1Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.

The Death of Abraham

7This is the length of Abraham's life, one hundred seventy-five years. 8Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with his wife Sarah. 11After the death of Abraham God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.

Ishmael's Descendants

12These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave-girl, bore to Abraham. 13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. 17(This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled down#25.18 Heb he fell alongside of#25.18 Or down in opposition to all his people.

The Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob

19These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?”#25.22 Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples born of you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the elder shall serve the younger.”

24When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob.#25.26 That is He takes by the heel or He supplants Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.#25.30 That is Red) 31Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33Jacob said, “Swear to me first.”#25.33 Heb today So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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Genesis 25

Chapter 25

Abraham dies

1Abraham then married another woman. Her name was Keturah. 2She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3Jokshan later became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites and the Leummites. 4Midian had sons who were called Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All those were descendants of Abraham's wife, Keturah. 5When Abraham died, he left everything that belonged to him to Isaac. 6But while he was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of his slave wives. He sent these sons away to the land of the east. He wanted to keep them far away from Isaac.

7Abraham lived for 175 years. 8He died after a good and long life, when he was very old. He joined his ancestors who had died before him. 9His sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried his body in the cave of Machpelah. That was near Mamre. The cave is in the field that belonged to Zohar's son, Ephron. He was a Hittite. 10Abraham had bought the field from the Hittites.

So they buried Abraham there. It was in the cave where his wife, Sarah, had also been buried.

11After Abraham's death, God blessed his son, Isaac. Isaac was living near Beer Lahai Roi.

Ishmael's family

12This is the report about Abraham's son, Ishmael, and his family.

Sarah's female servant gave birth to Ishmael. Her name was Hagar. She was from Egypt. 13These are the names of Ishmael's sons. The list starts from the firstborn son and ends with the last son. Nebaioth was the first son of Ishmael. Then there were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16These were all Ishmael's sons. Their names became the names of 12 groups of people. They separated and lived in their own lands. Ishmael's sons ruled over the 12 groups of people. 17Ishmael lived for 137 years then he died. He joined his ancestors who had died before him. 18Ishmael's descendants lived in the lands from Havilah to Shur. These are near Egypt, towards Asshur. They were always at war with each other. #25:18 The Lord had told Hagar about this in Genesis 16:12.

Jacob and Esau

19This is the report about Abraham's son, Isaac, and his family.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel. Bethuel was an Aramean from Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21Rebekah could not have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah. The Lord did as Isaac asked. And Isaac's wife, Rebekah, became pregnant. 22The babies inside her were fighting with each other. Rebekah said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So Rebekah went to ask the Lord. 23The Lord said to Rebekah, ‘The two children who are in your body will become two separate nations of people. One group will be stronger than the other. The older son will become a servant to the younger son.’ #25:23 At that time, the youngest son would always be a servant to the oldest son. But this time, God chose the youngest son to be master over the oldest son.

24The time came for Rebekah to give birth. There were two babies inside her. 25The first baby to come out had a red body. Hair covered the whole of his body. They called him Esau. 26After this, his brother came out. His hand was holding the back of Esau's foot. They called him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27Time passed and the boys grew. Esau became a good hunter, out in the fields. Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed near to the tents. 28Isaac liked to eat the meat from the animals that Esau killed. So he loved Esau. But Rebekah loved Jacob.

29One day, Jacob was cooking a meal. Esau came back from the country. He was very hungry. 30He said to Jacob ‘Quick, let me have some of that red food! I am very hungry.’ (That is why he was also called Edom.) #25:30 Edom means red. 31Jacob said, ‘You must first sell me your birthright.’ #25:31 In the Old Testament, the oldest son had the birthright. This means that he would be the leader of his family when his father died. And he would get two parts of the things that had belonged to his father.

32Esau said, ‘Look, I am so hungry that I will die. Then my birthright will not help me at all!’

33Jacob said, ‘First, make a serious promise to me.’ So Esau promised to sell his birthright to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and the soup made from grains. Esau ate the food and he drank. Then he got up and he left.

In that way, Esau showed that he did not think that his birthright was important. #25:34 Now Jacob had the birthright. Jacob was the younger son. Jacob would receive God's promise that he had made with Abraham. This promise was also for Isaac. When Isaac died, it would pass to Jacob. This is what God had told Rebekah. See verse 23.

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Genesis 25

Genesis 25