“The girl was of very fair appearance, a virgin, and a man had not been intimate with her; she went down to the spring, she filled her jug, and came up” (Genesis 24:16). “The girl was of very fair appearance, a virgin” – we learn in a mishna:14Ketubot 1:3. The marriage contract of a woman whose hymen was ruptured by wood is two hundred [zuz], these are the words of Rabbi Meir.15Her legal status is that of a virgin, whose marriage contract must be two hundred zuz at a minimum.
The Rabbis say: The marriage contract of a woman whose hymen was ruptured by wood is one hundred.16Her legal status is that of a non-virgin, whose marriage contract is only one hundred zuz. Rabbi Ḥanina in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: The source for Rabbi Meir is: “[A virgin,] and a man had not been intimate with her” – implying that if a girl’s hymen had been ruptured by wood, she is [still considered] a virgin.17According to Rabbi Meir, the words “a man had not been intimate with her” is intended to be the definition of the previous statement, “a virgin.”
The source for the Rabbis is: “A virgin” – implying that if her hymen had been ruptured by wood, she is not a virgin.18According to the Rabbis, “a virgin” and “a man had not been intimate with her” are intended to be two separate statements. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: No one other than Rebecca was the first woman to consort with someone who was circumcised at eight days.19Of all those who were circumcised by Abraham (see Genesis 17:26–27), only Isaac was circumcised at the prescribed age of eight days (see Genesis 21:4).
Reish Lakish said: Because the daughters of idolaters preserve themselves in the place of their virginity but are lax regarding their other orifices, [the Torah tells us that] this one was “a virgin” from the place of the hymen, “and a man had not been intimate with her” from other orifices. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: From the fact that it states: “Virgin,” do we not know that “a man had not been intimate with her”?20The literal translation of the phrase is: “no man had known her.”
The explanation is that she was not even propositioned by any man, in accordance with the verse: “Indeed, the rod of wickedness [will not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous set their hands to wrongdoing]” (Psalms 125:3). “She went down to the spring, she filled her jug, and came up” – all the women were going down and drawing water from the spring, but this one, when the water saw her it immediately rose up [towards her].21The verse does not say that Rebecca drew the water from the well, but rather that she merely “filled her jug,” implying that she did not have to lower it down into the well.
The Holy One blessed be He said to her: ‘You are a precursor for your descendants; just as you, when the water saw you it immediately rose up, so, too, your descendants, when the well will see them, it will immediately rise up.’ That is what is written: “Then Israel sang this song: Rise up, well; give voice for it” (Numbers 21:17).