Deborah, Rebekah's Nurse

Biblical Record

She is mentioned by name in only one passage, Genesis 35:8. At God's command, Jacob went up to Bethel and built an altar there. This verse comes immediately after the account of his naming the place "El-beth-el" ("the God of Bethel"). It reads: "But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth." The name Allon-bachuth is generally understood to mean "oak of weeping" in Hebrew. A nurse was a woman who suckled or cared for the children of the household she served.

Genesis 24:59 records that when Rebekah left home to marry Isaac, her family sent "her nurse" with her. This nurse is not named.

Significance Within Scripture

The patriarchal narratives seldom record the death and burial place of a servant or nurse. For this reason, the verse is often read as evidence that Deborah was treated almost as a member of Jacob's family. The naming of the site for "weeping" after her burial likewise suggests the depth of the household's grief. The same chapter goes on to record the death of Rachel (Genesis 35:16-20) and the death of Isaac (Genesis 35:28-29) in close succession, and chapter 35 is therefore sometimes read as marking a transition between generations in Jacob's family. The New Testament does not mention her.

Interpretations and Debated Questions

• Is she the same nurse as in Genesis 24? Many commentators identify the nurse who departed with Rebekah as Deborah. Because the text does not explicitly connect the two accounts, however, this identification remains an inference.
• Why was she with Jacob's household? Scripture does not say how a nurse who had served Rebekah came to be among Jacob's company. Suggestions that she came to Jacob after Rebekah's death, or that Jacob brought her with him, are conjectural.
• Connection to Rebekah's death: The Bible does not record Rebekah's death. Some strands of Jewish midrash (rabbinic interpretation of Scripture) are reported to interpret this "weeping" as also encompassing mourning over news of Rebekah's death. This interpretation lies outside the biblical text.
• Distinction from the other Deborah: She is a different person from Deborah, the prophetess and judge of Judges 4–5.

In the Korean Church

She is not a figure often addressed in sermons or Sunday school. When she is mentioned, she is usually treated briefly within the passage about Jacob's return to Bethel. To avoid confusion with Deborah the judge, she is commonly referred to as "Deborah, Rebekah's nurse."