How old was Rebecca at time of marriage
Question
How old was Rebecca when Issac married her was she really 3? During countless debates one thing that always kept popping up is the age of Rebecca during her marriage with Issac I tried finding out for myself I wanted to expand my interpretation, but it’s unclear or based off others interpretation and uncredited sources
Answer
Shalom!
Thank you for your question.
There are various midrashic traditions as to how old Rivka (Rebecca) was when she was married to Yitzchak (Isaac).
Yes, according to one tradition, Rivka was 3 years old when she married Yitzchak. (The is the view of Sofrim, Hosafa 1:4).
According to another tradition, Rivka was born when Yitzchak was nearly sacrificed on the altar, an event known as the “Akeida.” Since Yitzchak was 26 years old at the time, and 40 years old when he married Rivkah it emerges that Rivka was 14 years old when whe was married (This is the view of Yevamot 61b and Seder Olam Rabba 1).
There are other views, as well, including a view that we don’t know how old she was at all.