Topics/Rashi

Rashi

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Debate
Underage Marriage in Biblical Tradition — Rebekah, Mary, and the Bible's Own Standards1:16:00
Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq
Muslim

You attack Islam on this issue — what does the Bible say about the age of Rebekah when she married Isaac?

Let's apply the same standard to the Bible. Genesis 25:20 states that Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah. Now, Rashi — the most authoritative Jewish commentator on the Torah, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 CE) — provides a detailed chronological calculation in his commentary on Genesis 25:20. Using the timeline established in Genesis 22 and Genesis 23, Rashi calculates that Rebekah was born when Isaac was 37 years old — the same event timeline as the Binding of Isaac (Aqedah) and Sarah's death at age 127 (Genesis 23:1). Since Isaac married at 40 (Genesis 25:20), and Rebekah was born when Isaac was 37, Rashi concludes that Rebekah was THREE YEARS OLD when Isaac married her.

Shaykh Uthman vs Captain Tazaryach — Is the Bible the Word of God?
Debate
Underage Marriage in Biblical Tradition — Rebekah, Mary, and the Bible's Own Standards1:26:00
Shaykh Uthman Ibn Farooq
Muslim

What does Genesis 24:16 actually say about Rebekah?

Genesis 24:16 says Rebekah was a 'virgin; neither had any man known her.' It describes her at a well, carrying a pitcher. You argue a three-year-old can't do this. But the text doesn't state her age — so what age do YOU say she was? Give me a biblical verse that states Rebekah's age at marriage. You can't — because there isn't one. Rashi calculated it from the biblical timeline. You reject his calculation but have no alternative age from scripture. Meanwhile, Genesis 25:20 clearly states Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah, and the chronological events of Genesis 22-23 (Binding of Isaac, Abraham's notification of Rebekah's birth, Sarah's death at 127) are right there in the text. Rashi didn't invent the timeline — he calculated from it.

Shaykh Uthman vs Captain Tazaryach — Is the Bible the Word of God?