Gen 25 | EE | STEP | Abraham took another wife. Her name was Keturah.

Genesis 25

Abraham dies

1 Abraham took another wife. Her name was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4 Midian became the father of Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 When he died, Abraham left everything that was his to Isaac. 6 When he was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of the other wives. He sent these sons away from Isaac. He sent them to the land of the east.

7 Abraham’s whole life was 175 years. 8 And he died when he was very old. He joined his people who had died before him. 9 Isaac and Ishmael buried him. They were his sons. They buried Abraham in the burial place of Machpelah. This is near Mamre. It is in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar. He is a Hittite. 10 Abraham bought this field. He bought it from the Hittites. They buried Abraham there with his wife, Sarah.

11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac. Isaac is Abraham’s son. Isaac then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

Ishmael’s sons

12 This is a report of Ishmael. Ishmael is Abraham’s son. Sarah’s female servant gave birth to Ishmael. Her name was Hagar. She was from Egypt. 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons. The list starts from the first-born son and ends with the last born son. Nebaioth was the first born son of Ishmael. Then there were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedmah. 16 These were all Ishmael’s sons. And these were the names of the 12 groups of people. They separated and lived in their own land. They ruled over the 12 groups of people. 17 Ishmael was alive for 137 years. He took his last breath and died. He joined his people who died before him. 18 Ishmael’s descendants lived in the lands from Havilah to Shur. These are near Egypt, towards Asshur. And they were always at war with each other. ^{▼▼25:18 The Lord told Hagar this in chapter 16, verse 12.}

Jacob and Esau

19 This is a report of what happened to Isaac. He was Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel. Bethuel was an Aramean from Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Rebekah could not have children. So Isaac prayed to the LORD for Rebekah. The LORD did as Isaac asked. And Isaac’s wife, Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies inside her were fighting with each other. Rebekah said ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So Rebekah went to ask the LORD. 23 The LORD said to Rebekah, ‘The two who are in your body will separate. And they will be two groups of people. Two groups of people will separate from your body. One group will be stronger than the other. And the older will be like servants to the younger.’ ^{▼▼25:23 In Old Testament times, the youngest son would always be like a servant to the oldest son. But this time, God chose the youngest son to be master over the oldest son.}

24 The time came for Rebekah to give birth. There were two babies inside her. 25 The first baby to come out was red. Hair covered the whole of his body. They called him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out. His hand was holding the back of Esau’s foot. They called him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 Time passed and the boys grew. Esau became a good hunter. He liked being in the country. Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed among the tents. 28 Isaac liked to eat the meat from the animals that Esau killed. So he loved Esau. But Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 One day, Jacob was cooking a meal. Esau came back from the country. He was very hungry. 30 He said to Jacob ‘Quick let me have some of that red food! I am very hungry.’ (That is also why he was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, ‘You must first sell me your birthright.’ ^{▼▼25:31 Edom means red. In the Old Testament, the oldest son had the birthright. This means that he would be the leader of his family when his father died. And he would get two parts of the things that had belonged to his father.}

32 Esau said ‘Look I am going to die now. What good is my birthright to me?’ ^{▼▼25:32 Esau is not thinking about what will happen in the future. He is only thinking of what he can have now.} ^{▼▼25:32 ‘I am going to die’ – Esau is not going to die. He means that he has not eaten for some days. He feels very hungry and wants the food.}

33 Jacob said ‘First, say a promise to me.’ So Esau said a promise to Jacob. He promised to sell his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and the meal made from seeds. Esau ate and drank. Then he got up and left. So Esau showed that he did not care about his birthright (he did not think that it was important). ^{▼▼25:34 Now Jacob had the birthright. Jacob is the younger son. Jacob will receive God’s promise that he made with Abraham. This promise passed on to Isaac. When Isaac dies, it will pass to Jacob. This is what God told Rebekah in verse 23.}