Chapter Twenty-Five

The Children of Abraham by Keturah

Genesis 25:1. And Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. This new marriage apparently took place after Sarah’s death; however, it could have been contracted during her lifetime, since Keturah and her descendants, like Hagar and her descendants, did not possess the full rights of lawful marriage, which belonged exclusively to the marriage with Sarah and the offspring from her.

Genesis 25:2. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The six sons of Keturah were the ancestors of entire nations of nomadic tribes of Arabia; but the names of these tribes, with the exception perhaps only of the Midianites, have remained almost unknown in subsequent biblical history.

The Division of His Possessions

Genesis 25:5. And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, his son. To the only son of his only lawful wife—Sarah—Abraham transferred all his spiritual and material blessings (Gen 21:10).

Genesis 25:6. But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts and sent them away from Isaac his son while he was still living, Here is Abraham’s wise deathbed arrangement: he does not leave the children of his concubines without some provision; but at the same time he removes them from Isaac, thereby showing beforehand that they have no share in the estate of the lawful heir. to the east, to the land of the east. By this name, it is commonly understood to mean Arabia, whose inhabitants were generally called “the sons of the east” (Judg 6:3; 1 Sam 4:30; Job 1:3). Later they received the Arabic name “sharqiyin,” that is, the easterners, from which also arose the word “Saracens.”

The Death and Burial of Abraham

Genesis 25:7–8. The days of Abraham’s life which he lived were one hundred seventy-five years; and Abraham expired and died in a good old age, very old and full of years, and was gathered to his people. A figurative and powerful expression showing Abraham’s fulfillment of his life’s purpose, about which afterward an apostle spoke of himself in similar, yet more clear, words (2 Tim 4:7-8). The last thought of this text has particular importance, since it characterizes the existence of faith in the soul’s immortality after death even in that distant patriarchal period (cf. Deut 32:50 and 1 Sam 2:10).

Genesis 25:11. After Abraham’s death, God blessed Isaac his son. Having said even to his father Abraham that “my covenant I will establish with Isaac” (Gen 17:19), God now, after Abraham’s death, bestowed upon him his special blessing, that is, set him apart as the ancestor and representative of the chosen people.

The Descendants of Ishmael and His Death

Genesis 25:12–16. Here is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham; and here are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their genealogy: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, in their settlements, in their encampments. These are the twelve princes of their tribes. This is the beginning of a new section (toldoth) of the genealogy of the descendants of Abraham’s secondary son Ishmael. Although the names of these new ancestors of Arab tribes for the most part remain unknown to us, nevertheless in the very number of them one cannot but see the fulfillment of that prophecy about the twelve princes from Ishmael, which was given much earlier (Gen 17:20).

Genesis 25:18. They lived from Havilah to Shur, which is before Egypt, as you go toward Assyria. Based on these geographical indications, as well as on the preceding context (Gen 10:7), we must determine the territory of the Ishmaelites along the shore of the Persian Gulf and in the mountainous part of the Arabian Peninsula.

Genesis 25:19. Here is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. The beginning of a new section—the genealogical table of Isaac, serving as the heading for the entire history of his life, which ends only in the thirty-fifth chapter of Genesis.

The Prayer of Isaac for the Relief of Rebekah’s Barrenness

Genesis 25:21. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord heard him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. “Metropolitan Philaret remarks that the most blessed births were often preceded by barrenness: for example, the births of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Simeon, Samuel, and John the Baptist. It is very probable that God wished first to purify and establish the faith and trust of those to whom the blessed fruit of the womb is granted. Moreover, the power of God is perfected in weakness, that is, at the time when the weakening of the forces of nature appears, then the grace of God acts for the fulfillment of the purposes of his wisdom” (Vlastov).

Genesis 25:22. The sons struggled together within her, and she said: If it is thus, why then am I this way? Metropolitan Philaret, based on various biblical translations, wants to see here an expression of some fear on Rebekah’s part for her life. But it seems to us more convenient and consistent with the context to find here a different, higher meaning—namely, the mother’s desire to know the fate of her offspring, which is now given to her by God after so many years of barrenness, and evidently not without special, higher purposes of divine Providence. And she went to inquire of the Lord. From the text itself it is not clear how this inquiry of the Lord was made; therefore some think that Rebekah turned to one of the pious patriarchs—Shem, Abraham, Melchizedek, Eber, or even Isaac (Gen 27:46), while others believe that she could have done so directly in prayer or in offering sacrifice.

Genesis 25:23. And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger. In the external form of this verse is discerned a parallelism of thoughts—the distinctive feature of Hebrew poetry; but in the internal, essential content one sees a prophetic revelation of the future fate of the descendants of both twins about to be born. This fate is not entirely usual: here the older is promised greater strength and external power, yet he ultimately becomes subject to the younger. And subsequent history vindicated this prophecy: although the house of Esau was indeed stronger and more numerous than the house of Jacob at his return from Haran (Gen 32:11), and the descendants of Esau received elders and kings sooner (Gen 35:1), yet in time David subdued the Edomites (2 Sam 8:14; 1 Sam 11:1), and Joram and Amaziah even harshly punished them for their attempt to free themselves (2 Sam 8:16-23).

The Birth of the Twin Brothers Esau and Jacob

Genesis 25:24–25. When the time came for her to give birth, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. The hairy covering of skin of Rebekah’s firstborn gave the basis for calling him Esau, and the reddish color of him served as the reason for another name of Esau—Edom, which means “red.”

Genesis 25:26. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob. And the name of Rebekah’s second son—Jacob—had not an accidental origin: it came from the circumstances of his birth—namely from the fact that he came forth holding onto the heel of his older brother, as Esau himself explains (Gen 27:36).

The Difference in Their Character and Way of Life

Genesis 25:27–28. When the boys grew up, Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because his game was to his taste, but Rebekah loved Jacob. That the quiet, effeminate Isaac loved the energetic and harsh Esau more, while the active and passionate Rebekah preferred the quiet and modest Jacob—this is psychologically very true. Scripture also does not hide the fact that Isaac’s preference for his elder son Esau bore something of an egoistic character. Although independently of this, it was entirely natural and understandable, since Esau was the firstborn, and on firstborns usually rested all the best hopes and expectations.

Esau Sells His Birthright

Genesis 25:30. And Esau said to Jacob: Give me some of that red stew, for I am exhausted. The repetition of the same word expresses here the particular insistence and force of desire, attesting to Esau’s extraordinary hunger. As for the very dish that aroused such appetite in the weary hunter, experts on the East say that it was a lentil broth of reddish color, much prized even now for its aroma and taste.

Genesis 25:31. But Jacob said: Sell me your birthright now. However we try to excuse Jacob in this case, yet there remains something insufficiently noble in his action, excusable only perhaps by Esau’s complete disdain for his right (Gen 25:34).

Genesis 25:33. Jacob said: Swear to me now. So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Although the rights of the firstborn were definitively established only in the Law of Moses (Num 3:12 and others), it is certain that in practice these privileges existed much earlier. The chief significance of the firstborns was that they were the bearers and possessors of those blessings and promises which God had given to Abraham and confirmed to Isaac (Gen 12:2-3 and others). But the reception of these promises required strong and fervent faith; this is precisely what Esau lacked, and therefore God permitted him to lose this high right and transfer it to one more worthy.

Genesis 25:34. And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went away; and Esau despised his birthright. By all this Esau clearly showed his complete disdain for the spiritual good of the birthright, since the interests of sensual nature stood much closer to him than the higher, spiritual-religious interests. In the history of Esau and Jacob we receive a new example of how the gradual separation and, as it were, purification of the chosen seed came to pass, in spiritual kinship with which stood only the heroes of faith, that is, people who glorified themselves by fervent faith in the promise and high religious zeal (Heb 11:1-20).