Abraham's Death and His Descendants

1 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.
2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.
4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
5 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac.
6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.
7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years.
8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
9 Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,
10 the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.
11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.
12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.
17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.)
18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac,
20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.
21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 And the Lord said to her,“Two nations are in your womb,and two peoples from within you shall be divided;the one shall be stronger than the other,the older shall serve the younger.”
24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.
26 Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.
28 Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29 Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.
30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.)
31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.”
32 Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”
33 Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Study tools for Genesis 25
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    Commentary
  • a 25:4 - 25:5–6 These verses highlight Isaac’s position as Abraham’s main heir by noting that (1) 'Abraham gave all he had to Isaac' (v. 5), and (2) 'the sons of' Abraham’s 'concubines' were sent away (v. 6). “Concubines” probably refers to Hagar and Keturah, who both bore Abraham children, although neither woman shares the status of Sarah, Abraham’s first wife. The term “concubine” (Hb. pilegesh) may give the impression that no formal relationship existed between Abraham and these women. Yet since their sons are publicly recognized as Abraham’s children, some type of formal relationship evidently existed. In Judg. 19:9, the father of a man’s concubine is designated as his “father-in-law,” suggesting that a form of marriage has taken place between the man and the woman. But the sons of Hagar and Keturah are clearly distinguished from Isaac (see also 1 Chron. 1:28–34).
  • b 25:22 - 25:22 Or 'why do I live?'
  • c 25:24 - 25:25 'red'. See note on v. 30.
  • d 25:29 - 25:30 In Hebrew the name 'Edom' is similar to the word 'red'.
  • e 25:30 - 25:30 'Edom' sounds like the Hebrew for 'red'
  • f 25:30 - 25:31–32 The Nuzi texts from the fifteenth century b.c. in Mesopotamia give evidence for transferable birthrights, mentioning one particular case in which a man sells his birthright for a sheep.
  • g 25:33 - 25:34 'Thus Esau despised his birthright'. Esau was contemptuous of his special firstborn status. On the basis of this, Heb. 12:16 describes Esau as “unholy.” Esau did not appreciate that his birthright was linked to God’s plan of redemption for the whole world.
  • h 25:25 - 25:26 'holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob'. The name “Jacob” (cf. esv footnote) not only resembles the Hebrew term for “heel” (‘aqeb) but also has the connotation of “deceiver.” To grasp someone by the heel was apparently a figure of speech meaning “to deceive.” The motif of deception appears in a number of episodes associated with Jacob. 'Isaac was sixty years old'. The twins are born 15 years before the death of Abraham, which is recorded in vv. 7–8. Occasionally in Genesis, for specific reasons, some events are narrated out of chronological order, as here.
  • i 25:19 - 25:20 The repeated use of the term 'Aramean' and the designation of their dwelling place as 'Paddan-aram' (meaning “plain of Aram”) indicate that Abraham’s family was considered to be Arameans. In Deut. 26:5 a patriarch (more likely Jacob than Abraham) is described as a “wandering Aramean.”
  • j 25:21 - 25:22–23 The observation that the 'children struggled together within her' (v. 22) introduces one of the main themes of chs. 25–36. The relationship between the twin boys will be largely hostile. Conflict between brothers is a recurring motif in Genesis, beginning with Cain and Abel, and is a constant reminder of the negative impact of the fall on human existence. Yet the divine revelation that 'the older shall serve the younger' (25:23) prepares the reader to expect that Jacob will have a significant role to play in the development of the unique family line in Genesis. Normally, younger brothers were subservient to the firstborn male, who enjoyed special privileges associated with the concept of primogeniture. On this reversal of human expectations, see Rom. 9:7–13.
  • k 25:26 - 25:26 'Jacob' means 'He takes by the heel', or 'He cheats'
  • l 25:8 - 25:9–10 'the cave of Machpelah . . . that Abraham purchased'. See ch. 23 for the account of how Abraham bought this burial site.
  • m 25:18 - 25:18 Hebrew 'fell'
  • n 25:20 - 25:21 Like Sarah, 'Rebekah' is also 'barren'. But the Lord responds to Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah conceives.
  • o 25:18 - Hebrew fell
  • p 25:22 - Or why do I live?
  • q 25:23 - Or from birth
  • r 25:26 - Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats
  • s 25:30 - Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red
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