Illustration created for this project.
Bethuel
A nephew of Abraham and the father of Rebekah, who consented to her marriage to Isaac.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 2
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 2
Origin & birthplace
ScholarlyBethuel is placed at the 'city of Nahor' in Aram-naharaim/Paddan-Aram, and the toponym Nahur (a town in the Balikh region of the upper Euphrates) is attested in the 18th-century BC Mari archives, giving the narrative's geographic setting a plausible real backdrop, though this attests the region, not the individual.
The place-name Naḫur in the Old Babylonian Mari texts; a geographic/onomastic parallel, not evidence of the man himself.
Family & lineage
Name & titles
ScholarlyThe Hebrew name Bethuel (Bĕthûʾēl) carries the divine element ʾĒl, but its full sense is genuinely uncertain; proposals include 'house of God' (bêt-ʾēl) and 'man of God' (mĕtû-ʾēl), with no scholarly consensus.
Standard Hebrew onomastic analysis of the theophoric name Bĕthûʾēl; etymology treated as disputed in the lexica (e.g. BDB, HALOT).
Where in scripture
Genesis
Genesis 22:22Genesis 22:23Genesis 24:15Genesis 24:24Genesis 24:47Genesis 24:50Genesis 25:20Genesis 28:2Genesis 28:5
Family
Places in their life
Photo: Anonymous Russian manuscript illuminators, 1560-1570s Facial Chronicle (Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible) (in 10 volumes: pdf, pdf with translation)Public domain image — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)