Genesis 25, Descendants of Abraham

Young Isaac has a wife.  Now we transition from the story of Abraham to the story of Isaac.

Genesis 25:1-4, Abraham's other wife

Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan; the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites.  The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

We now are told that Abraham had another wife (the word translated "took" in verse 1 could also betranslated "had taken".)  We are quickly caught up on this other lineage. From the point of view of the Genesis author, these other lines are not important; the story concentrates on Isaac and Jacob.

Genesis 25:5-11, Death of Abraham
Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east. Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.

His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.

After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.

The Keturah/concubine line(s) were not nearly as important as that of Isaac. Abraham, after living to 175 (?!!), dies and is "gathered to his people" and is buried in the same place as Sarah.

Genesis 25: 12-18, Ishmael
This is the account of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Sarah's maidservant, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers according to their settlements and camps.

Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and 

he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

Another lineage from Abraham is that of Ishmael.

According to the NIV footnotes, the translation "lived in hostility toward" could be "lived to the east of".

Genesis 25: 19-26, Birth of the twins, Jacob and Esau

This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.

The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

Notice how quickly the writer of Genesis moves us from Abraham to his grandson Jacob!

From the NIV footnotes: Paddan Aram is Northwest Mesopotamia. Esau may mean "hairy"; he was also called Edom, which means "red". 

Jacob means "he grasps the heel" which has the connotation of tripping people up, of deceiving them.  From birth Jacob will be marked by his willingness to be sneaky and deceptive, and by the fact that he is not the first born.  The first such episode follows immediately....

Genesis 25: 27-34, Esau sells his birthright

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)

Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"

But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." 

So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

Jacob takes advantage of Esau's hunger and impetuousness. Esau does not understand what he has done. Both Jacob's scheming and his concerns about his birthright are front and center in this story.