Berĕshith (Genesis) 25

1And Aḇraham took another wife, whose name was Qeturah.

2And she bore him Zimran, and Yoqshan, and Meḏan, and Miḏyan, and Yishbaq, and Shuwaḥ.

3And Yoqshan brought forth Sheḇa and Deḏan. And the sons of Deḏan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Le’ummim.

4And the sons of Miḏyan were Ěphah, and Ěpher, and Ḥanoḵ, and Aḇiḏa, and Elda‛ah. All these were the children of Qeturah.

5Now Aḇraham gave all that he had to Yitsḥaq,

6but to the sons of the concubines whom Aḇraham had, Aḇraham gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Yitsḥaq, eastward, to the land of the east.

7And these are all the years of Aḇraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.

8And Aḇraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, aged and satisfied, and was gathered to his people.

9And his sons Yitsḥaq and Yishma‛ĕl buried him in the cave of Maḵpĕlah, which is before Mamrĕ, in the field of Ephron son of Tsoḥar the Ḥittite,

10the field which Aḇraham purchased from the sons of Ḥĕth. There Aḇraham was buried with Sarah his wife.

11And it came to be, after the death of Aḇraham, that Elohim blessed his son Yitsḥaq. And Yitsḥaq dwelt at Be’ĕr Laḥai Ro’i.

12And this is the genealogy of Yishma‛ĕl, Aḇraham’s son, whom Haḡar the Mitsrian, Sarah’s female servant, bore to Aḇraham.

13And these were the names of the sons of Yishma‛ĕl, by their names, according to their generations: The first-born of Yishma‛ĕl, Neḇayoth; then Qĕḏar, and Aḏbe’ĕl, and Miḇsam,

14and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

15Ḥaḏar, and Tĕma, Yetur, Naphish, and Qĕḏemah.

16These were the sons of Yishma‛ĕl and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve chiefs according to their tribes.

17And these were the years of the life of Yishma‛ĕl: one hundred and thirty-seven years. And he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

18And they dwelt from Ḥawilah as far as Shur, which is east of Mitsrayim as you go toward Ashshur. He settled before all his brothers.

19And this is the genealogy of Yitsḥaq, Aḇraham’s son. Aḇraham brought forth Yitsḥaq.

20And Yitsḥaq was forty years old when he took Riḇqah as wife, the daughter of Bethu’ĕl the Aramean of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laḇan the Aramean.

21And Yitsḥaq prayed to יהוה for his wife, because she was barren. And יהוה answered his prayer, and Riḇqah his wife conceived.

22And within her the children struggled together, and she said, “If all is right, why am I this way?” So she went to ask יהוה.

23And יהוה said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your body. And one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older serve the younger.”

24And when the days were filled for her to give birth, and see, twins were in her womb!

25And the first came out red all over, like a hairy garment, so they called his name Ěsaw.

26And afterward his brother came out, with his hand holding on to Ěsaw’s heel, so his name was called Ya‛aqoḇ. And Yitsḥaq was sixty years old when she bore them.

27And the boys grew up. And Ěsaw became a man knowing how to hunt, a man of the field, while Ya‛aqoḇ was a complete man, dwelling in tents.

28And Yitsḥaq loved Ěsaw because he ate of his wild game, but Riḇqah loved Ya‛aqoḇ.

29And Ya‛aqoḇ cooked a stew, and Ěsaw came in from the field, and he was weary.

30And Ěsaw said to Ya‛aqoḇ, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” That is why his name was called Eḏom.

31But Ya‛aqoḇ said, “Sell me your birthright today.”

32And Ěsaw said, “Look, I am going to die, so why should I have birthright?”

33Then Ya‛aqoḇ said, “Swear to me today.” And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Ya‛aqoḇ.

34Ya‛aqoḇ then gave Ěsaw bread and stew of lentils. And he ate and drank, and rose up and left. Thus Ěsaw despised his birthright.

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Genesis 25

Abraham Marries Keturah

1Abraham married Keturah, 2and they had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Later, Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan, and when Dedan grew up, he had three sons: Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4Midian also had five sons: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

5-6While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac, and when Abraham died, he left everything to Isaac.

The Death of Abraham

7-8Abraham died at the ripe old age of 175. 9-10#Gn 23.3-18. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him east of Hebron#25.9,10 Hebron: See the note at 23.16-18. in Machpelah Cave that was part of the field Abraham had bought from Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. Abraham was buried there beside his wife Sarah. 11God blessed Isaac after this, and Isaac moved to a place called “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”#25.11 The Well … Sees Me: Or “Beer-Lahai-Roi,” (see 16.14).

Ishmael's Descendants

12Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the slave woman of Sarah. 13Ishmael had twelve sons, in this order: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16Each of Ishmael's sons was a tribal chief, and a village was named after each of them.

17-18Ishmael had settled in the land east of his brothers, and his sons#25.17,18 sons: Or “descendants.” settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt on the way to Asshur.#25.17,18 Havilah to Shur … Asshur: The exact location of these places is not known. Ishmael was 137 when he died.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

19Isaac was the son of Abraham, 20and he was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean from northern Syria.#25.20 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10.

Almost 20 years later, 21Rebekah still had no children. So Isaac asked the Lord to let her have a child, and the Lord answered his prayer.

22Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting each other. She thought, “Why is this happening to me?” Finally, she asked the Lord why her twins were fighting, 23#Ro 9.11,12. and he told her:

“Your two sons will become

two separate nations.#25.23 two separate nations: Or “two nations always in conflict.”

The younger of the two

will be stronger,

and the older son

will be his servant.”

24When Rebekah gave birth, 25the first baby was covered with red hair, so he was named Esau.#25.25 Esau: In Hebrew “Esau” sounds like “hairy.” 26The second baby grabbed on to his brother's heel, so they named him Jacob.#25.26 Jacob: In Hebrew “Jacob” sounds like “heel.” Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son

27As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob lived the quiet life of a shepherd.#25.27 of a shepherd: Hebrew “in tents.” 28Esau would take the meat of wild animals to his father Isaac, so Isaac loved him more, but Jacob was his mother's favorite son.

29One day, when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came home hungry 30and said, “I'm starving to death! Here and now give me some of that red stew!” That's how Esau got the name “Edom.”#25.30 Edom: In Hebrew “Edom” sounds like “red.”

31Jacob replied, “Sell me your rights as the first-born son.”#25.31 rights … son: The first-born son inherited the largest amount of property, as well as the leadership of the family.

32“I'm about to die,” Esau answered. “What good will those rights do me?”

33 # He 12.16. But Jacob said, “Promise me your birthrights, here and now!” And that's what Esau did. 34Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born.

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