Genesis 25
25
Abraham’s Family
1Abraham married again. His new wife was Keturah. 2She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the people of Assyria, Letush and Leum. 4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives. Abraham sent them to the East to be away from Isaac.
7Abraham lived to be 175 years old. 8He breathed his last breath and died at an old age. He had lived a long and satisfying life. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah. This cave is in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite. 10This is the same field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. 11After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac was now living at Beer Lahai Roi.
12This is the family history of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. (Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, was Ishmael’s mother.) 13These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order they were born. The first son was Nebaioth. Then came Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16These were Ishmael’s sons. And these are the names of the tribal leaders. They are listed according to their settlements and camps. 17Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he breathed his last breath and died. 18Ishmael’s descendants lived from Havilah to Shur. This is east of Egypt stretching toward Assyria. Ishmael’s descendants often attacked the descendants of his brothers.
Isaac’s Family
19This is the family history of Isaac. Abraham had a son named Isaac. 20When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was from Northwest Mesopotamia. 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 Rebekah became pregnant.
22While she was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, “Why is this happening to me?” Then she went to get an answer from the Lord.
23The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your body.
Two groups of people will be taken from you.
One group will be stronger than the other.
The older will serve the younger.”
24And when the time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins. 25The first baby was born red. His skin was like a hairy robe. So he was named Esau.# This name may mean “hairy.” 26When the second baby was born, he was holding on to Esau’s heel. So that baby was named Jacob.# This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “heel.” “Grabbing someone’s heel” is a Hebrew saying for tricking someone. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.
27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter. He loved to be out in the fields. But Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed among the tents. 28Isaac loved Esau. Esau hunted the wild animals that Isaac enjoyed eating. But Rebekah loved Jacob.
29One day Jacob was boiling a pot of vegetable soup. Esau came in from hunting in the fields. He was weak from hunger. 30So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red soup. I am weak with hunger.” (That is why people call him Edom.# This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “red.”)
31But Jacob said, “You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son.”# Usually the firstborn son had a high rank in the family. The firstborn son usually became the new head of the family.
32Esau said, “I am almost dead from hunger. If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me.”
33But Jacob said, “First, promise me that you will give it to me.” So Esau made a promise to Jacob. In this way he sold his part of their father’s wealth to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetable soup. Esau ate and drank and then left. So Esau showed how little he cared about his rights as the firstborn son.
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Genesis 25
25
Abraham and Keturah
(1 Chronicles 1:32–33)
1Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah, 2and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.
4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.
All these were descendants of Keturah.
5Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
The Death of Abraham
7Abraham lived a total of 175 years. 8And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.
9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.
11After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.
The Descendants of Ishmael
(1 Chronicles 1:28–31)
12This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
16These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes. 17Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.
18Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur.#25:18 Or Assyria And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.
Jacob and Esau
(Malachi 1:1–5; Romans 9:6–29)
19This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram #25:20 That is, northwest Mesopotamia and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
21Later, Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
22But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the Lord, 23and He declared 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.”#25:23 Cited in Romans 9:12
24When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. 25The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau.#25:25 Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means hairy. 26After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.#25:26 Jacob means he grasps the heel or he deceives. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. 28Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Esau Sells His Birthright
29One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished. 30He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.#25:30 Edom means red.)
31“First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied.
32“Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”
33“Swear to me first,” Jacob said.
So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright. 34Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
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