e of their families' lives into their own hands under explicit direction from God, the rare occasions when women, such as Sara and Rebecca, take assertive action, the result is battles and feuds.As in the case of infertility, a woman's inheritance with the divine scheme can be seen as a multiple threat to the thematic framework of Genesis. Rebecca takes assertive, independent action with regard to her family's development, and this action clearly crosses over the rigid boundaries of the prescribed female role. She also threatens to shake the patriarchal foundations that are so essential to the divine value system in Genesis. Furthermore she does not act exclusively as a wife or mother, but as an agent of change, an actor in the course of history. The unfolding of God's plan depends on the male actors. God reveals himself to humans and shares his vision of the world with humans. Rebecca steps outside her limited role, becomes a primary actor, manipulates the divinely initiated course of history, and causes fraternal hostility and the jealousy which becomes one of the ongoing plagues for her children and their future generations.Passive manipulation is more ambiguous but similarly problematic in regard to the first marriage of Jacob. The text explains that it was Laban who "took Leah, his daughter" (29:23) and put her into the marital bed instead of Rachel, the bride of Jacob was expecting. However, whether she willingly, or even complicitly, fulfils Laban's plan, Leah is nonetheless the key agent in a plan to divert the family history as it is anticipated by the text. For seven years, Jacob toiled for Sara. She was his intended bride. And, as the text later demonstrates, it is Rachel who gives birth to the heir of the Abramic blessing, proving that she is the real matriarch destined to produce the next generation of leadership for God's select people. However, Leah supplants Rachel and becomes a stumbling block to Jacob's des...
