age when Isaac is born, Genesis 21:5.
Rebekah was born at the time of Sarah’s death; they claim it’s found here Genesis 22:20-23 and Abraham is told of these things, all before chapter 23.
Isaac was 37 years old when his mother Sarah died at 127 years old, Genesis 23:1-2.
Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, Genesis 25:20.
Therefore, since Isaac was 37 at the time of Sarah’s death, 127-90=37. Rebekah must have just been born. And Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah who is purportedly considered 3 years old here, 40-37=3.
Refutation:
The error actually falls on an unfound assumption in point number two: Genesis 22:20-23. Also, it’s absolutely not supported by other corroborating scriptural evidence of Rebekah’s probable age. Here’s why Rebekah was not 3 years old when she was married to Isaac.
Nahor’s genealogy issue: Genesis 22:1-12, 20-23; Isaac is a small child at this point and Abraham is informed of his other distant relatives being born around the time of these events to his brother Nahor. So all of Nahor’s children are around Isaac’s age perhaps. The problem here is there is no date as to when Bethuel, a son of Nahor, begot Rebekah. Assuming it was at the time of Sarah’s death is unfounded.
Ignoring the 37 year window for Bethuel to have grown and beget Rebekah: If Bethuel was born around the time of Isaac’s birth, Bethuel could have any time between his birth and 37 years later to have offspring. He could have been 20 and begot Rebekah. So, by the time Sarah died Rebekah could be 17 and three more years later at 20 marry Isaac. This is circular reasoning on behalf of muslims to think she was only 3 years old and is not substantiated by the scriptures. My theory would prove to be the more likely case as Rebekah is referenced as a ‘young woman’ just before getting married to Isaac. I will bring up that point next.
Rebekah is referenced many times as a ‘young woman,’ holds coherent conversation, carries a pitcher of water on her shoulder for all the camels: Genesis 24 states the oldest servant of Abraham is to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac who will be Rebekah. Rebekah is a young woman before marriage to Isaac; Genesis 24:15-17. Who calls a 3 year old toddler a ‘young woman?’ Throughout Genesis 24 she holds conversation with the servant of Abraham and holds a water pitcher on her shoulder continuously for watering the camels. Doing all that at 3 years old? No.
Conclusion
All the scriptural evidence suggests the contrary of what muslims will say about Rebekah being 3 years old when she married Isaac. Rebekah was not 3 years old and was more likely around her late teen years, perhaps older, by the time she married Isaac. The idea of her being 3 years old from muslims is an unfound premise not supported by the scriptural evidence and shows the contrary in actuality.
