Verses 1-2 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
The name “Keturah” means “incense” and she was Abraham’s third wife. The name “Zimran” means “musician”, so perhaps this eldest son had musical talent. The name “Jokshan” means “snarer” and “Medan” means contention”. “Midian” means “strife” and he was the father of the Midianites who were Arabians and this nation did war with the children of Israel. “Ishbak” means “he releases”, and this son was the father of another Arabian tribe. “Shuah” means “wealth”. All of these sons produced nations, fulfilling the promise of God that Abraham would be the father of many nations.
Notice that throughout the Old Testament genealogies, not all the descendants of all the sons are recorded. It seems that only those descendants who had history relating to the Hebrews or to other nations involved with the Hebrews were listed. In the next verses, only the sons of Jokshan and Midian are listed. Another reason for the lack of information could have been that, at the time Moses was writing the book of Genesis, the history of the other sons was not known. This is unlikely though, as Moses only wrote the words that God gave to him, and so God would have known the history of these sons and would have had Moses include them in the narrative if He had wanted them to be there. Regardless, the sons of the “snarer” and of the “strife” are included.
Verses 3-4 And Jokshan begat 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 children of Keturah.
Notice that it was customary to refer to the grandchildren and great grandchildren of a woman as her children.
Verses 5-6 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. 6 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.
In the Bible, the direction of East is often associated with moving away from God towards Satan or the Devil, and the direction of West is often associated with moving towards God and away from the Devil. By sending his other children away, Abraham was protecting Isaac and securing his assets for his rightful heir as promised and commanded by God.
Application: Abraham handled his estate wisely. While he was alive, he gave some assets from his estate to all of his sons as their inheritance. Believers should consider following Abraham’s example and, while they are alive in this world, divide up their disposable assets to their children and then help their children use them wisely. Leaving wealth and personal possessions in a will to be given to the heirs after the believer’s death can lead to contesting of the will and to family strife which is not a good witness to unbelievers.
Verses 7-8 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8 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.
A score is twenty years. Abraham was 175 years old. This verse describes the process of death. The body remains but the ghost leaves the physical confinement of flesh and bone. The Hebrew word for “ghost” is “gava” and is pronounced gaw vah. A ghost is a spirit that has inhabited a body, and James 2:26 clearly states that a body without a spirit is dead.
Application: It can be debated as to where Old Testament believers went when they died and Scripture can be confusing on this topic. It is clear that Abraham was gathered to his people and that he was spiritually alive. His people may have been relatives and/or fellow believers. Not really sure. It has been said that before the time of Jesus or the New Testament era, people went to a place of gathering called Paradise, and that after the resurrection of Jesus, these saints left Paradise and went to Heaven. Luke 23:43 records Jesus telling one of the thieves dying with Him on a cross, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” A study of this topic will eventually be done when time allows. Until then, it is safe to say that the New Testament believer at the time of death goes directly to be with the LORD somewhere in Heaven and wherever that may be, the believer can be assured that it will be a paradise as we understand the definition of the word.
Verses 9-11 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 Lahai-roi.
Ishmael returns to the narrative because he attended Abraham’s funeral. Even though he and his mother were sent away by Abraham many years before Abraham’s death, Ishmael must have remained in contact with Isaac or he would not have known about his father’s death or have attended to Abraham’s burial. Isaac remained living at the well site he was at when Rebekah arrived via camels and became his wife. The well’s name means “well of the Living One seeing me”.
Application: Perhaps this is an opportune time to briefly discuss burial and cultural rituals regarding the disposal of human remains. Today’s western approach is to either intern the body in the ground or to cremate with fire. This writer is not going to state an opinion one way or the other as to which practice is correct or best because this is not the purpose of this Bible study. However, it will be seen throughout Scripture that burial in the ground was the practice of the people of God. The church has promoted this practice of burial rather than cremation as fire is often associated with pagan cultures and with Hell. However you or your family member wishes to deal with the disposal of the body after death is between you and the LORD. If there is any question, search the Scripture, pray about it, and do what God tells you to do.
Verses 12-16 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.
How accurate is the Word of God? Well, in Genesis 17:20 God said, “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.” Listed above are Ishmael’s twelve sons who established towns and castles or walled dwelling places. The descendants of Ishmael historically have always been at odds with the descendants of Isaac.
Verses 17-18 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.
Ishmael was gathered to his people and it can be assumed that he was once again in the presence of his father, Abraham. It is also possible that Isaac was present at his half brother’s death as Ishmael had all his brethren gathered around him.
Application: This writer has been in attendance at the death of many people, and one common theme is always present. The dying person does not want to be alone at the time of death. A simple ministry for believers to participate in can be to volunteer at the local nursing home or Hospice center and to give some time to sit at the bedside of lonely, dying people. It often is a marvelous opportunity to share the love of Jesus with the person and possibly with their family members. Old Testament people understood the importance of the transition from life to death and gathered around the person so that he/she would not be alone. Think about how you can serve in this area.
Verses 19-20 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 Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
Just a reminder that “God’s chosen people” were Syrians. Abraham and Sarah were Syrian. Isaac took a Syrian wife. And later it will be seen that Isaac’s son, Jacob, took two Syrian wives and two Syrian concubines. Therefore, the twelve patriarchs of the Hebrew people were all Syrian.
Verses 21-23 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 inquire 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.
This writer believes that this is the first mention of twins in the Genesis account. Notice that when Rebekah was worried about her pregnancy, she did not go to a physician or midwife, but went first to ask the LORD what was happening. She got an answer because God is faithful and honors prayer.
It was the custom (and still is in some cultures today) for the eldest son to be the heir and for the other children to serve the eldest boy. But God does not do things according to man’s ways. Here He is very specific that the elder child will serve the younger and that two nations will result from these sons.
Verses 24-25 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.
The name “Esau” really means “hairy”, but the color red has been attached to him also as will be seen further in this chapter.
Verse 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.
The name “Jacob” means “heel holder” or “supplanter”. The act of grabbing a heel is representative of conquering or supplanting the person whose heel is grabbed. Isaac and Rebekah had waited twenty years for these children and they must have been extremely joyful at their birth.
Verse 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.
Although these boys were twins, they could not have been more different. Esau was perhaps what would be called today a mountain man, hunting and roaming the outdoors. Jacob was perhaps what would be called today a city slicker. In verse 28 the reader can see that family strife was on the horizon because each parent loved one son more than the other, a sure recipe for discord and heartache.
Verses 29-30 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.
Jacob was boiling something to eat. It may have been a soup or a pot of beans. Whatever the pottage consisted of turned the food red, hence Esau’s nickname Edom which means red. The Hebrew word for “faint” is “ayeph” and it means faint, exhausted, or weary. It is hard to believe that Esau was in any physical danger due to his weariness. It is more probable that he was just very hungry and wanted a quick infusion of energy by eating Jacob’s culinary creation.
Verses 31-34 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
Jacob, being somewhat cunning, saw an opportunity to get the inheritance away from his older brother. Instead of giving Esau food out of brotherly love, he bartered for the birthright and got it. The birthright was the right of the first-born son. However Jacob is viewed by the reader, favorably or unfavorably, God’s will was being enforced as Esau was destined to serve Jacob all of his life as part of the LORD’s plan for his people.