Abraham and Keturah(A)

25 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was (B)Keturah. And (C)she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

And (D)Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he (E)sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to (F)the country of the east.

Abraham’s Death and Burial

This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last and (G)died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and (H)was gathered to his people. And (I)his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of (J)Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, 10 (K)the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. (L)There Abraham was 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 at (M)Beer Lahai Roi.

The Families of Ishmael and Isaac(N)

12 Now this is the (O)genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. 13 And (P)these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 [a]Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their [b]settlements, (Q)twelve princes according to their nations. 17 These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and (R)he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 (S)(They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He [c]died (T)in the presence of all his brethren.

19 This is the (U)genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. (V)Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, (W)the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, (X)the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; (Y)and the Lord granted his plea, (Z)and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” (AA)So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said to her:

(AB)“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than (AC)the other,
(AD)And the older shall serve the younger.”

24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was (AE)like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name [d]Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and (AF)his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so (AG)his name was called [e]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 So the boys grew. And Esau was (AH)a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was (AI)a [f]mild man, (AJ)dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he (AK)ate of his game, (AL)but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright(AM)

29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called [g]Edom.

31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so (AN)what is this birthright to me?”

33 Then Jacob said, [h]“Swear to me as of this day.”

So he swore to him, and (AO)sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then (AP)he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau (AQ)despised his birthright.

Isaac and Abimelech

26 There was a famine in the land, besides (AR)the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to (AS)Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

Then the Lord appeared to him and said: (AT)“Do not go down to Egypt; live in (AU)the land of which I shall tell you. (AV)Dwell in this land, and (AW)I will be with you and (AX)bless you; for to you and your descendants (AY)I give all these lands, and I will perform (AZ)the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And (BA)I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; (BB)and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; (BC)because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. And the men of the place asked about his wife. And (BD)he said, “She is my sister”; for (BE)he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is (BF)beautiful to behold.” Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, [i]showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”

10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and (BG)you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who (BH)touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year (BI)a hundredfold; and the Lord (BJ)blessed him. 13 The man (BK)began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines (BL)envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells (BM)which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for (BN)you are much mightier than we.”

17 Then Isaac departed from there and [j]pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. (BO)He called them by the names which his father had called them.

19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar (BP)quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well [k]Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name [l]Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name [m]Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall (BQ)be fruitful in the land.”

23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord (BR)appeared to him the same night and said, (BS)“I am the God of your father Abraham; (BT)do not fear, for (BU)I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he (BV)built an altar there and (BW)called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, (BX)and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, (BY)since you hate me and have (BZ)sent me away from you?”

28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord (CA)is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a [n]covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. (CB)You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”

30 (CC)So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and (CD)swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it [o]Shebah. (CE)Therefore the name of the city is [p]Beersheba to this day.

34 (CF)When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And (CG)they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 25:15 MT Hadad
  2. Genesis 25:16 camps
  3. Genesis 25:18 fell
  4. Genesis 25:25 Lit. Hairy
  5. Genesis 25:26 Supplanter or Deceitful, lit. One Who Takes the Heel
  6. Genesis 25:27 Lit. complete
  7. Genesis 25:30 Lit. Red
  8. Genesis 25:33 Take an oath
  9. Genesis 26:8 caressing
  10. Genesis 26:17 camped
  11. Genesis 26:20 Lit. Quarrel
  12. Genesis 26:21 Lit. Enmity
  13. Genesis 26:22 Lit. Spaciousness
  14. Genesis 26:28 treaty
  15. Genesis 26:33 Lit. Oath or Seven
  16. Genesis 26:33 Lit. Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven

The Death of Abraham(A)

25 Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran,(B) Jokshan, Medan, Midian,(C) Ishbak and Shuah.(D) Jokshan was the father of Sheba(E) and Dedan;(F) the descendants of Dedan were the Ashurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. The sons of Midian were Ephah,(G) Epher, Hanok, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.

Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.(H) But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines(I) and sent them away from his son Isaac(J) to the land of the east.(K)

Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.(L) Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age,(M) an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.(N) His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him(O) in the cave of Machpelah(P) near Mamre,(Q) in the field of Ephron(R) son of Zohar the Hittite,(S) 10 the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites.[a](T) There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac,(U) who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi.(V)

Ishmael’s Sons(W)

12 This is the account(X) of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Sarah’s slave, Hagar(Y) the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.(Z)

13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth(AA) the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar,(AB) Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah,(AC) Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema,(AD) Jetur,(AE) Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these are the names of the twelve tribal rulers(AF) according to their settlements and camps.(AG) 17 Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.(AH) 18 His descendants(AI) settled in the area from Havilah to Shur,(AJ) near the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward Ashur. And they lived in hostility toward[b] all the tribes related to them.(AK)

Jacob and Esau

19 This is the account(AL) of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old(AM) when he married Rebekah(AN) daughter of Bethuel(AO) the Aramean from Paddan Aram[c](AP) and sister of Laban(AQ) the Aramean.(AR)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless.(AS) The Lord answered his prayer,(AT) and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.(AU)

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations(AV) 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.(AW)

24 When the time came for her to give birth,(AX) there were twin boys in her womb.(AY) 25 The first to come out was red,(AZ) and his whole body was like a hairy garment;(BA) so they named him Esau.[d](BB) 26 After this, his brother came out,(BC) with his hand grasping Esau’s heel;(BD) so he was named Jacob.[e](BE) Isaac was sixty years old(BF) when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter,(BG) a man of the open country,(BH) while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game,(BI) loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.(BJ)

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew,(BK) Esau came in from the open country,(BL) famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew!(BM) I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.[f])(BN)

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.(BO)

32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33 But Jacob said, “Swear(BP) to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright(BQ) to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew.(BR) He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac and Abimelek(BS)

26 Now there was a famine in the land(BT)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines(BU) in Gerar.(BV) The Lord appeared(BW) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;(BX) live in the land where I tell you to live.(BY) Stay in this land for a while,(BZ) and I will be with you(CA) and will bless you.(CB) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands(CC) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.(CD) I will make your descendants(CE) as numerous as the stars in the sky(CF) and will give them all these lands,(CG) and through your offspring[g] all nations on earth will be blessed,[h](CH) because Abraham obeyed me(CI) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees(CJ) and my instructions.(CK) So Isaac stayed in Gerar.(CL)

When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,(CM)” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines(CN) looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?(CO)

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

10 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?(CP) One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms(CQ) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”(CR)

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,(CS) because the Lord blessed him.(CT) 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.(CU) 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants(CV) that the Philistines envied him.(CW) 15 So all the wells(CX) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,(CY) filling them with earth.

16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;(CZ) you have become too powerful for us.(DA)

17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar,(DB) where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells(DC) that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled(DD) with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”(DE) So he named the well Esek,[i] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled(DF) over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[j] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[k](DG) saying, “Now the Lord has given us room(DH) and we will flourish(DI) in the land.”

23 From there he went up to Beersheba.(DJ) 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.(DK) Do not be afraid,(DL) for I am with you;(DM) I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants(DN) for the sake of my servant Abraham.”(DO)

25 Isaac built an altar(DP) there and called on the name of the Lord.(DQ) There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.(DR)

26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.(DS) 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?(DT)

28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you;(DU) so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty(DV) with you 29 that you will do us no harm,(DW) just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”(DX)

30 Isaac then made a feast(DY) for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath(DZ) to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well(EA) they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah,[l] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.[m](EB)

Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing

34 When Esau was forty years old,(EC) he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.(ED) 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.(EE)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 25:10 Or the descendants of Heth
  2. Genesis 25:18 Or lived to the east of
  3. Genesis 25:20 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  4. Genesis 25:25 Esau may mean hairy.
  5. Genesis 25:26 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives.
  6. Genesis 25:30 Edom means red.
  7. Genesis 26:4 Or seed
  8. Genesis 26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
  9. Genesis 26:20 Esek means dispute.
  10. Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means opposition.
  11. Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means room.
  12. Genesis 26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven.
  13. Genesis 26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.