Preface: We look at the descendants of Abraham (primarily his Arabic descendants) as well as the death of Abraham in this chapter followed by the birth of his two grandsons (their birth would have actually preceded his death in time). This chapter ends which Esau trading his birthright to Jacob for a Lentil soup.

J. Vernon McGee: This is another great chapter of the Bible. It records the death of Abraham and the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob, to Isaac and Rebekah. It gives the generations of Ishmael and also the generations of Isaac. Then there is the incident relative to the birthright. So this is a remarkable chapter, and it covers a great deal of ground. This chapter [also] concludes the account of Abraham's life, but, frankly, his story ended back in chapter 23 when he sent the servant out to get a bride for Isaac.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Genesis. This will be the most extensive examination of Genesis 25, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 25:

Introduction

         vv.     1–6           Abraham’s Second Family

         vv.     7–11         Abraham’s Death

         vv.    12–18         Ishmael’s Sons

         vv.    19–26         Jacob and Esau are Born

         vv.    27–34         Esau Sells His Birthright to Isaac

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Preface

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         The Prequel of Genesis 25

         Introduction         The Principals of Genesis 25

         Introduction         The Places of Genesis 25

         Introduction         The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 25

         Introduction         Matthew Pools Provides a Synopsis of Genesis 25

         Introduction         Matthew Henry Outlines Genesis 25

         Introduction         Chapter Updates

         Introduction         Introductory Remarks

         v.       1              Genesis 25 is correctly placed, chronologically speaking

         v.       1              The Arguments Against Chronological Order

         v.       1              When Critics Ask: Is Keturah a Wife or Concubine?

         v.       1              When Critics Ask—How can Abraham have more children?

         v.       1              Why Abraham married Keturah after the death of Sarah

         v.       1              An Unusual Theory About Abraham’s Children

         v.       2              Fausset on Midian

         v.       2              Snider on Midian

         v.       2              Bible Query on, What happened to Keturah’s Sons?

         v.       4              The Line of Abraham and Keturah (Chart)

         v.       4              Wenstrom, Snider, Driver, and Clarke on the Descendants of Abraham and Keturah

         v.       4              Map of the Location of the Sons of Keturah

         v.       4              Map of the Peoples of Arabia (before Christ)

         v.       4              The Other Sons of Abraham

         v.       5              The Bible, Poverty, Inheritance, Wealth, and Spreading the Wealth Around

         v.       6              A Summary of God’s Promises to Abraham (from Robert Dean)

         v.       6              The Genealogy of Abraham (chart)

         v.       6              Snider Summarizes Genesis 25:5–6

         v.       7              The Ages of Abraham’s Descendants at his Death

         v.       7              The Age of Our Early Ancestors

         v.       8              Clarke on Jesus Breathing His Last

         v.       8              Commentators on, Abraham living to a good old age, full of years

         v.       8              Links to the Doctrine of Dying Grace

         v.       8              Genesis 25:8 (a graphic)

         v.       8              When Critics Ask, on the Hebrews early understanding of life after death

         v.       8              Wenstrom’s Brief Doctrine of Sheol (Hades)

         v.       8              Free Bible on the Dead, Where Are They? (Sheol/Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus)

         v.       8              Summarizing the Death of Abraham

         v.       8              Who Died When (a Chart)

         v.       8              Robbie Dean on Abraham’s Spiritual and Historical Impact

         v.       9              Wenstrom on the Cave of Machpelah

         v.      10              Paying Homage to Abraham

         v.      10              Clarke’s Homage to Abraham

         v.      10              Abraham, an overview

         v.      10              Abraham in the New Testament

         v.      10              Part I: Abraham in the Synoptic Gospels

         v.      10              Occurrences of Old Testament Saints in the New Testament (chart)

         v.      10              Abraham in the Gospels/The Coniah Curse/The Types of Baptisms in the Bible

         v.      10              Matthew 1:1–2, 17 Luke 3:34 The Genealogies of Jesus

         v.      10              The Lineage of Jesus; His Legal Line and the Line of His Humanity (a graphic)

         v.      10              The Coniah Curse (a graphic)

         v.      10              The Coniah Curse

         v.      10              Luke 1:46–55 The Song (Magnificat) of Mary

         v.      10              Luke 1:67–80 Zechariah’s Song

         v.      10              Matthew 3:1–11 John the Baptizer

         v.      10              John the Baptizer out in the Wilderness (a graphic)

         v.      10              Baptisms in the Bible

         v.      10              Matthew 8:5–13 Jesus and the Roman Soldier Who Understands Authority

         v.      10              The Centurion (a graphic)

         v.      10              Matthew 22:23–33 The Sadducees’ Question about Marriage in the Resurrection

         v.      10              Luke 13:10–16 Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

         v.      10              The Doctrine of the Sabbath Day

         v.      10              Luke 13:22–30 Gentiles Will Be Saved Instead of Jews

         v.      10              Luke 16:19–31 Lazarus and the Rich Man

         v.      10              The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (a graphic)

         v.      10              Luke 19:1–10 Jesus and the Rich Tax Collector

         v.      10              The Tree of Zacchaeus (a graphic)

         v.      10              Part II: Abraham in the Gospel of John

         v.      10              John 8:20–59 Jesus’ Message in the Treasury

         v.      10              Jesus Speaking in the Treasury (a graphic)

         v.      10              Jesus was a liberal (a graphic)

         v.      10              Graphic about hell

         v.      10              The Truth Will Set You Free (a graphic)

         v.      10              Abraham in the book of Acts

         v.      10              The Prophecy of Moses and Salvation

         v.      10              The Healing of the Lame Man (a graphic)

         v.      10              Reinterpreting Old Testament Truths

         v.      10              Abraham’s Journey from Ur to Haran (a graphic)

         v.      10              The Seed of Abraham and the Life of the Believer

         v.      10              Repentance of Sins in the Bible

         v.      10              Abraham in the Pauline Epistles

         v.      10              Romans 9:1–16 The True Seed of Abraham

         v.      10              The Things which Belong to Israel

         v.      10              Romans 11:1–6 The Remnant of Grace

         v.      10              New Testament Chart—Individuals recognition of books; Individuals devised canon

         v.      10              New Testament Chart 2—Canons established by translation and by councils

         v.      10              2Cor. 11:18–23 Paul Compares His Credentials with Those of the Judaizers

         v.      10              Galatians 3:5–12 Abraham shows us that we are saved by faith and not by the law

         v.      10              When Critics Ask, on the Time Problem

         v.      10              Abraham in Hebrews

         v.      10              Hebrews 2:9–18 Jesus brings many sons to glory

         v.      10              The Ark of the Covenant is a Type of Jesus Christ

         v.      10              Hebrews 11:8–19 The Faith of Abraham and Sarah

         v.      10              Abraham in the General Epistles

         v.      10              Robert Dean’s Summary Points of Abraham in the New Testament

         v.      11              Wenstrom’s Division of Genesis

         v.      11              An Addendum to the 7^th Section by Albert Barnes

         v.      12              Why is there a genealogy for Ishmael?

         v.      13              The Pulpit Commentary on Ishmael the Prince

         v.      13              The Bible Query: Do the references to Kedar refer to Mohammed?

         v.      15              The Sons of Ishmael (by Barnes, Clarke, Driver, Gill, Keil, Delitzsch, Wenstrom)

         v.      15              The Sons of Ishmael (a graphic)

         v.      16              Expositors on Villages and Encampments

         v.      16              Map of the Tribes of Ishmael

         v.      17              Doctrine of the Human Soul

         v.      17              Doctrine of the Human Spirit

         v.      17              Wenstrom on, why Ishmael was saved

         v.      18              Wenstrom on Ishmael and the People of Ishmael

         v.      18              Map of the Location of the Tribes of Ishmael

         v.      18              Alternate Map of Ishmael’s Sons

         v.      18              Commentators on Genesis 16:18d (He fell [or, settled] before all his brothers.)

         v.      18              Snider Summarizes Genesis 25:12–18

         v.      20              Constable’s Chiasmos of Genesis 25:20–26

         v.      20              Map of the Ancient World

         v.      21              Links to the Doctrine of Prayer

         v.      21              Community Bible Translation Notes on Genesis 25:21–23

         v.      21              Robert Dean’s Take on Barrenness

         v.      23              Genesis 25:23 (a graphic)

         v.      23              Genesis 25:23 (another graphic)

         v.      23              Twin Sons of Isaac and Rebecca; graphic and text on Jacob and Esau

         v.      23              The Bible Query on, Why God Told Rebekah about the Far Future

         v.      23              Prophecies About the People to Come from Abraham

         v.      23              Snider Summarizes Genesis 25:21–23

         v.      26              Birth of Esau and Jacob by François Maitre from Augustine's La Cité de Dieu

         v.      26              Historical Footnote of the American English Bible

         v.      26              Snider Summarizes Genesis 25:24–26

         v.      27              Commentators on, What kind of man is Jacob?

         v.      27              Commentators Comparing Esau and Jacob

         v.      27              Jacob and Esau

         v.      27              The Doctrine of Morality

         v.      28              Snider Summarizes Genesis 25:27–28

         v.      29              Selling the Birthright (a graphic)

         v.      31              Esau Selling His Birthright, by Hendrick ter Brugghen

         v.      31              Various Commentators on the Rights of the Firstborn

         v.      31              Jacob and the Birthright Part I: Who Taught this to Jacob?

         v.      31              Jacob and the Birthright Part II: What Did Jacob Actually Know?

         v.      32              The Abbreviated Doctrine of the Firstborn

         v.      32              Robert Dean on the Rights and Privileges of the Firstborn

         v.      32              Scofield on the Birthright

         v.      33              Esau and Jacob, an oil painting by Matthias Storm

         v.      33              Our Daily Bread, on Esau Selling his Birthright

         v.      33              Quick Review of the Abrahamic Covenant, by Robert Dean

         v.      34              Esau and Jacob. Artist Andrey N. Mironov

         v.      34              Keil and Delitzsch summarize the exchange of the birthright for a mess of pottage

         v.      34              Graphic of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a mess of pottage

         v.      34              The Bible Query on, Did Jacob gain his birthright by buying or lying?

         v.      34              When Critics Ask, Did Jacob purchase his birthright or get it by deception?

         v.      34              Blessing Enjoyed by the Believer in Jesus Christ in the Church Age

         v.      34              Snider Summarizes Genesis 25:29–34

         v.      34              Trapp’s Very Weird Commentary

         Summary            Chapter Summary

         Summary            An Abbreviated Exegesis of Genesis 25

         Summary            The Various Topics of Genesis 25

         Summary            Origin of the Arabian Peoples (a map)

         Summary            The Genealogy of Shem (a chart)

         Addendum          Jacob and Esau—Bible Art possibly by Linda Lawson (a graphic)

         Addendum          Constable and Fishbane on the Chiasmos of Genesis 25:19–35:22

         Addendum          Scott Grant: A Better Chiasmos of Genesis 25:19–35:22

         Addendum          Why Genesis 25 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Genesis 25

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 25

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Genesis 25

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Genesis 21

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Genesis 25

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Genesis 25

——————————

An Introduction to Genesis 25

I ntroduction: For all intents and purposes, Genesis 25 is 4 chapters in one. At 34 verses, these diverse topics will be combined into one chapter (chapter divisions occurred long after the text of the Old Testament had been established). However, there is a common thread which binds these narratives together—the Arabs: the other lines of Abraham. We begin with the new family of Abraham with Keturah, where Abraham has 6 sons. These sons would be the progenitors of several Arabic groups. Then Abraham dies, and Ishmael enters the picture as his son by Hagar, Sarah’s personal maid. His family line will be given, whose sons make up 12 Arabic tribes. Finally, Isaac will have twin sons, one is a Jew and the other is a gentile; and the gentile son will be the father of another Semitic nation.

When it comes to identifying a nation or a people as Arabic, this is fairly disputed when it comes to ancient history. So, let me tentatively suggest this: the Arabs are the Semitic people who have descended from Abraham, apart from the Jewish line. If this is the understanding, then we have the 3 main lines of the Arabs listed in this chapter: Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar, and his 12 sons; the sons of Abraham and Keturah; and the sons of Esau, Jacob’s twin. Although it is far more difficult to draw a straight line from the peoples listed in this chapter to modern Arabic peoples, let me suggest to you that this chapter contains their true origins as a people.

The word Arab only occurs once in the Bible, insofar as I know, and it is the name of one of the cities controlled by Judah (Joshua 15:52). The word Arabia is found in 1Kings 10:15 2Chronicles 9:14 17:11 21:16 22:1 26:7 Nehemiah 2:19 4:7 6:1 Isaiah 13:20 21:3 Jer. 3:2 25:24 Ezekiel 27:21 Acts 2:11 Galatians 1:17 4:25. All of these are later passages, all occurring long after the events of this book, with no clear path from those in this book to the references which occur 1000 or more years later.

Properly speaking, the Semitic peoples are those who are descended from Abraham, and therefore, includes both Jews and Arabs. However, often the term Semitic is applied to Jews alone.

Genesis 25 is quite an unusual chapter because we pretty much skip over the life of Isaac and go right to his twin children, one of whom is a Jew and one of whom is a gentile. Abraham has been the topic of discussion from Genesis 12–23 (with the exception of a few passages) and he plays a part in Genesis 24. However, we go from the death of Abraham (in the beginning of this chapter) to the birth and early lives of Isaac’s twins. In other words, Isaac, this son upon whom God has promised Abraham for decades, has been born, he grew to be a man, he got married, and now he and his wife are having children. We barely know anything about Isaac, except for his birth and how his wife Rebekah was obtained.

There are four very distinct sections in Genesis 25: Abraham’s second family (vv. 1–6); the death of Abraham (vv. 7–11); a list of the descendants of Ishmael (vv. 12–18) and a section on Isaac’s sons (vv. 19–34). Except for the fact that these sections are very short, each could have been a separate chapter.

God promised Abraham, before Abraham had fathered a single child, “I will make your seed like the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your seed also will be counted.” (Genesis 13:16). With Genesis 25, we will see the beginnings of God’s fulfilling this promise. We will see Abraham’s second family (vv. 1–6); Ishmael’s descendants (vv. 12–18); and Isaac’s sons (vv. 21–26). These are all descendants of Abraham. Today, almost the entire middle east is populated by the children of Abraham.

Also in this chapter, Abraham will take his last bow before leaving the stage of life. However, in the middle of our study, we will pause partway through this chapter—after Abraham’s death—and see how Abraham is presented in the New Testament (where he is mentioned by name more than 70 times).

Since the Bible often focuses on particular topics (like a genealogy, for instance), there are incidents which can be presented somewhat out of order. For instance, in this chapter, Abraham will die in v. 7 and Isaac and Rebekah’s marriage, her pregnancy and the birth of her children are mentioned in vv. 20–26. Abraham lives about 35 years after their marriage. However, topically, we cover Abraham’s marriage to Keturah, their children, their children’s children, and then Abraham’s death. Then we pick up with the descendants of Ishmael. So, as a general rule, when dealing with a genealogy, that might overlap incidents which are recorded later. In general, the book of Genesis is in chronological order; however, there are clear exceptions to this.

The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 25

Thomas Coke’s brief summary: Abraham takes Keturah to wife: the sons of Keturah. Isaac is confirmed in the inheritance of Abraham's property: Abraham dies. The sons of Ishmael: Ishmael dies. Rebekah brings forth twins: Esau sells his birth-right to Jacob. Before Christ 1853.

Introductory Remarks: Chapter 25 is separated into four distinct sections: vv. 1–6: Abraham’s second family; vv. 8–11: Abraham's death; vv. 12–18: a brief overview of Ishmael's progeny; and, vv. 19–34: Isaac's twins sons, one of whom is a Jew and the other is a Gentile. Most of Abraham’s descendants named in this chapter (apart from Isaac and his son Jacob) make up the Arabic peoples. For that reason, I have called this the Arab Chapter (although there is a lot of good information in this chapter of Genesis).

Unlike Genesis 24, which had a belabored style of writing, Genesis 25 is mostly dry, but not repetitive.

In some ways, this sticks to Isaac’s interest in births, marriages, and deaths; however, the final sections give us a lot of information about his sons. What father does not want to talk about his own sons?

One of the things that will strike you concerning Isaac’s record is, there is very little material that is recorded about him. He emphasizes marriage, burials and births. There is little else of his life that is recorded. Most of Genesis 12–23 were about Abraham. There will only be 2 chapters actually devoted to Isaac (and some of those are more about his sons vying for the birthright from God, more than they are about Isaac).

There will be a dozen or so chapters also devoted to Jacob; and roughly the same amount to his sons Joseph. At best, we have two chapters on Isaac (Genesis 25–26); or three, if we count Genesis 24 (which was not written by Isaac). So we know almost nothing about Isaac directly.

——————————

Abraham's Second Family

1Chronicles 1:32–33

Wenstrom summarizes the first section: Genesis 25:1-4 presents the genealogy of Abraham’s children by Keturah in order to establish the family relationship between Abraham and the descendants of these children. This segmented genealogy presents sixteen descendants: sons, grandsons and great-grandsons. Keturah bore Abraham six sons (Genesis 25:2) and through Jokshan, Abraham had two grandsons and three great-grandsons (Genesis 25:3), for a total of five children of Jokshan and through Midian, Abraham’s fourth son through Keturah, he had five grandsons (Genesis 25:4).

After Abraham offers up his son Isaac to God, representing God offering up His Son for us (Genesis 22), there is very little discussion about Abraham. We have the death of Sarah in Genesis 23, Abraham sending his most trusted servant to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24, where Abraham is barely mentioned) and a small portion of this chapter is devoted to Abraham.

This section primarily shows that God did make Abraham the father of many nations, which is a fulfillment of prophecy.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Taken from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so adds Abraham and so he takes a woman and her name [is] Keturah.

Targum of Onkelos                And Abraham added and took a wife, and her name was Keturah; she is Hagar, who had been bound to him from the beginning.

Jerusalem targum                  She is Hagar, who had been tied to him from the beginning.

Latin Vulgate                          And Abraham married another wife named Cetura.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    THEN again Abraham took another wife, and her name was Kenturah.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abraham again took a wife, whose name was Keturah.

Significant differences:           The targums speak of Keturah as if she is Hagar.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Easy English                          Abraham's death, 25:1-11

Abraham married another wife. She was called Keturah.

Easy-to-Read Version            Abraham married again. His new wife was named Keturah.

The Message                         Abraham married a second time; his new wife was named Keturah.

NIRV                                      Abraham Dies

Abraham married another woman. Her name was Keturah.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Abraham and Keturah's children

Abraham married another wife, named Keturah.

Contemporary English V.       Abraham married Keturah,...

New Century Version             Abraham's Family

Abraham married again, and his new wife was Keturah.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then AbraHam married again, and his woman's name was ChetTura.

Beck’s American Translation Abraham Remarries

Abraham married again and his wife’s name was Keturah.

International Standard V        Abraham Names Isaac to be His Heir

Abraham had taken another wife whose name was Keturah.

Today’s NIV                          The Death of Abraham

Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Translation for Translators                        Abraham died and was buried near Sarah

Some time after Sarah died, Abraham married another woman, whose name was Keturah.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abraham took and added a woman named Keturah.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Abraham and Keturah

Abraham prospered, and he took a wife whose name was Keturah,...

Lexham English Bible            The Death and Descendants of Abraham

Now Abraham again took a wife, and her name [was] Keturah.

NIV, ©2011                             The Death of Abraham

Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

The Heritage Bible                 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

New Advent Bible                  And Abraham married another wife named Cetura:.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Abraham's Sons by Keturah.

Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. [25:1-11] As with the story of Terah in 11:27-32, this section lists all the descendants of Abraham as a means of concluding the story. The Jacob story ends similarly with the listing of the twelve sons (35:22-26), the death of Isaac (35:27-29), and the descendants of Esau (chap. 36). Abraham took another wife: though mentioned here, Abraham's marriage to a "concubine," or wife of secondary rank, is not to be understood as happening chronologically after the events narrated in the preceding chapter.

[25:1-4] 1 Chr 1:32-33.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ABRAHAM TAKES QETURAH

And Abraham adds to take a woman;

and her name is Qeturah:.

Kaplan Translation                 Abraham's Last Days

Abraham married another woman whose name was Keturah. [Keturah is] A concubine (1 Chronicles 1:32). Some sources identify her with Hagar (Targum Yonathan; Bereshith Rabbah 61; Rashi). Others, however, maintain that she was a third wife (Bereshith Rabbah 57; Zohar 1:133b; Ibn Ezra; Rashbam; Ramban on 25:6). One ancient source states that Hagar was already dead at this time (Yov'loth 19:13).

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Then again Avraham took an isha, and her shem was Keturah.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              Abraham's Family

Abraham married again, and his new wife was Keturah [1Chr. 1:32].

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-6

Abraham's Second Marriage

Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. This woman was not a concubine during the lifetime of Sarah, but his wife by a second marriage, although she did not hold the status of the mother of the promised Seed, she was not included in the Messianic promise.

NET Bible®                             The Death of Abraham

Abraham had taken [Or "took."] [Abraham had taken another wife. These events are not necessarily in chronological order following the events of the preceding chapter. They are listed here to summarize Abraham's other descendants before the narrative of his death.] another [Heb "And Abraham added and took."] wife, named Keturah. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote. Some of their notes will be reproduced in the exegesis of the chapter.

The Voice                               In time, Abraham married another woman named Keturah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And continuing is Abraham, and taking is he a wife, and her name is Keturah.

English Standard Version      Abraham's Death and His Descendants

Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.

The Geneva Bible                  Then again Abraham took [While Sarah was yet alive.] a wife, and her name [was] Keturah.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Abraham added and took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

Modern KJV                           Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

New King James Version       Abraham and Keturah

Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

Third Millennium Bible            Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

A Voice in the Wilderness      Then Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

Young’s Updated LT             And Abraham adds and takes a wife, and her name is Keturah.

The gist of this verse:          Abraham marries another wife and her name is Keturah.

Matthew Henry: Abraham lived, after the marriage of Isaac, thirty-five years, and all that is recorded concerning him during the time lies here in a very few verses. We hear no more of God's extraordinary appearances to him or trials of him; for all the days, even of the best and greatest saints, are not eminent days, some slide on silently, and neither come nor go with observation; such were these last days of Abraham. The purpose of what is recorded here is to show that God fulfilled His promises to Abraham.

Translation: Abraham added...

This verb, when combined with another verb, appears to have the simple meaning of another, again. This does not mean that Abraham adds another wife to his harem, as there is no indication that Abraham has a harem.

The first verb is yâçaph (יָסַף) [pronounced yaw-SAHPH], which means to add, to augment, to increase, to multiply; to add to do = to do again; to continue to. It is an odd but common verb and often translated like an adverb again, another, even though its form is like a normal imperfect verb. Strong's #3254 BDB #414.

Translation: ...and took [another] wife,...

As mentioned, the verb found in the first phrase often can be translated as another.

The second verb is the common Hebrew verb for to take, to seize. Often this second verb refers to taking a woman in marriage.

The word often translated wife in this verse is simply the word for woman. We find out that Keturah was Abraham’s mistress in Genesis 25:5–6 and in 1Chronicles 1:32.

So far, we have: Abraham added and took [another] wife [= woman]... Many commentators on the translations point out that this chapter is not necessarily in chronological order, and that Keturah was probably added as a wife to Abraham while Sarah was still alive (she died in Genesis 23). However, they do not give a reason for this. I would assume that they make their assumption based upon his age and not producing children by Sarah. However, when God restored Abraham, this does not mean that God only restored Abraham for just that one night.

My guess is, Abraham has this wife, he has all of these children, and, he is an old man. Remember, when he fathered Isaac, this was a miracle because Abraham was sexually dead. These translators make a mistake at this point. Did God just give Abraham the ability to have sex one time, and it was over? He fathered Isaac and then God shut down Abraham’s system? Let me offer a different viewpoint.

When it comes to this second family of Abraham, there are a lot of theories as to when he married this woman and at what point in his life did he father these children.

Let’s first look at this question on the basis of the Hebrew. The final verse of Genesis 24 is filled with wâw consecutives and imperfect verbs. Generally speaking, that would suggest that, if what follows is a wâw consecutive and an imperfect verb, then we are observing a set of consecutive actions. Now, when there is a change of scene or a change of subject, this does not necessarily mean that we have consecutive actions. However, it seems to make the most sense that this takes place after Abraham’s servant finds a wife for Isaac. There is the distinct possibility that Abraham wanted to get married again, but recognized that his son Isaac had not yet found a wife, and so he took care of this for him back in Genesis 24. This would have given Abraham cover, so to speak, to remarry.

However, with regards to these sets of actions being consecutive, it ought to be clear that we are viewing two very different circumstances when going from Genesis 24 to Genesis 25 (even though there were no chapter divisions in the original Scriptures). Therefore, we cannot conclude on the basis of the Hebrew that Genesis 25 follows chapter 24 in time.

Genesis 24:67 And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took her, and she became his wife. Furthermore, he loved her. And [because of Rebekah], Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Genesis 25:1 And again, Abraham took a wife, and her name [was] Keturah.

Every single verb in both verses is an imperfect and every single conjunction is a wâw consecutive (until the very final phrase). I bolded these wâw consecutives and the imperfect verbs. Usually, this suggests that we have a consecutive set of actions. However, since there is such a change of scene (and the subject of the verbs changes as well), that is not necessarily the case.

Most commentators do not place this chapter in time where we find it here, after Isaac’s marriage, because it is about Abraham having another wife after Sarah and then fathering more children. The main reason commentators object to this is, they assume that Abraham is too old to have children. He is about 140 years old (he will live for 175 years). So, let’s crunch some numbers here. Men will notice a lessening of their sperm volume somewhere before 50–70, although they remain potent. Some men who live into their 70's or 80's are still able to produce children throughout 75% (or more) of their life spans. Abraham is 140 and he will live 175 years, so he has lived 80% of his life. Looking at it from that perspective, it is not out of the question for him to be able to have children. When God reinvigorated Abraham, there is no reason to assume that this was a one-shot deal. Quite obviously, he and Sarah had no more children, but that could be a matter of Sarah’s reproductive system more than Abraham’s (recall that she was, from the very beginning, called barren). Furthermore, Isaac was the son of promise, so there was no need for Abraham and Sarah to have another child (there would have been some breakdown in typology if Sarah had more children).

The other option is, Abraham had another wife while he was married to Sarah and other children. This would be problematic in several ways (1) God would not necessarily need to revitalize Abraham if he is having children by another woman; (2) fathering a child by Sarah would not necessarily have been that big of a deal; (3) Sarah is clearly upset over Hagar the Egyptian girl (who was Sarah’s idea); but, somehow, she would not be upset over Abraham having another wife? (4) There is no doubt that Abraham doted on his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Therefore, there is no reason to think that Abraham needed another family while they are children to fill in the gaps in his life while Isaac was young. Finally, (5) in one previous passage, Abraham complains about going childless and having no natural heirs (Genesis 15:2). He will have 6 children in this passage. That sounds a lot like natural heirs to me. In other words, the preponderance of evidence is, Abraham remarries after Sarah dies and, even though he is an old man, he has children by his new wife.

Therefore, for these reasons, we must assume that Abraham is still potent at age 140 and he still likes women. This is not unusual for a man.

Abraham added and took [another] wife... Given the number of children that Abraham fathered, let me suggest that Abraham married this woman out of need as much as from love. When God revitalized Abraham’s sexual life, it apparently was not just a one-time deal (reasonably assuming that this takes place chronologically).

Translation: ...and her name [is] Keturah.

Keturah’s name means incense, perfume. I would not be surprised if some names in the Bible are as much descriptive as they accurate. Throughout Scripture, we see a variety of plays on words—particularly with names. So, it is not out of the question that this is a play on Keturah’s original name.

Keturah’s name suggests that she or her sons may have been in the business of trading perfumes and the like. From Wenstrom’s notes: Nahum Sarna has a comment regarding Keturah’s name and the trade of her sons, “There was a universal and sustained demand in the ancient world for frankincense, myrrh and other aromatic resins and gums. These were needed for the requirements of the cult, for the manufacture of medicines and in the preparation and preservation of food. The prime source and producer was southern Arabia, especially the Hadramaut region, which is modern Yemen, the most fertile part of the Arabian Peninsula. Because of her name, it is reasonable to assume that the key factor behind the organization of the Keturah tribes was the spice trade-the production, shipment and distribution of this precious commodity. It so happens that both biblical and Assyrian sources mention many of the names here listed as those peoples or localities involved in this particular branch of international commerce. They controlled the trade routes that led from the Arabian Peninsula to the lands of the Fertile Crescent. This accounts for the picture of such widespread geographical diffusion of the Ketureans from southern Arabia to the Middle Euphrates region and northern Syria” 

Genesis 25:1 Abraham added and took [another] wife, and her name [is] Keturah. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 25:1 Abraham took another wife whose name was Keturah. (Kukis paraphrase)

Literally, this would be translated And so Abraham adds and so he takes a woman. And her name, Keturah.

Matthew Henry: He had buried Sarah and married Isaac, the two dear companions of his life, and was now solitary. He wanted a nurse, his family wanted a governess, and it was not good for him to be thus alone. He therefore marries Keturah, probably the chief of his maid-servants, born in his house or bought with money. Marriage is not forbidden to old age. By her he had six sons, in whom the promise made to Abraham concerning the great increase of his posterity was in part fulfilled.

Although a concubine is clearly a secondary wife, we do not know exactly why she holds a lower status. One commentator suggests that she was possibly a slave—and if a wife is chosen from among the master’s slaves, that may be a reason she does not hold the same stature as the wife. There could certainly be a variety of reasons (the personal maids of Jacob’s two wives will be called his wives and mistresses).

Wenstrom: Some Bible commentators believe that Abraham married Keturah and had these six boys by her while Sarah was still alive and before he had Isaac and they cite the advanced age of Abraham to substantiate their argument. But if you recall, God rejuvenated Abraham so that he could procreate with Sarah and it appears that Abraham became prolific as a result of this demonstration of divine power on his behalf. Those who believe Abraham couldn’t have fathered these children with Keturah after the death of Sarah cite Romans 4:19 as evidence of this. But Romans 4:19 was written before the Lord gave him and Sarah the ability to procreate and therefore records Abraham’s attitude prior to having Isaac. Therefore, these commentators believe that the Lord gave Abraham the ability to procreate at a hundred years of age for the sole purpose of fulfilling His promise to Abraham that he and Sarah would have a child in their advanced age. But this ignores the Lord’s promises in Genesis 17:5-6 that Abraham would be a “father of a multitude of nations,” which resulted in the change of his name by God to “Abraham.” 

Genesis 17:4–6 "Behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.” (ESV; capitalized) Through Keturah (and Hagar) this promise is fulfilled. There is no reason to assume that God giving Abraham the ability to procreate was just for one night.

Since Abraham is 10 years older than Sarah, and she dies at age 127, Abraham is 137 then and will live to be 175. This gives him another 38 years during which he could marry Keturah and have sons (see Genesis 17:17 23:1 25:7).

Abraham’s new wife will bear him 6 children, all of them Arabs, and some of whom would continue to have a relationship/antagonism with Israel even to this day.

Some ancient traditions list Keturah as being the same as Hagar, but there is no reason to suppose this. Abraham’s secondary wives will also be mentioned in the plural in another passage, so if Keturah = Hagar, then there must be another secondary wife out there. It simply makes more sense to distinguish these women.

There is one question which I did not see raised—what about the idea of not marrying a Canaanite or a Hittite? Did Abraham marry someone outside of his eastern family here? First of all, that was really something related to Isaac, Rebecca and their son Esau. Secondly, there were people of the Land of Promise who believed in the God of Abraham. Thirdly, we do not know Keturah’s origins.