Genesis 25
Living Bible
25 1-2 Now Abraham married again. Keturah was his new wife, and she bore him several children: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, Shuah. 3 Jokshan’s two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.[a]
5 Abraham deeded everything he owned to Isaac; 6 however, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off into the east, away from Isaac.
7-8 Then Abraham died, at the ripe old age of 175, 9-10 and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Mach-pelah near Mamre, in the field Abraham had purchased from Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite, where Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was buried.
11 After Abraham’s death, God poured out rich blessings upon Isaac. (Isaac had now moved south to Beer-lahai-roi in the Negeb.)
12-15 Here is a list, in the order of their births, of the descendants of Ishmael, who was the son of Abraham and Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave girl: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah. 16 These twelve sons of his became the founders of twelve tribes that bore their names. 17 Ishmael finally died at the age of 137, and joined his ancestors.[b] 18 These descendants of Ishmael were scattered across the country from Havilah to Shur (which is a little way to the northeast of the Egyptian border in the direction of Assyria). And they were constantly at war with one another.
19 This is the story of Isaac’s children: 20 Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram. Rebekah was the sister of Laban. 21 Isaac pleaded with Jehovah to give Rebekah a child, for even after many years of marriage[c] she had no children. Then at last she became pregnant. 22 And it seemed as though children were fighting each other inside her!
“I can’t endure this,” she exclaimed. So she asked the Lord about it.
23 And he told her, “The sons in your womb shall become two rival nations. One will be stronger than the other; and the older shall be a servant of the younger!”
24 And sure enough, she had twins. 25 The first was born so covered with reddish hair that one would think he was wearing a fur coat! So they called him “Esau.”[d] 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand on Esau’s heel! So they called him Jacob (meaning “Grabber”). Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
27 As the boys grew, Esau became a skillful hunter, while Jacob was a quiet sort who liked to stay at home. 28 Isaac’s favorite was Esau, because of the venison he brought home, and Rebekah’s favorite was Jacob.
29 One day Jacob was cooking stew when Esau arrived home exhausted from the hunt.
30 Esau: “Boy, am I starved! Give me a bite of that red stuff there!” (From this came his nickname “Edom,” which means “Red Stuff.”)
31 Jacob: “All right, trade me your birthright for it!”
32 Esau: “When a man is dying of starvation, what good is his birthright?”
33 Jacob: “Well then, vow to God that it is mine!”
And Esau vowed, thereby selling all his eldest-son rights to his younger brother. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread, peas, and stew; so he ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the loss of the rights he had thrown away.[e]
Footnotes
- Genesis 25:4 Midian’s sons were . . . and Eldaah. The text adds, “All these were the children of Keturah.”
- Genesis 25:17 and joined his ancestors, literally, “and was gathered to his people.”
- Genesis 25:21 even after many years of marriage, implied in vv. 20 and 26.
- Genesis 25:25 Esau sounds a little like the Hebrew word for “hair.”
- Genesis 25:34 indifferent to the loss of the rights he had thrown away, literally, “thus did Esau consider his birthright to be of no value.”
Genesis 25
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Abraham’s Other Wife and Sons
25 Abraham had taken[a] another wife, whose name was Keturah,(A) 2 and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were the Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were sons of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave everything he owned to Isaac.(B) 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, and while he was still alive he sent them eastwards, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.(C)
Abraham’s Death
7 This is the length of Abraham’s life:[b] 175 years. 8 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) 9 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 towards 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 enquire 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 elder 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
- 25:1 Or Abraham took
- 25:7 Lit And these are the days of the years of the life of Abraham that he lived
- 25:8 Sam, LXX, Syr read full of days
- 25:16 Or chieftains
- 25:16 Or peoples
- 25:17 Lit And these are the years
- 25:18 LXX, Vg read he
- 25:18 Or Assyria
- 25:18 = Ishmael and his descendants
- 25:18 Or He settled down alongside of
- 25:22 Lit said, ‘If thus, why this I? ’
- 25:25 In Hb, red-looking sounds like ‘Edom’; Gn 32:3.
- 25:25 In Hb, hair sounds like ‘Seir’; Gn 32:3.
- 25:26 = He Grasps the Heel
- 25:27 Lit a man of the field
- 25:27 Lit man living in tents
- 25:30 = Red
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