Genesis 25
25
Abraham and Keturah
1Abraham again took a wife, and her name was #1 Chr. 1:32, 33Keturah. 2And #1 Chr. 1:32, 33she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
5And #Gen. 24:35, 36Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he #Gen. 21:14sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to #Judg. 6:3the country of the east.
Abraham’s Death and Burial
7This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. 8Then Abraham breathed his last and #Gen. 15:15; 47:8, 9died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and #Gen. 25:17; 35:29; 49:29, 33was gathered to his people. 9And #Gen. 35:29; 50:13his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of #Gen. 23:9, 17; 49:30Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10#Gen. 23:3–16the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. #Gen. 49:31There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at #Gen. 16:14Beer Lahai Roi.
The Families of Ishmael and Isaac
12Now this is the #Gen. 11:10, 27; 16:15genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13And #1 Chr. 1:29–31these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, #Gen. 17:20twelve princes according to their nations. 17These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and #Gen. 25:8; 49:33he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18#Gen. 20:1; 1 Sam. 15:7(They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died #Gen. 16:12in the presence of all his brethren.
19This is the #Gen. 36:1, 9genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. #Matt. 1:2Abraham begot Isaac. 20Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, #Gen. 22:23; 24:15, 29, 67the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, #Gen. 24:29the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; #1 Sam. 1:17; 1 Chr. 5:20; 2 Chr. 33:13; Ezra 8:23; Ps. 127:3and the Lord granted his plea, #Rom. 9:10–13and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” #1 Sam. 1:15; 9:9; 10:22So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23And the Lord said to her:
#Gen. 17:4–6, 16; 24:60; Num. 20:14; Deut. 2:4–8“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than #2 Sam. 8:14the other,
#Gen. 27:29, 40; Mal. 1:2, 3; Rom. 9:12And the older shall serve the younger.”
24So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came out red. He was #Gen. 27:11, 16, 23like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26Afterward his brother came out, and #Hos. 12:3his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so #Gen. 27:36his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27So the boys grew. And Esau was #Gen. 27:3, 5a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was #Job 1:1, 8a mild man, #Heb. 11:9dwelling in tents. 28And Isaac loved Esau because he #Gen. 27:4, 19, 25, 31ate of his game, #Gen. 27:6–10but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esau Sells His Birthright
29Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom.
31But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”
32And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so #Matt. 16:26; Mark 8:36, 37what is this birthright to me?”
33Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.”
So he swore to him, and #Heb. 12:16sold his birthright to Jacob. 34And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then #Eccl. 8:15; Is. 22:13; 1 Cor. 15:32he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau #Heb. 12:16, 17despised his birthright.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 25
25
Abraham’s Family
1Abraham married again. His new wife was named Keturah. 2She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The people of Asshur,#25:3 Asshur Or “Assyria.” Leum, and Letush were descendants of Dedan. 4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these sons came from the marriage of Abraham and Keturah. 5-6Before Abraham died, he gave some gifts to his sons who were from his slave women. He sent them to the East,#25:5 East This usually means the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as far east as the Persian Gulf. away from Isaac. Then Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.
7Abraham lived to be 175 years old. 8Then he grew weak and died. He had lived a long and satisfying life. He died and went to be with his people. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah. This cave is in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar. It was east of Mamre. 10This is the same cave that Abraham bought from the Hittites. He was buried there with his wife Sarah. 11After Abraham died, God blessed Isaac. Isaac was living at Beer Lahai Roi.
12This is the list of Ishmael’s family. Ishmael was Abraham and Hagar’s son. (Hagar was Sarah’s Egyptian maid.) 13These are the names of Ishmael’s sons: The first son was Nebaioth; then Kedar was born, then Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These were the names of Ishmael’s sons. Each son had his own camp that became a small town. The twelve sons were leaders over their own people. 17Ishmael lived to be 137 years old. Then he died and went to be with his people. 18His descendants settled throughout the desert area from Havilah to Shur. This area begins near Egypt and goes toward Assyria. Ishmael’s people were often at war with#25:18 were often at war with Or “lived away from.” the other descendants of Abraham.
Isaac’s Family
19This is the story of Isaac. Abraham had a son named Isaac. 20When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was from Paddan Aram. She was Bethuel’s daughter and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21Isaac’s wife could not have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and he allowed Rebekah to become pregnant.
22While Rebekah was pregnant, the babies inside her struggled with one another. She prayed to the Lord and said, “What is happening to me?” 23The Lord said to her,
“The leaders of two nations are in your body.
Two nations will come from you,
and they will be divided.
One of them will be stronger,
and the older will serve the younger.”
24When the right time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins. 25The first baby was red. His skin was like a hairy robe. So he was named Esau.#25:25 Esau This name is like the word meaning “hairy.” 26When the second baby was born, he was holding tightly to Esau’s heel. So that baby was named Jacob.#25:26 Jacob This name is like the Hebrew word meaning “heel.” It also means “the one who follows” or “tricky.” Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob and Esau were born.
27The boys grew up. Esau became a skilled hunter, who loved to be out in the fields. But Jacob was a quiet man, who stayed at home. 28Isaac loved Esau. He liked to eat the animals Esau killed. But Rebekah loved Jacob.
29One day Esau came back from hunting. He was tired and weak from hunger. Jacob was boiling a pot of beans. 30So Esau said to Jacob, “I am weak with hunger. Let me have some of that red soup.” (That is why people call him “Red.”#25:30 Red Literally, “Edom,” a name that means “red.”)
31But Jacob said, “You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son.”
32Esau said, “I am almost dead with hunger, so what good are these rights to me now?”
33But Jacob said, “First, promise me that you will give them to me.” So Esau made an oath to him and sold his rights as the firstborn son to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil#25:34 lentil A type of bean. soup. Esau ate the food, had something to drink, and then left. So Esau showed that he did not care about his rights as the firstborn son.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International