“And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.”
My Notes
What Does Genesis 25:21 Mean?
Isaac prays for his wife Rebekah because she is barren. The LORD hears him. Rebekah conceives. The entire verse is simple: prayer, hearing, answer. But the detail "the LORD was intreated of him" (ye'ater — to be prevailed upon, to be moved by petition) means God responded specifically to Isaac's intercession.
The barrenness of the matriarchs is a pattern: Sarah was barren. Rebekah is barren. Rachel will be barren. The covenant line repeatedly passes through barren women — because God wants it clear that the children who carry the promise are His doing, not nature's.
Isaac "intreated the LORD" — the word implies persistent, earnest appeal. This wasn't a casual mention. Isaac wrestled in prayer for his wife. And God was moved. The response wasn't automatic. It was relational — God responded to Isaac's specific, passionate intercession.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Are you interceding for someone you love with the persistence Isaac showed — and do you believe it matters?
- 2.What does the pattern of barren matriarchs teach about how God chooses to fulfill His promises?
- 3.Does 'the LORD was intreated of him' change your confidence that your specific prayers are heard?
- 4.Who in your life needs you to intercede the way Isaac interceded for Rebekah?
Devotional
Isaac prayed for Rebekah. God heard. She conceived. The most important pregnancy in the covenant line happened because a husband interceded for his wife.
The pattern of barren matriarchs is deliberate: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel — the mothers of the covenant are all barren. The children don't come naturally. They come through divine intervention, triggered by prayer. Every time. The promise doesn't flow through fertility. It flows through impossibility. So that when the child arrives, no one credits nature.
"The LORD was intreated of him" — God was moved by Isaac's prayer. The word implies that God responded to the specific petition. Not to a cosmic plan on autopilot. To Isaac's intercession. The prayer mattered. It participated in the outcome. God would have fulfilled His promise regardless — but He chose to fulfill it through a husband's prayer for his wife.
This is one of the most intimate prayer scenes in Genesis. No dramatic vision. No burning bush. No angel appearing. Just a man praying for the woman he loves, asking God to open what only God can open. And God, moved by the asking, says yes.
If you're praying for someone you love — for their healing, their breakthrough, their provision — Isaac's story says your prayer participates in the answer. God isn't indifferent to your intercession. He's moved by it. The word says He was prevailed upon. Your persistent, earnest, loving prayer has traction with God.
Intreated. Heard. Answered. That's the sequence. And it starts with you praying.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife,.... Was very earnest and constant in his supplications for her, as the word…
- LIII. Birth of Esau and Jacob 20. פדן padān, Paddan, “plowed field;” related: “cut, plow.” 25. עשׂי ‛êśâv, ‘Esaw,…
Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife - Isaac and Rebekah had now lived nineteen years together without having a child;…
We have here an account of the birth of Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah: their entrance into the…
barren As in the case of Sarah (Gen 11:30) and of Rachel (Gen 29:31). Rebekah has at first no children. The Chosen…
Cross References
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