🧕🏽 Rebekah Was NOT a Child Bride: 📖 Debunking the Islamic Myth with Scripture
- So Am I Books
- Aug 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 4
🔥 The Controversy: Islam’s Desperate Defense
Muslims are taught that their prophet Muhammad married Aisha when she was 6 years old, and consummated the marriage when she was 9—a claim confirmed in their most authentic sources, including Sahih al-Bukhari (Hadith 5133, 5134, 5158).
Faced with criticism, Muslim apologists often point the finger back at the Bible, claiming that Isaac married a child bride named Rebekah—but that’s nothing more than desperate deflection.
📌 Let’s be clear:➡️ The Bible NEVER says Rebekah was a child.➡️ The timeline of Genesis proves she was a young adult woman, capable of decision-making and mature responsibilities.➡️ The comparison to Aisha is dishonest and crumbles under Scripture.
Let’s go deep into the Scriptures and prove the truth once and for all. 🕵🏽♂️📖
🗓️ Step 1: Isaac Was 37 When Rebekah Appears
We begin by establishing Isaac’s age at the time he married Rebekah.
Genesis 21:5
“And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.”
Genesis 23:1
“And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah.”
✅ Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born (Gen. 17:17), and died at 127. That means:
🧮 127 - 90 = 37➡️ Isaac was 37 years old when his mother died.
Genesis 24, which contains the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah, comes immediately after Sarah’s death. Therefore, Isaac was 37 when he met and married Rebekah.
👶🏽 Step 2: Rebekah Was Already Born and Grown
Next, let’s look at Rebekah’s birth and place in the timeline.
Genesis 22:20–23
“It was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah... hath also born children unto thy brother Nahor... And Bethuel begat Rebekah.”
This genealogy is not random—it’s inserted right after the Akedah (Binding of Isaac), where Isaac was a grown man. This means:
📍 Rebekah was already born—possibly a young girl or even a teenager—while Isaac was in his early 30s.
➡️ Fast-forward a few years to Genesis 24, and now Isaac is 37. Rebekah would likely be in her late teens or early 20s—a grown woman by all standards, especially ancient ones.
💧 Step 3: Rebekah Was a Working Woman, Not a Child
In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac. Here's what happens:
Genesis 24:15–16
“Rebekah came out… with her pitcher upon her shoulder… And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.”
🔍 The Hebrew word for “damsel” is na‘arah (נַעֲרָה) — meaning young woman or maiden, not a child.🔍 She draws water by herself — a chore done by capable young women, not toddlers or children.🔍 She speaks confidently to Abraham’s servant and volunteers to water his camels — showing maturity, independence, and responsibility.
🧠 This is not the behavior of a 6- or 9-year-old girl. She was clearly a grown woman.
🗣️ Step 4: She Made Her Own Decision to Marry Isaac
Genesis 24:57–58
“We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.”
👏🏾 Rebekah is given the freedom and respect to make her own decision about marriage.➡️ That only happens if a woman is of mature age.
Compare this with Islam, where Aisha was a child, taken from her toys and married off before puberty. There’s no comparison.
📚 Jewish Sources Also Confirm Her Maturity
🕎 Traditional Jewish chronologies like the Seder Olam Rabbah (a 2nd-century CE work) suggest Rebekah was about 14 to 20 years old when she married Isaac. That range fits perfectly with the Biblical narrative and cultural context.
No Biblical verse or reliable Jewish tradition supports the claim that she was a child.
📉 The Islamic Problem: Aisha Was a Child
Let’s contrast this with the real child bride in Islamic tradition: Aisha.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5133:
“The Prophet married me when I was six years old, and consummated the marriage when I was nine years old.”
🔺 That’s not a fringe source. That’s Islam’s most authentic Hadith collection.🔺 Muslims can’t deny it without denying the very foundations of their religion.
💥 So what do many Muslims do? They try to create false equivalencies to excuse it. Rebekah is just a distraction.
❌ The False Equivalence Exposed
Let’s break it down:
👉🏾 No matter how you slice it, Rebekah is not Aisha.
🔚 Conclusion: Let the Scriptures Speak
📜 The Bible makes it crystal clear:
✅ Isaac was 37 when he married.✅ Rebekah was already born before that, and clearly grown.✅ She acted, spoke, and decided like an adult.✅ No Biblical passage implies she was a child.
Islamic apologists who promote this myth are doing so out of desperation, not truth. They’re trying to justify the unjustifiable—the marriage of a prophet to a little girl.
But the Bible stands tall in its moral clarity.
🗣️ Final Thought:
💥 Rebekah was a righteous young woman. Aisha was a child.📖 The Scriptures uphold dignity.📉 Islamic traditions fall short.
Don’t fall for the false equivalence. Know your Scriptures. Defend truth with boldness. 💪🏽🔥
📚 Sources Cited:
The Holy Bible (KJV), Genesis 17–24
Strong’s Concordance – Entry H5291 (na‘arah)
Seder Olam Rabbah – Jewish Chronology
Sahih al-Bukhari Hadiths 5133, 5134, 5158
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1