“Well, you might think of me in all this extravagant patience and meekness of yours,” said Abraham. “I’m not going to live forever, much as it might seem that way.” Abraham smiled at both his sons, and Rebekah saw how deftly he and Isaac had kept Ishmael’s envy from provoking any kind of confrontation.

Then Abraham turned to Rebekah. “You asked me to name the sin that’s keeping you from having a baby. Well, now I know what it is. Pride! You two are so proud of having perfect faith that you haven’t even bothered to humble yourselves and ask the Lord for a son!”

Rebekah longed to make some sharp retort—something about how much good it did for him and Sarah, given how long the two of them prayed for a baby. But one does not affront the patriarch in front of company. Especially when arguing with him would involve insisting that yes she was humble.

“Father,” said Isaac, “as always, I am taught by you. Rebekah and I will return to our tent at once and pray for the Lord to grant us a son. I will pray that the next circumcision in this household will be that of our boy.”

He took Rebekah’s hand and led her through the crowd of family and servants, which parted for them.

In the tent, Rebekah stopped by the door and, with a suppressed cry of rage, she waved her arms around like a madwoman. “I could scream,” she said when her momentary childish display was over.

“I appreciate your controlling that impulse,” said Isaac. “I appreciate even more the fact that you did not argue with Father. He never used to be this way, when he was younger. He just . . . says what’s on his mind. He didn’t mean to shame us.”

“But he did shame us all the same,” said Rebekah. “We’ve done no wrong.”

“I’m not sure about that,” said Isaac. “Maybe it was a kind of pride, for me not to pray for a son.”

“It was faith, not pride,” said Rebekah. “And one thing’s certain. I will never raise our children under their grandfather’s control. The last thing children need is someone who always says whatever’s on his mind. They’re too fragile for that.”

Isaac looked at her with deep sadness in his eyes. “But what if it would be better for our son to be raised under the influence of a stronger man than me?”

“There is no stronger man than you,” said Rebekah.

To which Isaac answered not a word.