Sometimes, the really juicy stuff is hidden in between the lines, prompting the Rabbis to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations. Take the story of Rebecca, for instance, and her encounter with Abraham's servant at the well (Genesis 24:16).
The verse tells us, "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.” Simple enough, right? But these few words spark a whole rabbinic debate.
What exactly does it mean to be a virgin?
The Mishnah (Ketubot 1:3) dives right into it, discussing the ketubah, the marriage contract. Rabbi Meir argues that the phrase "a man had not been intimate with her" clarifies the definition of "virgin." Even if her hymen was ruptured by wood – yes, wood! – she's still considered a virgin, and her ketubah should be the higher amount of two hundred zuz, a currency of the time.
But the Rabbis disagree. They say "a virgin" stands alone. If her hymen is broken, she's not a virgin, regardless of how it happened, and her ketubah is only one hundred zuz. It all hinges on how you read that one verse!
It’s a fascinating discussion about the nuances of language and the legal implications of a woman's status. Rabbi Ḥanina, quoting Rabbi Eliezer, says Rabbi Meir bases his opinion precisely on the verse: “[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. The Rabbis say that the two phrases are intended to be two separate statements.
The Rabbis don’t stop there. Rabbi Yoḥanan makes a striking claim: Rebecca was the first woman to be with someone circumcised at eight days old. Think about it – of all those circumcised by Abraham (Genesis 17:26–27), only Isaac was circumcised at the prescribed age of eight days (Genesis 21:4). Talk about a specific detail!
Then Reish Lakish throws another curveball. He suggests that because the daughters of idolaters are careful regarding their virginity but not so much with other orifices, the Torah emphasizes that Rebecca was a virgin "from the place of the hymen" and that "a man had not been intimate with her" in any other way.
Rabbi Yoḥanan, however, finds this a bit redundant. Isn't it obvious that if she's a virgin, a man hasn't been intimate with her? He offers a different interpretation: “No man had known her” means that no man even propositioned her. She was so righteous that she was never even tempted, in line 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).
Finally, the Rabbah turns to the well itself. The verse says she "filled her jug" – not that she drew water. What’s up with that? The Rabbah suggests that the water miraculously rose to meet her! The Holy One, blessed be He, tells 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.’ This miraculous well prefigures the one that will accompany the Israelites in the desert, as it says in Numbers 21:17, “Then Israel sang this song: Rise up, well; give voice for it.”
So, what started as a simple verse about a young woman at a well becomes a springboard for exploring definitions of virginity, historical context, and even miraculous events. It reminds us that the Torah is not just a story, but a living text that continues to inspire questions and interpretations. Who knew so much could be packed into just one verse of Bereshit Rabbah 60?