I absolutely love when women pop up in the bible for one or two verses. There may not be much on their stories but one thing’s for sure. They lived significant lives! They mothered significant people and were part of world changing families. That is the case with Milkah and Reumah.

Genesis 22:20-24 zooms in on Nahor’s family for a total of 4 verses. In these short verses we are reminded that he is Abraham’s brother.

Remember Abraham? Used to be Abram. He’s married to Sarah who used to be Sarai. Revisit Hello Sarai/Sarah here… I, II, III.
When I read this google definition it suddenly occurred to me that the family dynamics in Nahor’s house were very similar to those in Abraham’s house. They were brothers after all. Abraham had a legitimate wife, Sarah. But he also had a second wife, Hagar, who did not have any where near the same standing as his first wife. The same dynamic is happening with Nahor. He has his first wife Milkah who is different from Sarah because she was obviously not barren having bore him eight children. Nahor also has a second, “wife” Reumah who is described as a concubine and not a wife. I wonder, did she also start out as a servant/slave?

What I learned from Reumah:
1. I can’t allow labels to define me.
Just because society or the world defines you as one thing does not mean that you are confined to that description. You are not being held hostage to that connotation. You are free to live the life you choose regardless of what label has been placed on you!
You are more than any label because your most important label is DAUGHTER OF THE KING!

2. My life does matter.
It’s easy to think that your life is not important because we fall into a certain category… I’m just a (fill in the blank), I’m not making any real difference. That sentence right there. That’s a lie from the devil! YES YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! There is someone who is looking to you for encouragement or motivation. Someone who is maybe looking to you for approval or acceptance. Your life matters very much! You have been created with a specific purpose to fulfill that only you can do! Just because it seems like you’re the secondary character in your movie called Life does not mean that you are!
You are a protagonist! Live it!

Memory Verse Psalm 57:2

My Prayer for you:
Lord God, today I pray for the reader who identifies themselves with either Milkah or Reumah. I pray for the reader who is struggling to understand their identity. Father help them know that they have a real identity in you! That in you they are more than anything this world can ever say they are. I pray that the words from this blog post may breathe life into a dying spirit today. Lord, help us live for you in such a way that we leave the next generation better than we could ever be. Thank you for covering us with your protecting hand. Thank you for loving us beyond measure. Thank you that your love covers over a multitude of sin. Thank you that we are your children and in turn we are royalty! I praise your name and lift your name above all else. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

Milkah is first mentioned in Genesis 11:29. In one verse we are told that she is the daughter of Haran and the wife of Nahor.
As the daughter of Haran she is also the sister of Lot (verse 27).

Family ties and connections in the bible fascinate me. As Lot’s sister, Milkah is sister-in-law to Lot’s Wife and aunt to Lot’s Daughters. As Haran’s daughter, Milkah is Abraham’s niece. As Nahor’s wife she is also Sarah’s sister in law. Talk about keeping it all in the family.  

We see her again in Genesis 22:20 where we learn she has mothered eight sons to Nahor. The 8th and youngest son is Bethuel. In verse 23 we are informed that Bethuel becomes Rebeka’s father.

Now I’m sure that all the brothers are mentioned for lineage purposes and to explain family ties and how the family grew and spread over time. But for my blog’s purpose I’m going to zoom in on the fact that Rebeka is mentioned. I can’t wait to talk about her.

Honestly, I feel like the whole reason these four verses are recorded is simply to make the statement that Milkah is Rebeka’s grandmother!

This passage gives me the preview that Sarah’s and Milkah’s families will be further intertwined at some point in the future. We will get to check it out in Genesis 24/Hello Rebeka.

What I learned from Milkah:

  1. My family does not predict my legacy.

In thinking about what Milkah taught me I considered her relatives. I considered the women she was tied to in her family. Sarah was co-dependent, inpatient, and manipulative. Lot’s wife was so in love with her past sin that she couldn’t let go and it destroyed her. These two women of Milkah’s same generation made choices that created pain and suffering in their lives and the lives of the people near them. Milkah on the other hand did not allow their mistakes to hinder her family line. Later in Genesis we will study how generations after her there are women in her lineage who are hardworking and God fearing.
Her legacy, your legacy, my legacy is not a reflection of our family ties!


Genesis 22:24  His concubine, whose name was Reumah…

Just a concubine? Or more? According to Bible Hub Reumah is the first woman in the bible to be recorded as a concubine. I found it so odd that the second wife of a secondary character would be named when her status was “CONCUBINE”. Bible Hub also states that her name means “exalted”. What?? This confused me even further. A concubine with a name that means “exalted” 1. The meaning of her name made me want to dig deeper. In all my searching I kept hitting a dead end. All I found was that she was a concubine, which we already know.
But then, I thought of something.
What’s the definition of the word concubine?

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