Genesis 25
25
Chapter 25
Abraham dies
1Abraham then married another woman. Her name was Keturah. 2She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3Jokshan later became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4Midian had sons who were called Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All those were descendants of Abraham's wife, Keturah. 5When Abraham died, he left everything that belonged to him to Isaac. 6But while he was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of his slave wives. He sent these sons away to the land of the east. He wanted to keep them far away from Isaac.
7Abraham lived for 175 years. 8He died after a good and long life, when he was very old. He joined his ancestors who had died before him. 9His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried his body in the cave of Machpelah. That was near Mamre. The cave is in the field that belonged to Zohar's son, Ephron. He was a Hittite. 10Abraham had bought the field from the Hittites.
So they buried Abraham there. It was in the cave where his wife, Sarah, had also been buried.
11After Abraham's death, God blessed his son, Isaac. Isaac was living near Beer Lahai Roi.
Ishmael's family
12This is the report about Abraham's son, Ishmael, and his family.
Sarah's female servant gave birth to Ishmael. Her name was Hagar. She was from Egypt. 13These are the names of Ishmael's sons. The list starts from the firstborn son and ends with the last son. Nebaioth was the first son of Ishmael. Then there were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16These were all Ishmael's sons. Their names became the names of 12 groups of people. They separated and lived in their own lands. Ishmael's sons ruled over the 12 groups of people. 17Ishmael lived for 137 years then he died. He joined his ancestors who had died before him. 18Ishmael's descendants lived in the lands from Havilah to Shur. These are near Egypt, towards Asshur. They were always at war with each other. #25:18 The Lord had told Hagar about this in Genesis 16:12.
Jacob and Esau
19This is the report about Abraham's son, Isaac, and his family.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel. Bethuel was an Aramean from Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21Rebekah could not have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah. The Lord did as Isaac asked. And Isaac's wife, Rebekah, became pregnant. 22The babies inside her were fighting with each other. Rebekah said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So Rebekah went to ask the Lord. 23The Lord said to Rebekah, ‘The two children who are in your body will become two separate nations of people. One group will be stronger than the other. The older son will become a servant to the younger son.’ #25:23 At that time, the youngest son would always be a servant to the oldest son. But this time, God chose the youngest son to be master over the oldest son.
24The time came for Rebekah to give birth. There were two babies inside her. 25The first baby to come out had a red body. Hair covered the whole of his body. They called him Esau. 26After this, his brother came out. His hand was holding the back of Esau's foot. They called him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
27Time passed and the boys grew. Esau became a good hunter, out in the fields. Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed near to the tents. 28Isaac liked to eat the meat from the animals that Esau killed. So he loved Esau. But Rebekah loved Jacob.
29One day, Jacob was cooking a meal. Esau came back from the country. He was very hungry. 30He said to Jacob ‘Quick, let me have some of that red food! I am very hungry.’ (That is why he was also called Edom.) #25:30 Edom means red. 31Jacob said, ‘You must first sell me your birthright.’ #25:31 In the Old Testament, the oldest son had the birthright. This means that he would be the leader of his family when his father died. And he would get two parts of the things that had belonged to his father.
32Esau said, ‘Look, I am so hungry that I will die. Then my birthright will not help me at all!’
33Jacob said, ‘First, make a serious promise to me.’ So Esau promised to sell his birthright to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and the soup made from grains. Esau ate the food and he drank. Then he got up and he left.
In that way, Esau showed that he did not think that his birthright was important. #25:34 Now Jacob had the birthright. Jacob was the younger son. Jacob would receive God's promise that he had made with Abraham. This promise was also for Isaac. When Isaac died, it would pass to Jacob. This is what God had told Rebekah. See verse 23.
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Genesis 25
25
Other Descendants of Abraham
(1 Chronicles 1.32,33)
1Abraham married another woman, whose name was Keturah. 2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. 4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were Keturah's descendants.
5Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac; 6but while he was still alive, he gave presents to the sons his other wives had borne him. Then he sent these sons to the land of the East, away from his son Isaac.
The Death and Burial of Abraham
7-8Abraham died at the ripe old age of 175. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in Machpelah Cave, in the field east of Mamre that had belonged to Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10#Gn 23.3-16 It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; both Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. 11After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”
The Descendants of Ishmael
(1 Chronicles 1.28-31)
12Ishmael, whom Hagar, the Egyptian slave of Sarah, bore to Abraham, 13had the following sons, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16They were the ancestors of twelve tribes, and their names were given to their villages and camping places. 17Ishmael was 137 years old when he died. 18The descendants of Ishmael lived in the territory between Havilah and Shur, to the east of Egypt on the way to Assyria. They lived apart from the other descendants of Abraham.
The Birth of Esau and Jacob
19This is the story of Abraham's son Isaac. 20Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel (an Aramean from Mesopotamia) and sister of Laban. 21Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant. 22She was going to have twins, and before they were born, they struggled against each other in her womb. She said, “Why should something like this happen to me?” So she went to ask the Lord for an answer.
23 #
Ro 9.12
The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are within you;
You will give birth to two rival peoples.
One will be stronger than the other;
The older will serve the younger.”
24The time came for her to give birth, and she had twin sons. 25The first one was reddish, and his skin was like a hairy robe, so he was named Esau.#25.25: Esau: This name is taken to refer to Seir, the territory later inhabited by Esau's descendants; Seir sounds like the Hebrew for “hairy.” 26The second one was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau, so he was named Jacob.#25.26: Jacob: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “heel.” Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.
Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son
27The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home. 28Isaac preferred Esau, because he enjoyed eating the animals Esau killed, but Rebecca preferred Jacob.
29One day while Jacob was cooking some bean soup, Esau came in from hunting. He was hungry 30and said to Jacob, “I'm starving; give me some of that red stuff.” (That is why he was named Edom.#25.30: Edom: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “red.”)
31Jacob answered, “I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first-born son.”
32Esau said, “All right! I am about to die; what good will my rights do me?”
33 #
He 12.16
Jacob answered, “First make a vow that you will give me your rights.”
Esau made the vow and gave his rights to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave him some bread and some of the soup. He ate and drank and then got up and left. That was all Esau cared about his rights as the first-born son.
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