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Document Details :

Title: Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel
Subtitle: Important Female Figures of Israel's History and their Meaning in the New Testament
Author(s): SCHRÖTER, Jens
Journal: Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses
Volume: 96    Issue: 3   Date: 2020   
Pages: 425-441
DOI: 10.2143/ETL.96.3.3288584

Abstract :
Against the background of the presentation of the patriarchs and their wives in the Hebrew Bible and in Jewish tradition this article studies the role of Sarah and Rebecca (with a short look also at Rachel) in the New Testament. It is argued that early Christian writers were particularly interested in the biblical stories about the patriarchs, whereas their wives mainly come into focus in relation to their husbands and as mothers of their sons. The overall interest of writers such as Paul and the author of Hebrews is to show how the history of Israel’s ancestors testifies to the emergence of faith in Jesus Christ. The women of the patriarchs thereby serve as symbolic figures or role models for the early Christians.

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