Abraham’s Other Wife and Sons

25 Abraham had taken[a] another wife, whose name was Keturah,(A) and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.(B) But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, and while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.(C)

Abraham’s Death

This is the length of Abraham’s life:[b] 175 years. He took his last breath and died at a good old age,(D) old and contented,[c] and he was gathered to his people.(E) His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah(F) near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hethite. 10 This was the field that Abraham bought from the Hethites.(G) Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.(H)

Ishmael’s Family Records

12 These are the family records(I) of Abraham’s son Ishmael,(J) whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons; their names according to the family records are Nebaioth, Ishmael’s firstborn, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are Ishmael’s sons, and these are their names by their settlements and encampments: twelve leaders[d](K) of their clans.[e] 17 This is the length[f] of Ishmael’s life: 137 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 And they[g] settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt as you go toward Asshur.[h] He[i] stayed near[j] all his relatives.(L)

The Birth of Jacob and Esau

19 These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac.(M) 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah(N) daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram(O) and sister of Laban the Aramean.(P) 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless.(Q) The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.(R) 22 But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” [k] So she went to inquire of the Lord.(S) 23 And the Lord said to her:

Two nations are in your womb;
two peoples will come from you and be separated.
One people will be stronger than the other,(T)
and the older will serve the younger.(U)

24 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. 25 The first one came out red-looking,[l] covered with hair[m] like a fur coat, and they named him Esau.(V) 26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand.(W) So he was named Jacob.[n](X) Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Esau Sells His Birthright

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman,[o] but Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.[p] 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.(Y)

29 Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field exhausted. 30 He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I’m exhausted.” That is why he was also named Edom.[q]

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

33 Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. 34 Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. 25:1 Or Abraham took
  2. 25:7 Lit And these are the days of the years of the life of Abraham that he lived
  3. 25:8 Sam, LXX, Syr read full of days
  4. 25:16 Or chieftains
  5. 25:16 Or peoples
  6. 25:17 Lit And these are the years
  7. 25:18 LXX, Vg read he
  8. 25:18 Or Assyria
  9. 25:18 = Ishmael and his descendants
  10. 25:18 Or He settled down alongside of
  11. 25:22 Lit said, “If thus, why this I?”
  12. 25:25 In Hb, red-looking sounds like “Edom”; Gn 32:3.
  13. 25:25 In Hb, hair sounds like “Seir”; Gn 32:3.
  14. 25:26 = He Grasps the Heel
  15. 25:27 Lit a man of the field
  16. 25:27 Lit man living in tents
  17. 25:30 = Red

25 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.

And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.

And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.

12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.

17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:

20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.

26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:

30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

Abraham dör

(1 Krön 1:32-33)

25 Abraham skaffade sig ytterligare en hustru. Hon hette Ketura och hon födde honom Simran, Jokshan, Medan, Midjan, Jishbak och Shuach.

Jokshans två söner hette Saba och Dedan. Dedans ättlingar var ashuréerna, letushéerna och leumméerna. Midjans söner var Efa, Efer, Henok, Avida och Eldaga. Dessa var alltså ättlingar till Ketura.

Abraham gav allt han ägde till Isak. Han gav emellertid gåvor även till sina bihustrurs söner, medan han fortfarande levde, och skickade dem till landet i öster, bort från sin son Isak.

Abrahams ålder blev 175 år. Sedan gav han upp andan och dog i en hög ålder, nöjd med livet, och förenades med sina förfäder[a]. Hans söner Isak och Ismael begravde honom i grottan vid Makpela nära Mamre på den åker som tillhört hettiten Efron, Sochars son, 10 samma åker som Abraham hade köpt av hettiterna. Där begravdes alltså Abraham och hans hustru Sara.

11 Efter Abrahams död välsignade Gud Isak, hans son, som bodde nära Beer Lachaj Roi.

Berättelsen om Ismaels släkt

(1 Krön 1:28-31)

12 Här följer släkttavlan för Ismael, son till Abraham och Hagar, Saras egyptiska slavinna. 13 Ismaels söner i födelseordning var: Nevajot, Ismaels förstfödde, sedan Kedar, Adbeel, Mivsam, 14 Mishma, Duma, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Nafish och Kedma.

16 Dessa är namnen på Ismaels söner, och de är också namnen på tolv stamhövdingar med deras byar och läger. 17 Ismael blev 137 år gammal, och sedan dog han och förenades med sina förfäder. 18 Ismaels ättlingar bosatte sig från Havila till Shur, öster om Egypten, vid vägen mot Assyrien, och de låg ständigt i strid med sina bröder.[b]

Isaks släkt: Jakob och Esau

(25:19—35:29)

19 Detta är berättelsen om Isaks, Abrahams sons släkt.

Abraham blev far till Isak. 20 Isak var 40 år gammal när han gifte sig med Rebecka, dotter till araméen Betuel från Paddan Aram och syster till araméen Laban.

21 Isak bad till Herren för sin hustru, för hon var ofruktsam. Herren svarade på hans bön, och hans hustru Rebecka blev gravid. 22 Barnen sparkade varandra i hennes mage. Hon sa: ”Varför ska detta hända mig?” och gick och frågade Herren.

23 Herren svarade henne:

”Det finns två folk i din livmoder,
    två folkstammar ska skiljas från dig.
Den ena kommer att bli starkare än den andra,
    och den äldre ska tjäna den yngre.”

24 När det var dags för henne att föda, födde hon tvillingar. 25 Den förste som föddes hade rödaktig hy som var så hårig att den liknade en skinnfäll. Han fick namnet Esau[c]. 26 Sedan föddes den andre tvillingen med sin hand om Esaus häl. Därför kallade de honom Jakob[d]. Isak var sextio år gammal när tvillingarna föddes.

Esau säljer sin förstfödslorätt

27 Allt eftersom pojkarna växte upp blev Esau en skicklig jägare, som höll till ute på markerna, medan Jakob var mer stillsam och trivdes hemma i tälten. 28 Esau var Isaks favorit, för han tyckte om köttet som Esau kom hem med. Men Rebecka älskade Jakob.

29 En dag när Esau kom hem alldeles utsvulten från jakten, höll Jakob på att koka soppa. 30 ”O, vad jag är hungrig!” klagade Esau. ”Ge mig lite av den där röda soppan som du har!” Därför fick han namnet ”Edom”[e]. 31 ”Det kan jag väl göra, om jag får byta den mot din förstfödslorätt”, svarade Jakob. 32 ”Jag håller ju på att dö. Vad har jag för nytta av förstfödslorätten?” sa Esau. 33 ”Ja, lova då med ed att den är min”, sa Jakob. Esau svor en ed och sålde därmed sin förstfödslorätt till Jakob. 34 Sedan gav Jakob Esau bröd och linssoppa. Han åt och drack och gick sedan och fortsatte med sitt. Så lite värdesatte han sin förstfödslorätt.

Footnotes

  1. 25:8 Att förenas med sina (för)fäder var ett vanligt uttryck för död och begravning.
  2. 25:18 Eller: Öster om alla sina bröder hade han sina lägerplatser. Jfr 16:12 med not.
  3. 25:25 Betyder hårig.
  4. 25:26 Betyder den som håller i hälen och även den som bedrar.
  5. 25:30 Betyder röd.

Abraham’s Family

25 Abraham married again, and his new wife was Keturah [1 Chr. 1:32]. She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian [C ancestor of the Midianites, the tribe into which Moses married; Ex. 3:1], Ishbak, and Shuah [C ancestor of the tribe of Job’s friend Bildad; Job 2:11]. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan [Is. 21:13; Jer. 49:8; Ezek. 27:20]. Dedan’s descendants were the people of Assyria, Letush, and Leum. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. Abraham ·left [gave] everything he owned to Isaac. But ·before Abraham died [L while he was still alive], he did give gifts to the sons of his ·other wives [concubines], then sent them to the East to be away from Isaac [C to prevent rivalry over Abraham’s inheritance].

·Abraham lived to be [L These are the days of the years of the life of Abraham] one hundred seventy-five years old. He ·breathed his last breath [expired] and died at an old age, ·after a long and satisfying life [L an old man and full of years; he was gathered to his people/relatives; C buried in the family plot, though may imply joining his ancestors in the afterlife]. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. (Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite.) 10 So Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah in the same field that he had bought from the Hittites [23:1–20]. 11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac was now living at Beer Lahai Roi [16:14].

12 ·This is the family history [L These are the generations; 2:4] of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. (Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, ·was Ishmael’s mother [L bore him to Abraham].) 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order they were born: Nebaioth, the ·first son [firstborn], then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were Ishmael’s sons, and these are the names of the ·tribal leaders [L twelve princes/chieftains according to their tribes; 17:20] listed according to their ·settlements [villages] and camps. 17 ·Ishmael lived [L These are the years of the life of Ishmael] one hundred thirty-seven years and then ·breathed his last breath [expired] and died [L and was gathered to his people/relatives; 25:8]. 18 His descendants lived from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt stretching toward Assyria [C the area from the northern Sinai to the border of western Mesopotamia, the area of Arab tribes]. They often ·attacked [or settled among; L fell on] the descendants of his brothers.

Isaac’s Family

19 ·This is the family history [L These are the generations; 2:4] of Isaac. Abraham ·had a son named [or was the father of] Isaac. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he ·married [L took as a wife] Rebekah [ch. 24], ·who came from northwestern Mesopotamia [L the Aramean from Paddan-aram]. She was Bethuel’s daughter and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac’s wife ·could not have children [was barren], so Isaac ·prayed to [entreated; interceded with] the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah ·became pregnant [conceived].

22 While she was pregnant, the ·babies [L children] struggled inside her. She asked, “·Why is this happening to me [L If thus, why this, I—; C the Hebrew is uncertain]?” Then she went to ·get an answer from [L seek; inquire of] the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your ·body [L womb],
    and two groups of people ·will be taken from you [L are being divided within your body].
One group will be stronger than the other,
    and the older will serve the younger [Rom. 9:10–13].”

24 When the time came, ·Rebekah gave birth to twins [L there were twins in her womb]. 25 The first baby ·was born [L came out] red. Since his skin was like a hairy robe, he was named Esau [C sounds like “hairy” in Hebrew]. 26 When ·the second baby [L his brother] ·was born [L came out], ·he [L his hand] was ·holding on to [gripping; grabbing] Esau’s heel, so that baby was named Jacob [C sounds like Hebrew for “heel”; grabbing a heel is a Hebrew idiom for tricking someone]. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a ·skilled [experienced] hunter. He ·loved to be out in the fields [L was a man of the fields]. But Jacob was a ·quiet [or mild; or blameless] man ·and stayed among the [L living in] tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because ·he hunted the wild animals that Isaac enjoyed eating [L game was in his (Isaac’s) mouth]. But Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 One day Jacob was ·boiling a pot of vegetable soup [or preparing stew]. Esau came in from hunting in the fields, ·weak from hunger [famished; starving]. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me ·eat [gulp down] some of that red ·soup [or stuff], because I am ·weak with hunger [famished; starving].” (That is why people call him Edom [C sounds like Hebrew for “red”].)

31 But Jacob said, “·First [L As the day; C an idiom meaning, “First of all…”] ·sell [or exchange with] me your ·rights as the firstborn son [birthright; C the firstborn had special inheritance rights and became the head of the family in the next generation].”

32 Esau said, “I am ·almost dead from hunger [L going to die]. ·If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me [L What will my birthright be to me?].”

33 But Jacob said, “First [v. 31], ·promise [swear to] me that you will give it to me.” So Esau ·made a promise to Jacob [L swore to him] and ·sold [exchanged] his ·part of their father’s wealth [L birthright] to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and ·vegetable soup [stew], and he ate and drank, and then left. So Esau ·showed how little he cared about his rights as the firstborn son [L despised/showed contempt toward his birthright; Heb. 12:16–17].