(BA) Genesis 25

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The text below is adapted from the ASV.

1 And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian: Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. 5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, to the land of the east.

7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived: a hundred eighty years. 8 And 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. 9 And Isaac and Ishmael his sons 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 from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. 11 And after the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac dwelt by Beer Lahai Roi.

12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave, bore to Abraham. 13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14 and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 15 Hadad, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages, and by their encampments: twelve princes according to their nations. 17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: a hundred and thirty-seven years. And he gave up the ghost and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur which is before Egypt, as you go toward Assyria; he lived over against all his brethren.

19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham begot Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac pleaded with Yahweh for his wife, and Yahweh heard his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her, and she said, If it is so, why do I live? And she went to inquire of Yahweh.

23 And Yahweh said to her,

Two nations are in your womb, And two peoples shall be separated from within you. 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 had come, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like a hairy garment, and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that his brother came out, and his hand was holding on to Esau's heel, and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when she bore him.

27 And the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he would eat his wild game, and Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 And Jacob boiled stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was faint. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, please, with that red [stew], because I am faint. Thus his name was called Edom.

31 And Jacob said, Sell me today your birthright.

32 And Esau said, Look, I am about to die. Then what good will the birthright do me?

33 And Jacob said, Swear to me today. And he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright.

(25:6) "concubines". Hebrew pilagšim. A pilegeš was a sort of "secondary wife" (DCH), but her exact status remains unclear.

(25:18) "lived". ASV note: "Or, settled. Heb[rew] fell."

(25:22) "why do I live". ASV note: "Or, wherefore am I thus?"

(25:25) "red". ASV note: "Or, ruddy".

(25:26) "Jacob". The ASV note gives the meaning of the name as "One that takes by the heel or supplants." However, Walters identifies these as "popular etymology", and maintains the that the actual etymology of the name is unknown.

(25:26) "sixty". That is, according to one chronology, in the 2106th year from the Creation. Compare the note on Genesis 21:5, or see the appropriate place in chronology-biblical.

(25:27) "quiet". ASV note: "Or, harmless. Heb[rew] perfect."

(25:30) "Edom". The ASV notes define "Edom" as meaning Red.

In terms of the Documentary Hypothesis, Driver divides this chapter as follows: from J, verses 1-6, 11b, 18, 21-26a, and 27-34; and from P, 7-11a, 12-17, 19-20, and 26b.

ASV. The American Standard Version of the Bible, as printed in 1901 by Thomas Nelson and Sons.

DCH. Cline's Dictionary of Classical Hebrew.

Driver, S. R. (1916 [1904]). The Book of Genesis with Introduction and Notes. Tenth Edition.

Walters, Stanley D. (1992). "Jacob Narrative". In ABD.

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