Genesis
Chapter 25
Death of Abraham
Abraham married another wife named Keturah.
She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.
The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
Abraham left all he owned to Isaac.
To the sons of his concubines, Abraham gave gifts, and throughout his life, he sent them away from his son Isaac, to the east.
Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.
Then, at a good old age, Abraham breathed his last as an old man after a full span of years, and was gathered to his ancestors.
His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave at Machpelah,
in the field of Ephron the Hittite, son of Zohar. This was the field near Mamre that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were buried there.
After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near the well of Beer-lahai-roi.
These are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar the Egyptian.
These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in order of their birth: Ishmael’s firstborn was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names according to their settlements and camps—twelve tribal princes.
Ishmael lived to be a hundred and thirty-seven years old. He breathed his last, died, and was gathered to his people.
His descendants lived in the territory stretching from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt toward Assyria. They have been fighting continuously among themselves.
Descendants of Isaac
This is the story of Isaac, the son of Abraham.
Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean from Paddan-aram, who was the sister of Laban the Aramean.
Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she could not have children. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah, his wife, conceived.
As the children struggled together within her, she said:
“If it is like this, why do I continue to live?”
She went to consult the LORD,
and the LORD said to her:
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples will be born of you;
one nation will be stronger than the other,
and the elder shall serve the younger.”
When the time came for her to give birth, she was carrying twins in her womb.
The first to be born was red, and his entire body resembled a hairy garment, so they named him Esau.
Then his brother was born, gripping Esau’s heel, and he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty at the time of their birth.
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter, a man of the open country; Jacob was a quiet man who lived in tents.
Isaac, who enjoyed the game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Once, when Jacob was making a stew, Esau returned from the field, famished.
He said to Jacob:
“Let me have some of that red stew, for I am famished.” That is why he was also called Edom.
Jacob replied:
First sell me your right as the firstborn.”
Esau responded:
“Since I am to die soon, what good is my right as the firstborn to me?”
Jacob insisted:
“Give me your oath first.”
So he swore to him and sold his firstborn right to Jacob.
Jacob then gave him bread and the lentil stew. Esau ate and drank, then got up and went his way. Thus, Esau thought nothing of his right as the firstborn. s death.
Commentaries
Death of Abraham.
Verses 1-6 recount the descendants of Abraham following Sarah’s death. This serves as a literary means to establish the kinship of the Israelite people with their neighboring peoples. While this family closeness is acknowledged, it is emphasized that “Abraham made Isaac the universal heir, while to the sons of the concubines he gave legacies, and while he was yet alive, he sent them away to the land of the east, far from his son” (5f).
Verses 7-10 provide a clear account of Abraham’s death and burial, highlighting two key aspects: 1. The quality of the patriarch’s life, emphasized by the number of years and the phrases “good old age,” “full of years,” and “he was gathered to his own.” 2. The burial site is part of the promised land.
Verses 12-18 address the theme of Ishmael, who had disappeared from the narrative since he was expelled with his mother by Abraham at Sarah’s request. It was noted in 21:13 that he would also be the father of multitudes; now, as the time arrives to establish the heads of the tribes of these numerous descendants, the writer is careful to preface the warning that the one who holds the blessing is Isaac (11).
The news of Ishmael’s death is even simpler than Abraham’s. The same expression is used: the number of years he lived, died, and was reunited with his own, without indicating the burial place.
Descendants of Isaac.
These verses narrate the story of Isaac’s two descendants: Esau and Jacob, whose antagonistic relationship is established from the very womb (23). A pair of twins who, according to the words attributed to God and addressed to Rebecca, are two peoples, two nations that “are separated in your womb” (23). One tradition regarding how Jacob, the younger son, acquires the birthright is the one we are currently examining. The mother has not yet intervened; it is only noted that Esau renounces his right through an irrevocable oath. The transmission, or the solemn moment when Isaac will pass the blessing to Jacob, assisted by his mother, occurs in chapter 27.