When Rashi gathers a collection of verses
and makes inferences from numerical computations we say
Rashi uses the Spreadsheet method. The
Table below shows it reasonable that Rivkah
was 15 years old when she married Isaac. After
reviewing the table we will explain its rows
line by line.
================== LIST690b ==========================
List of verses on Rivkahs age when she married Isaac
======================================================
ID VERSE Isaac Rivkah Event at that age of Isaac
== ======== ===== ====== =============================
A Gn17-17 0 Sarah is 90 when Isaac born
------ ---- ----- -----------------------------
B1 Gn22-01 25-30 0-5 Isaacs age at time of Akaydah
B2 Gn22-20a 25-30 0-5 Bethuayl had been born
B3 Gn22-23a 25-30 0-5 Rivkah had already been born
------ ---- ----- -----------------------------
C Gn23-01 37 12 Sarah 127 at time of death
D Gn25-20a 40 15 Isaac Marries Rivkah
E Gn25-26d 60 35 Pray for children;Twin births
======================================================
We now explain each row.
- Row A cites verse Gn17-17
that Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born.
- Rows B1-B3 mention 2 events that happened more
or less at the same time between the birth of Isaac
and the death of Sarah.
- The Akaydah, the offering of Isaac
- Rivkah had already been born to Bethuayl
No verse indicates the age of Isaac and Rivkah at the
time of the Akaydah. We are free to guess. In the table
above we assume Isaac was 30 and Rivkah was 5. An alternate
computation is presented below.
- Row C cites verse Gn23-01 that
Sarah was 127 when she died. Using spreadsheet
methods we infer that Isaac was 37 at the time of
Sarah's death since Sarah was 90 when Isaac was born.
We also can infer that Rivkah was 12 at the time of
Sarah's death (using the Isaac=30 and Rivkah=5 assumption)
- Row D cites verse Gn25-20 which states that
- Isaac was 40 when he married.
- We know he was 37 when his mother died.
- We conclude that he married 3 years after his mother's death
- Hence Rivkah married 3 years after Sarah's death and was 15
according to our assumptions that Isaac was 30 and Rivkah was 5
at the time of the Akaydah.
- Row E cites verse Gn25-26 which states that Isaac was 60 when he had
his 2 children. Since he was 40 when he got married we infer that
20 years had elapsed. It follows that Rivkah was 35.
An alternate spreadsheet is presented below. Here
we assume that Isaac was 37 at the time of the Akaydah
and Sarah died immediately
from the shock of hearing that her son was offered. We
also assume that Rivkah had just reached adulthood and was 12.
================== LIST690b ==========================
List of verses on Rivkahs age when she married Isaac
======================================================
ID VERSE Isaac Rivkah Event at that age of Isaac
== ======== ===== ====== =============================
A Gn17-17 0 Sarah is 90 when Isaac born
------ ---- ----- -----------------------------
B1 Gn22-01 37 12 Isaacs age at time of Akaydah
B3 Gn22-23a 37 12 Rivkah had already been born
------ ---- ----- -----------------------------
C Gn23-01 37 12 Sarah 127 at time of death
D Gn25-20a 40 15 Isaac Marries Rivkah
E Gn25-26d 60 35 Pray for children;Twin births
======================================================
Advanced Rashi: There are many
more spreadsheet computations possible. The reader
is free to assume that Isaac was any age between 0 and
37 at the time of the Akaydah and is free to assume any
age for Rivkah. By playing with the spreadsheet
the serious reader will learn to distinguish between
what is textually given and what is inferred.
Rashi literally says Isaac did not marry Rivkah
immediately but waited until she was ready for
intimacy 3 years. Some interpret the underlined passage literally. There is
a Talmudic dictum that relations with a female child
under 3 is not considered a male-female relationship. Hence
Isaac married Rivkah at 3 and did not consumate the marriage
till she was 12.
But I suggest that waited
until she was ready for intimacy 3 years
means waited 3 years after puberty. In other words
at puberty she is first ready for intimacy and he waited 3 years
during which she is ready of intimacy. The purpose of the 3 year wait was
to allow Rivkah experience in contacts with men. According to this,
Rivkah married at 15.
We now explore another nicety in Rashi interpretation.
Rashi on Gn25-26d states Rivkah married at 3;
Isaac waited 10 years till she was capable of birth at 13;
he then waited 10 years for children since under Jewish law
if a couple does not have children in 10 years they must get
divorced and try with others. The Rashi commentators
insert the reference to the Talmud, Tractate YeVaMoth 64a
There are several problems with this Rashi. First, Rivkah
was capable of birth at 12, not 13. So there is an extra year
not accounted for.
More serious is the fact that the Talmud which Rashi is
alleged to cite does not say any of this. On the contrary the
Talmud states that both Isaac and Rivkah were barren and hence
the 10 year rule did not apply (They needn't get divorced).
Since Rashi contradicts the Talmud I would prefer to amend
Rashi to be consistent with the Talmud. I would explain There
is a 20 year gap between the marriage at age 40 and the birth
of twins at age 60. Since both Isaac and Rivkah were barren I
would say that Isaac prayed for 10 years and was cured of his
barrenness. Rivkah then prayed 10 years and was cured of her
barrenness.
Sermonic points:
I would particularly focus on the Rashi comment He waited for her
until she was capable of relations for 3 years which we
have interpreted to mean that he waited 3 years of puberty to
age 15. This is a statement about marriage suitability. Judaism
does not allow serious relations, full or partial intimacy,prior
to marriage. However men and women should have sufficient verbal
contact with members of the opposite gender so as to be able to
function and be aware of what is normal and what is not normal.